Three-quarters of the passports were emergency documents issued between July 12 and Aug. 31, according to Foreign Affairs statistics obtained under the federal Access to Information Act.

The total included 1,808 emergency passports, nine temporary documents and 613 regular passports.

McGill University Professor Rex Brynen said it's not unusual for residents of the Middle East to travel under different passports.

"People switch back and forth depending on what passport is more convenient," he said, noting that many long-term residents in Lebanon may have let their Canadian documents lapse.

Canada issued about 3 million passports last year, including almost 128,000 abroad. A total of 3,200 emergency passports were issued for the year.

Foreign Affairs said Canada spent about $76 million to evacuate nearly 15,000 Canadians from Lebanon.

The final tally won't be known until the new year. But current estimates include $66 million for Foreign Affairs and another $10 million shared by National Defence, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Citizenship and Immigration, Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP.

Violence erupted in July when Israel attempted to recover two soldiers seized by the militant group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.

Sources: The Star, Globe and Mail