Program directory · Global Affairs Canada
Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians Abroad
- Department
- Global Affairs Canada
- Program code
- BVE01 (EA)
- Core responsibility
- Help for Canadians Abroad
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2024-25 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
Through Canada’s network of missions across the world, abroad, this program provides assistance to Canadians abroad in need of help. It serves as the front-line for consular assistance to Canadian citizens and takes the lead in providing case management and operational direction to missions. It works in cooperation with other parts of the Department and relevant federal, provincial and municipal agencies to address high-profile and complex cases. The program provides expertise and case management support relating to a range of cases, including arrest and detention, medical, death, whereabouts and wellbeing, child abduction and custody issues. Additionally, through Canada's network of missions across the world, this program provides assistance to Canadians abroad who may require assistance for routine matters, such as passport, citizenship and notarial services, or assistance with voting abroad in Canadian elections. It also supports the development and delivery of training, standard policies and procedures, and the provision of advice to Canadians on safe travel through the Travel Information Program.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians Abroad | This program | 2018-19 – 2026-27 | $398M |
| Emergency Management, Consular assistance and services to Canadians abroad | Later program (name match, medium confidence) | 2025-26 – 2027-28 | — |
| Emergency Management, Consular assistance and services to Canadians abroad | Later program (name match, high confidence) | 2026-27 – 2028-29 | — |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of consular cases actioned within established service standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of consular cases actioned within 24 hours of being reported to consular officials. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Renamed from “Consular Assistance and Administrative Services for Canadians” to “Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2020-21 | Spending $73.8M, against $47.3M in 2019-20 (+56%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Indicators added: Percentage of passport applications that are processed within service standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of services that met the established service standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Renamed from “Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians” to “Consular Assistance and Services for Canadians Abroad”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2021-22 | Spending $47.7M, against $73.8M in 2020-21 (−35%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Employees (FTEs) 499, against 361 in 2022-23 (+38%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Percentage of services that met the established service standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of passport applications that are processed within service standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Spending $69.6M, against $52.4M in 2022-23 (+33%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Appears to be replaced by Emergency Management, Consular assistance and services to Canadians abroad | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Number of Canadians who use the department’s travel outreach products, including digital initiatives.
Expected result: Canadians have timely access to information and services that keeps them safer abroad.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 14.3m annual visits to travel.gc.ca; 25,000 downloads of TravelApp annually; social media followers totalling 230,000. | 2019 | 17.4 million annual visits to travel.gc.ca. 108,437 downloads of TravelApp. 344,740 social media followers. | Met |
| 2019-20 | Annual visits to travel.gc.ca: 5% increase Total installations of Travel Smart App annually: 15% increase Social media followers: 5% increase | 2020 | 30,730,857 visits - 76.67% increase 30,829 IoS downloads - 141% increase 20,621 Android downloads - 92% increase 407 024 followers - 18.06% increase The 2019-20 results were significantly higher as a result of the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. | Met |
| 2020-21 | Annual visits to travel.gc.ca: 5% increase; Total installations of Travel Smart App annually: 4% increase; Social media followers: 5% increase | 2021 | Annual visits to travel.gc.ca: 27,899,927, 9.7% decrease; Total installations of Travel Smart App annually: 5,550 iOS downloads - 555% decrease; 5,855 Android downloads - 352% decrease; Social media followers: 512,447 - 25.9% increase The target was not met for 2020-21 likely due to a significant and unprecedented increase in total installations towards the end of 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | Annual visits to travel.gc.ca: 5% increase; Total installations of Travel Smart App annually: 4% increase; Social media followers: 5% increase | 2022 | Annual visits to travel.gc.ca/voyage.gc.ca (source: Google Analytics): 116,390,155, 339% increase; Total installations of the Travel Smart App annually: 14,382 iOS downloads - 167% increase, 11,066 Android downloads - 85.33% increase; Social media followers: 621,697 - 21.31% | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | 5% increase in annual unique page view of travel.gc.ca; 2% increase in total number of installations of Travel Smart app annually; 2% increase in social media followers; 2% increase in participation in outreach activities | 2023 | Annual unique page view of travel.gc.ca: 44% decrease (65,658,745 visits to all travel.gc.ca pages including COVID-19 section)* 9% decrease (34,100,105 visits to all travel.gc.ca pages excluding COVID-19 section)** Social media followers: 6.17% increase (662,250) As COVID-19 travel restrictions eased globally in 2022, fewer travelers visited travel.gc.ca compared to the unprecedented traffic in 2020 and 2021.When COVID-19 sections of travel.gc.ca are excluded, there is only a 9% decrease (34,100,105), which still represents a higher total number of visits than pre-pandemic levels. The Travel Smart App has been removed from the Apple and Google Play stores… | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | Annual unique page view of travel.gc.ca: 5% increase; Total number of installations of Travel Smart App annually: 2% increase; Social media followers: 2% increase | 2024 | 56% decrease in annual visits (28,689,181 visits to all travel.gc.ca pages); 4.40% increase in social media followers (691,358 followers) Annual visits to travel.gc.ca dropped dramatically as COVID-19 restrictions declined. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | Annual unique page view of travel.gc.ca: 5% increase; Social media followers: 2% increase | 2025 | 4.42% decrease in annual visits (27,419,334 visits); 11.23% increase in social media followers (769,017) Annual visits to travel.gc.ca continued to decline as traffic gradually normalizes following elevated volumes during the COVID-19 period. | Not met |
Percentage of Canadian clients who expressed satisfaction with the service(s) received.
