A recent ranking has just revealed that the Canadian passport is among the world’s strongest.
This information comes from the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). Updated monthly, this ranking shows exactly which nations have the best passports in regards to how many destinations one can travel visa-free with it.
The Henley Passport Index
According to Henley & Partners, “The Henley Passport Index is the original and most authoritative passport index, with historical data spanning 20 years. The index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and supplemented, enhanced, and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data. The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. Updated monthly, the Henley Passport Index is the most robust and reliable index of its kind.”
The criteria for a strong passport is based on a number of different conditions (such as visa requirements), and uses a binary scoring system (1 or 0). No additional weights or calculations are applied when determining a passport’s score.
The Canadian Passport
So, where does the Canadian passport fit into all of this? Because of how the Henley Passport Index ranking system works, many nations share a spot on the list. Thus, Canada shares its place with a few other countries.
At the top of the ranking is Singapore with visa-free access to 192 different locations. Following it area Japan and South Korea in 2nd place, both with visa-free access to 188 nations.
Canada is currently sitting at 8th place with Iceland and Lithuania. All three countries share the same amount of visa-free access to 181 nations. And a few spots below Canada is the U.S. at 10th place.
The Canadian passport has generally held a strong position amongst other nations, although it did fall from its 7th spot in July 2023. Since then, Canada has sat at 8th place, and continues to do so in 2026.
