The Canadian passport is one of the world’s most powerful for 2026

Your passport is more powerful than you may think. the Henley Passport Index is the “only one of its kind based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA),” ranking 199 different passports around the world. Now that 2026 is here, we have some fresh numbers, and Canada sits within the top 10.

Here’s what we know.

“The Henley Passport Index is considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum,” shares Henley & Partners.

Let’s talk Canada first. The Canadian passport slots in at number 8, sharing the spot with Iceland and Lithuania. This is one spot down from 2025, when Canada sat at the 7th spot with Malta and Poland.

in 2026, the countries that come ahead of Canada include:

1. Sinapore
2. Japan and South Korea
3. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland
4. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway
5. Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and United Arab Emirates

6. Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, and Poland

7. Australia, Latvia, United Kingdom, and Liechtenstein

Despite dropping one ranking, Canada remains as one of the only countries that can travel visa-free to over 150 global destinations, which mean you typically won’t have to worry about travelling with any other documents aside from your passport.

Happy traveling!

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Taylor Lucas

Associate Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for storytelling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing, she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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