Expected result: Canadians abroad receive timely and appropriate government services.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | 94% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | 95% This result is subject to change as not all client feedback forms have been received due to the impact of COVID-19 on regular operations at missions abroad. | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 90% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 91% | Met |
| 2022-23 | 90% | 2023 | 91% | Met |
| 2023-24 | 90% | 2024 | 93% | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 95% | Met |
Percentage of consular cases actioned within established service standards.
Expected result: Canadians have timely access to information and services that keeps them safer abroad.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 97% 97% within one business day; 89% Within one month of detention; 91% Within one month of sentencing; 100% Within three months after transfer; 97% Annually. In 2020-21, missions across the consular network were operating at reduced capacity which limited the ability to meet the one month contact after detention target by 1%. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 96% | Met |
| 2022-23 | 90% | 2023 | 97% within one business day; 96% Within one month of detention; 90% Within one month of sentencing; 97% Within three months after transfer; 90% Annually. | Met |
| 2023-24 | 90% | 2024 | 96% initial response within 1 business day for consular cases; 97% within 1 month of detention; 95% within 1 month of sentencing; 95% within 3 months after transfer; 94% annually | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 89% 96% initial response within 1 business day for consular cases; 98% within 1 month of detention; 95% within 1 month of sentencing; 98% within 3 months after transfer; 89% annually | Not met |
Percentage of services that met the established service standards.
Expected result: Canadians abroad receive timely and appropriate government services.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | Passports: 90%; Citizenship: 85%. | 2019 | Passports: 93% Citizenship: 82% The actual result of 82% was just shy of the performance target of 85% due to the residual impact from the implementation of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) which resulted in a large volume of applications at some of our missions abroad, and consequently, affected the 2018-19 first quarter results. Volumes have regularized and we are currently on track to meet the performance target. To… | Not met |
| 2019-20 | Passports: 90% Citizenship: 85% | 2020 | Passports Regular: 97.5% Temporary: 99.5% Emergency: 99.4% Citizenship: N/A Specialized services Private financial services: 90% Notarial services: 96% These results have been broken down to align with the revised consular service standards that were implemented on April 1, 2019. The citizenship indicator is no longer publicly available in alignment with the revised consular service standards implemented on April 1, 2019. | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | 90% | 2021 | Passports Regular: 94% Temporary: 99% Emergency: 97% Citizenship: N/A Specialized services Private financial services: 100% Notarial services: 96% | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | 90% | 2024 | Passports: Regular: 95% Temporary: 99% Emergency: 99% Citizenship: N/A Specialized services: Private financial services: 93% Notarial services: 100% | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 92% Passports: Regular: 92% Temporary: 99% Emergency: 99% Citizenship: N/A Specialized services: Private financial services: 96% Notarial services: 100% | Met |
Percentage of passport applications that are processed within service standards.
Expected result: Canadians abroad receive timely and appropriate government services.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 90% | 2022 | Passports Regular: 94% Temporary: 99% Emergency: 97% Citizenship: N/A Specialized services Private financial services: 89% Notarial services: 100% | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | 90% | 2023 | Passports Regular: 94% Temporary: 99% Emergency: 98% Citizenship: N/A | Met |
Percentage of consular cases actioned within 24 hours of being reported to consular officials.
Expected result: Canadians have timely access to information and services that keeps them safer abroad.
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 96% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | — Initial Response (within one business day) for consular cases : 97% Within one month of detention: 98% Within one month of sentencing: 95% Within three months after transfer: 95% Annually: 95% These results have been broken down to align with the revised consular service standards that were implemented on April 1, 2019. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular operations and service… | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $35.8M | $43.8M |
| 2019-20 | $41.2M | $47.3M |
| 2020-21 | $42.6M | $73.8M |
| 2021-22 | $44M | $47.7M |
| 2022-23 | $42.2M | $52.4M |
| 2023-24 | $56.4M | $69.6M |
| 2024-25 | $61.1M | $63.9M |
| 2025-26 | $61.1M* | — |
| 2026-27 | $63.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 319 | 328 |
| 2019-20 | 367 | 358 |
| 2020-21 | 352 | 360 |
| 2021-22 | 362 | 369 |
| 2022-23 | 348 | 361 |
| 2023-24 | 513 | 499 |
| 2024-25 | 441 | 508 |
| 2025-26 | 436* | — |
| 2026-27 | 435* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $35,791,754 | $36,062,947 | $36,064,052 | ||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $41,195,575 | $41,001,707 | $41,606,925 | ||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $42,602,080 | $43,288,639 | $43,342,622 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $44,027,641 | $44,068,994 | $43,469,707 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $42,215,378 | $41,628,584 | $41,637,002 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $56,362,045 | $57,965,984 | $57,365,721 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $61,084,736 | $61,085,963 | $63,380,000 | ||||||
| Actual | $43,769,126 | $47,278,293 | $73,826,298 | $47,702,738 | $52,355,464 | $69,619,580 | $63,928,572 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
