Finally, the Canada immigration backlog drops below 1 million. As per new updated IRCC data, overall backlog has now reduced to 918,300.
Additionally, 1.055 million applications are still being processed within IRCC service standards. This number has increased from 1.02 million since November 30 data.
The backlog has been continuously reducing since September 30, 2022 as follows:
| Date | Backlog | Total Applications Under Processing |
|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2022 | 918,300 | 1,973,800 |
| November 30, 2022 | 1,086,200 | 2,111,400 |
| October 31, 2022 | 1,202,790 | 2,239,700 |
| September 30, 2022 | 1,322,500 | 2,610,700 |
Overall, there were 1.97 million applications that were being processed at IRCC. This data has been updated by IRCC today and is true as of December 31, 2022.
IRCC minister confirmed that backlog data is different from service standard data.
For example, if spousal sponsorship specifies a processing period of 12 months, an application that is being processed within 12 months is “NOT” a backlog. Rather, it will be classified as standard processing.
However, if it surpasses the 12-month service requirement, it is referred to as a backlog.
It should be noted that IRCC’s goal is to complete 80% of applications within service standards. Click here to view the category-wise IRCC service standards.
| Application Type | Overall Processing Inventory | Backlog | Within Service Standards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship | 301,000 | 85,000 | 216,000 |
| Permanent Residence | 620,800 | 361,300 | 259,500 |
| Temporary Residence | 1,052,000 | 472,000 | 580,000 |
| Total | 1,973,800 | 918,300 | 1,055,500 |
Below are the category-wise Canada Immigration backlog projections by IRCC
1. Federal High Skilled Backlog
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 89% | |
| Feb 22 | 92% | |
| Mar 22 | 98% | |
| Apr 22 | 99% | |
| May 22 | 100% | |
| Jun 22 | 100% | |
| Jul 22 | 99% | |
| Aug 22 | 90% | 86% |
| Sep 22 | 68% | 72% |
| Oct 22 | 45% | 59% |
| Nov 22 | 31% | 46% |
| Dec 22 | 22% | 20% |
| Jan 23 | – | 20% |
| Feb 23 | – | 20% |
| Mar 23 | – | 20% |
2. Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) Backlog
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 56% | |
| Feb 22 | 55% | |
| Mar 22 | 54% | |
| Apr 22 | 51% | |
| May 22 | 47% | |
| Jun 22 | 45% | |
| Jul 22 | 43% | |
| Aug 22 | 42% | 39% |
| Sep 22 | 40% | 35% |
| Oct 22 | 42% | 31% |
| Nov 22 | 42% | 28% |
| Dec 22 | 41% | 20% |
| Jan 23 | – | 40% |
| Feb 23 | – | 39% |
| Mar 23 | – | 38% |
3. Spouses, Partners and children applications Backlog
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 34% | |
| Feb 22 | 32% | |
| Mar 22 | 30% | |
| Apr 22 | 29% | |
| May 22 | 27% | |
| Jun 22 | 27% | |
| Jul 22 | 26% | |
| Aug 22 | 25% | 24% |
| Sep 22 | 25% | 23% |
| Oct 22 | 24% | 22% |
| Nov 22 | 24% | 20% |
| Dec 22 | 24% | 19% |
| Jan 23 | – | 24% |
| Feb 23 | – | 24% |
| Mar 23 | – | 24% |
New Minimum Wage In Ontario Effective October 1
Ontario’s minimum wage rises to $17.95 on October 1, 2026. What changes, what doesn’t, and how to check your paycheque when September and October fall in the same pay period.
4. Citizenship Backlog
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 46% | |
| Feb 22 | 45% | |
| Mar 22 | 42% | |
| Apr 22 | 40% | |
| May 22 | 39% | |
| Jun 22 | 37% | |
| Jul 22 | 34% | |
| Aug 22 | 31% | 31% |
| Sep 22 | 31% | 30% |
| Oct 22 | 28% | 29% |
| Nov 22 | 27% | 27% |
| Dec 22 | 28% | 26% |
| Jan 23 | – | 26% |
| Feb 23 | – | 25% |
| Mar 23 | – | 24% |
5. Study Permits Backlog
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 42% | |
| Feb 22 | 34% | |
| Mar 22 | 27% | |
| Apr 22 | 32% | |
| May 22 | 31% | |
| Jun 22 | 30% | |
| Jul 22 | 31% | |
| Aug 22 | 38% | 39% |
| Sep 22 | 31% | 42% |
| Oct 22 | 26% | 33% |
| Nov 22 | 27% | 31% |
| Dec 22 | 33% | 33% |
| Jan 23 | – | 36% |
| Feb 23 | – | 33% |
| Mar 23 | – | 23% |
New Express Entry Draw On September 29 Sent 2,000 PR Invitations
On September 29, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada sent out 2,000 invitations to apply for permanent residency in a new Express Entry draw for Canadian Experience Class candidates, pushing the CRS threshold down for a third consecutive round since the August peak. The Comprehensive Ranking System cutoff fell to 518 points, one point below…
6. Work Permits Backlog
**As per IRCC, approximately 73% of work permits applications are from the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel.
