OTTAWA – Canadian passport holders have overtaken Americans in terms of visa-free access to the world.
The Henley Passport Index ranks Canada in 9th place for how many countries Canadian citizens can visit without needing to apply for a visa, while the U.S. passport is in 12th place.
Both countries were at parity a year ago at 7th place under Henley’s ranking system, which groups together countries in blocs when they have access to the same number of countries.
Henley and Partners, which has issued the ranking for two decades, says the shift stems in part from countries imposing reciprocal policies in response to new U.S. visa restrictions or onerous entry requirements.
Unlike U.S. passport holders, Canadians can access Belarus, Papua New Guinea and Uzbekistan without a visa, and they can also skip the requirement for a visa upon arriving in Bolivia and Rwanda.
When the numbers on the passport index are disaggregated, Canada takes 32nd place for visa-free travel, compared to 37th place for the Americans, and both countries ranked 26th place last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.
