I am wanting to go to canada to meet friends for a few weeks and I am a convicted felon with non violent charges... I am not on any type of probation or parole...

Thank you
Dinah

A passport is a Federal ID - almost anyone can get a passport. The question is whether you can enter Canada - not whether you can leave. Countries don't care if non-citizens leave; they only care if non-citizens enter

"Most people assume, without question, that just about anyone can enter Canada. This is not true. The Canadian Customs and Immigration Officers have ultimate authority to permit and deny anyone entry to Canada. No one has an automatic right to enter Canada. However, most people if they have no criminal record are allowed entry. What if you have a criminal conviction? To begin, in Canada a DUI is a felony and therefore an excludable offense under the Immigration Act. A DUI is an indictable offense in Canada that may be punished by imprisonment for up to a 5 year term. Anyone with a conviction in the United States that is treated as a felony or indictable offense in Canada is excludable from Canada, but even if the offense is not a felony or indictable offense in Canada, Customs and Immigration Officers have ultimate authority to permit and deny entry to Canada. Almost all convictions (including DUI, DWI, reckless driving, negligent driving, misdemeanor drug possession, all felonies, domestic violence (assault IV), shoplifting, theft, etc) can make a person inadmissible to Canada, regardless of when they occurred. For this reason, it is not recommended that persons with past convictions attempt to enter Canada without first obtaining necessary documents. It is always the final decision of officers at ports of entry to decide whether a person should be allowed into Canada."

Traveling to Canada

Exactly correct, if you have a criminal record it's best to check with a Canadian embassy in the US before you plan to travel. If they say you cannot enter Canada because of your criminal record you can apply for "rehabilitation" basically applying to enter Canada despite the criminal record. The link below expalins how to file this special application.

Overcoming criminal inadmissibility

Thanks and GREAT advice for anyone with a problem in their past.