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 48% | |
| Feb 22 | 51% | |
| Mar 22 | 29% | |
| Apr 22 | 23% | |
| May 22 | 26% | |
| Jun 22 | 28% | |
| Jul 22 | 28% | |
| Aug 22 | 34% | 29% |
| Sep 22 | 27% | 35% |
| Oct 22 | 23% | 49% |
| Nov 22 | 28% | 55% |
| Dec 22 | 26% | 60% |
| Jan 23 | – | 58% |
| Feb 23 | – | 47% |
| Mar 23 | – | 30% |
7. Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or Visitor Visa Backlog
**As per IRCC, approximately 20% of temporary resident visa or visitor visa applications are from the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel.
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 70% | |
| Feb 22 | 74% | |
| Mar 22 | 55% | |
| Apr 22 | 55% | |
| May 22 | 56% | |
| Jun 22 | 71% | |
| Jul 22 | 67% | |
| Aug 22 | 71% | 68% |
| Sep 22 | 74% | 71% |
| Oct 22 | 74% | 70% |
| Nov 22 | 70% | 67% |
| Dec 22 | 70% | 66% |
| Jan 23 | – | 77% |
| Feb 23 | – | 76% |
| Mar 23 | – | 73% |
Source: IRCC official website
Latest Express Entry Draw On September 28 Issues 733 PR Invitations
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada conducted a new Provincial Nominee Program Express Entry draw on September 28, 2026, sending 733 invitations to apply for permanent residence to candidates who hold valid provincial nominations. The Comprehensive Ranking System cutoff for the lowest-ranked candidate selected in this round was 725 points. That threshold is 9 points lower…
10 New Canada Laws And Rules Taking Effect In October 2026
October 2026 brings a packed set of federal changes that will reach Canadian households, workers, seniors, patients, and taxpayers across every province and territory. Some of these rules are brand new, while others represent scheduled expiries or legislative proposals that are advancing through Parliament. This month delivers higher Old Age Security payments, a new consolidated…
5 New CRA Benefit Payments Coming In October 2026
October 2026 delivers 5 separate Canada Revenue Agency benefit payments within a single three-week window, making it one of the busiest deposit months of the entire benefit year. The first payment arrives on October 5 and the last lands on October 23, with three additional deposits scattered across the dates in between. Every one of…
2 New Canada Worker Pay Rules Coming In October 2026
2 new major worker pay rules take effect across federally regulated Canadian workplaces in October 2026, under the Canada Labour Code. The first rule targets wage gaps between employees who do substantially the same work but hold a different employment status. The second rule protects employees of federally regulated temporary help agencies from earning less…
IRCC Reveals Why Nearly 250,000 Canada PR Applications Are Waiting For Space
Nearly 250,000 Canadian permanent residence applications are waiting for admissions space under yearly immigration targets, according to IRCC’s latest inventory data released in September 2026. The bottleneck is admissions capacity: when a program’s yearly target is full, complete applications wait until space becomes available. For some applicants, that can push processing into a future year.…
New OAS Payments Coming On September 25, 2026
The next Old Age Security deposit – OAS payment is confirmed for Friday, September 25, when Service Canada will issue OAS pensions, Guaranteed Income Supplement top-ups, Allowance payments, and Allowance for the Survivor payments on the same nationwide payment date. This is the third and final deposit at the July-to-September 2026 quarterly rates, which delivered…
Canada Developing A New Express Entry Application System
Canada is building new digital infrastructure for Express Entry, and IRCC has now named the program as an early modernization priority. IRCC says the first release of its new case management platform will deliver a new Expression of Interest system for Express Entry. Express Entry candidates are also the next group targeted for IRCC’s consolidated…
7 Online Costs Newcomers To Canada Should Check Before Paying
A $9.99 subscription can look harmless until sales tax, currency conversion, or automatic renewal pushes the actual cost higher. That is easy to miss when you have just arrived in Canada and are already paying for rent, groceries, transportation, a phone plan, and perhaps remittances to family abroad. Every digital service has its own checkout…
Canada Visitor Visa Screening Tightens With 40+ Criteria Now In Play
Canada’s screening of visitor visa applicants has become more rigorous as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada discloses new details about the layered framework governing who may travel to the country. IRCC says Canada’s Visa Policy Framework relies on more than 40 criteria when evaluating whether to impose, lift, or partially lift a visa requirement for…
