Key points
- Budget 2026, released on November 5, proposes C$90 million to expand fingerprint and facial image screening of travellers.
- Visa-exempt travellers applying for an eTA would have to submit a facial image remotely.
- Transport Canada would get C$4.3 million over four years to develop a Traveller Biometrics Strategy.
- The budget gives no start date for the new eTA facial image requirement.
The Government of Canada put new Canada traveller biometrics measures into Budget 2026. The budget was released on November 5, 2026, according to a Department of Finance notice. It covers both immigration screening and airport travel.
The two measures sit in different chapters. One expands biometric checks on people applying to enter Canada. The other starts work on a national approach to biometrics at airports.
Canada traveller biometrics funding for immigration screening
Chapter 3 of the budget lists a measure called “Enhancing biometrics collection for immigration screening”. Its gross cost is C$90 million, made up of C$15 million in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29 and C$30 million in each of 2029-30 and 2030-31. Projected revenues offset C$22 million of that, according to the budget chapter.
The money goes to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to expand screening checks using fingerprints and facial images to more travellers. Visa-exempt travellers applying for an electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) would face a new requirement to submit a facial image remotely. The stated aims are to confirm identity and reduce fraud. The budget does not give a start date.
Airport strategy and a special advisor
Chapter 1 proposes C$4.3 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, for Transport Canada to develop a Traveller Biometrics Strategy. The strategy aims to make air travel faster and simpler, including through digital credentials for moving through airports and other points of entry, per the budget text. A Special Advisor on Traveller Biometrics will be appointed to lead the work.
For background on how face matching works at airports today, see our guide to airport face recognition.
Open questions
The budget sets out funding and intent, not detailed rules. Readers may want to know when the eTA facial image step will begin and how long the images will be kept. It is also unclear who will be covered by the wider fingerprint and facial image checks, and how travellers without a smartphone will submit a photo. Will the airport strategy be voluntary for passengers?
Sources
- Budget 2026, Chapter 3 (immigration screening measure)
- Budget 2026, Chapter 1 (Traveller Biometrics Strategy)
- Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2026 release date notice
