The citizenship card, although it shows an identity document, is NOT an identity document, nor a travel document, and cannot replace a passport.

The Citizenship Card is not valid outside of Canada.

The passport is the ONLY internationally recognized travel document.

If you have Canadian citizenship, but you haven't got your Canadian passport yet and you're thinking of traveling with a citizen card, think again!

On the return trip to Canada you will be refused boarding and hence all the consequences – changing the plane ticket if possible (with penalty), extending the trip until you get your passport from the Canadian embassy in the country where you are.

What's more, you can get into trouble with the authorities and/or the airline – traveling with insufficient or inadequate documents is considered a crime!