British Columbia is getting rid of enhanced driver’s licence and enhanced identification card

B.C. is phasing out a pair of cards designed to ease travel into the United States.

The province will no longer be accepting applications for the enhanced driver’s licence (EDL) and enhanced identification card (EIC), cards.

They were originally brought in by the province to ease entry into the U.S. as an alternative to a passport.

The application process was temporarily stopped in March 2020, due to the requirement for a lengthy in-person appointment and no new cards have been issued since. The COVID-19 pandemic made those in-person interviews impossible. The temporary halt on applications is now permanent.

According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, there had been a significant drop off in interest for the card allowing the bearer entry into the U.S. at border crossings and ports without a passport.

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“Interest in B.C.’s EDL and EIC continues to wane. Twenty-six per cent fewer cards are active now than in January 2018, and in 2019, only four in 10 holders of expiring cards chose to renew,” a release from the government reads.

“As a result, the program – originally envisioned as self-funding – has run deficits consistently since 2014 and in all but two years of its operation. To date, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has provided $7.5 million to cover costs incurred by ICBC for administering the program.”

The program was originally introduced in 2008. It cost $35 more than a regular B.C. driver’s licence.

Since the enhanced licence program was introduced Canada has simplified its passport application process and introduced a 10-year passport option. As well, the NEXUS expedited border control card has grown in popularity.

“With either of these alternatives, the bearer can also enter the U.S. by air, which is not possible with the EDL or EIC,” the statement reads.

The program will be phased out over a five-year period, ending in September of 2025, when all current cards will have expired. Active licences and ID cards will remain valid through their expiry, and existing cards will not be renewed.

In addition to B.C., the EDL program was offered in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. Ontario began winding down its program in July 2019, Quebec retired its program in 2014 and Manitoba has recently announced it will be winding down its program in 2022.