Hi, i've been lurking for a while. Passport applied for at a service canada location on Jan 2, passport arrived on March 5, we were leaving march 9. I spent many mornings trying to get through to the 1-800 number right when they opened, and i found a trick that seems to work. After you press 1 for english, and 1 for living in canada, press 2 (lost or stolen passport) instead of 1 (status of application). I got put on hold every time. Was usually on hold for 30-45 min but at least i was on hold. Once i got through they didn't seem to know/care that i'd pressed a different number, and i got the info i needed. It's worth a try.