Ontarians will have the option to add citizenship information to their driver's licences when the province introduces its new cards, Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield said Monday.

The province is slated to unveil new licences at the end of 2007 that it hopes will be able to double as pass cards at the New York and Michigan borders.

Currently, drivers crossing into the United States need only a licence and a birth certificate. That is set to change under the U.S. law known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require passports at all border crossings as soon as 2009. The air travel part of the plan started Jan. 23 and resulted in a passport backlog.

In June, almost two million Canadians made same-day car trips to the U.S., according to Statistics Canada. Cansfield estimated that 70 per cent of Canadians making same-day trips don't have passports.

"We know there's a significant number of people who cross borders on a daily basis," she said. "We know that there's a real need for this [licence-pass card combination], so it's incumbent upon us to sit down and find a solution," she told CBC News.

That solution, to facilitate border crossings and minimize hassles,is to create high-security licences compliant with U.S. border requirements.

The province has been waiting to hear exactly what kind of technology the U.S. will require before launching a new licence program, Cansfield said.

"We're going to work with the federal government and the like-minded U.S. folks on how we can work together to find an alternative form of identity designation other than a passport," she said. "What is it that the legislators need in Washington to make this a valid form of identification that they would accept at the border?"

Cansfield met with her counterparts in New York last week to discuss the needs for the new cards, and said one of those requirements will be citizenship information, which would be added to the new licences on a voluntary basis.

The province has already made headway in preparing for more secure licences, Cansfield said. In January 2006, the government tightened up the proof-of-identity requirements, asking for proof of legal name, date of birth, and signature in an original document.

The card will also feature enhanced security measures, including laser engraving, holograms and other embedded features.

Cansfield said the federal government believes this is a viable option, adding that Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has indicated the possibility of a pilot project.

"We believe our new driver's licence, which will have enough security features in it, and also the designation of citizenship, will be sufficient," she said.

British Columbia received approval for a similar enhanced driver's licence pilot project in March.

The active working group will be meeting again in the next couple of weeks to discuss any further requirements.