The only program of its kind in the world, the Cultural Access Pass (CAP) offers new Canadian citizens free admission to more than 1400 of Canada’s premier cultural attractions including museums, art galleries, and science centres, as well as discounts on travel and tickets to performing arts events. Since 2008, CAP has inspired more than 250 000 new citizens to explore Canadian culture during their first year of citizenship, and has uniquely demonstrated the value of arts and culture in promoting inclusion and fostering a sense of belonging.

With 94 percent of program members using smartphones, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) is launching a smartphone app for the CAP program in early 2019. Moving from paper pass to mobile app will allow us to build better, more immediate, and longer-lasting connections with CAP members and increase participation in CAP from an average of 40 000 members per year to an estimated 100 000. The mobile app will offer a more interactive user experience and offer greater accessibility to CAP to virtually every new citizen across the country.

“Moving CAP onto people’s smartphones is the natural next step for a program that is leading the world in showing how culture is key to building inclusive societies,” says Charlie Foran, the ICC’s CEO. “We’re designing an app that will give new citizens even easier access to the cultural institutions in their own backyards and across the entire country. And even more importantly, it’s an app that will pave the way for them to go from consumers of culture to contributors who add their own experiences to the story of Canada.”

CAP members can learn more by visiting the CAP FAQs website.