New CPP Payments To Be Sent Canada-Wide On September 25
Millions of retirees will receive the next Canada Pension Plan deposit, with CPP payments scheduled for Friday, September 25, according to Service Canada. The maximum CPP retirement pension for someone starting at age 65 in January 2026 is $1,507.65 per month, while the current average for new age-65 beneficiaries is $877.01 per month. CPP benefits…
How CRA Benefit Payments Actually Reach Your Bank Account
It’s payment day, at least according to the calendar on the fridge. A quick check of the banking app first thing in the morning shows nothing new, just yesterday’s balance sitting there unchanged. For anyone waiting on a CRA benefit payment, that gap between the date on paper and the number actually landing in the…
New Canada LMIA Rules Now Clarify Who Can Hire Foreign Workers
Service Canada published updated employer guidance across multiple major Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams on September 18, 2026, establishing explicit criteria for determining which entity qualifies as the employer when a Labour Market Impact Assessment application is assessed. The new guidance defines who Service Canada considers the true employer of a temporary foreign worker and…
New Canada Benefit Payments Still Coming In September 2026
10 major Canada benefit payments and assistance deposits are still coming before September ends, split evenly between 5 federal and 5 provincial programs. These benefit payments are scheduled across four dates between September 23 and September 29, covering federal pensions and seniors benefits, disability payments, and provincial income-support programs. Several of the largest federal programs,…
New Minimum Wage Increase In 5 Canadian Provinces Effective October 1
5 Canadian provinces are raising their minimum wage on October 1, 2026, delivering increases that range from 1.5% to 2.5% and putting more money into the pockets of hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. Manitoba leads the group with the largest increase both by percentage and by cents per hour, while Ontario will…
New OAS Payment Increase Coming In October 2026
Canadian seniors will receive noticeably larger Old Age Security deposits – OAS payments starting with the October 28 payment after the Government of Canada confirmed a 1.4% quarterly increase for the October to December 2026 period. This is the strongest single-quarter adjustment of the entire calendar year, surpassing the 1.2% increase that took effect in…
New Ontario List Of In-Demand Careers For 2026-2027
Immigration News Canada has compiled an updated 2026-2027 list of Ontario in-demand careers using the province’s official Explore In-Demand Careers database, following the latest investment in 40,000 new postsecondary seats for high-demand fields. Unlike rankings assembled by recruitment websites or third-party job boards, the occupations identified below are drawn from Ontario government labour market data…
New BC PWD Payment To Be Sent On September 23
British Columbia’s next Persons With Disability assistance (PWD payment) is confirmed for Wednesday, September 23, 2026. This deposit covers October 2026 living expenses and will land in bank accounts for recipients enrolled in direct deposit. A single person holding the Persons with Disabilities designation can receive up to $1,483.50 per month, combining the $983.50 support…
CAD or USD? How Online Platforms Display Amounts in Canada
An online casino balance of $100 may seem clear, but it leaves an important question unanswered: which dollars? For someone settling into life in Canada, the familiar symbol can conceal an unfamiliar unit. A Canadian-facing website, an English-language page, and a Canadian address do not, by themselves, identify an account’s currency. The amount needs a…
Canada Visa Refusal Overturned After Officer Ignored Key Evidence
A new Federal Court of Canada ruling has set aside a Canadian visa refusal after finding that the immigration officer failed to meaningfully address significant financial and family ties, evidence that directly contradicted the stated reasons for refusing the application. In Kumar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 1138, Justice Azmudeh of the Federal…
New Ontario Rent Rules Effective September 21
5 days from now, Ontario tenants and landlords will operate under a fundamentally different set of rental rules. The second wave of amendments under Bill 60 and Bill 97 takes effect on September 21, 2026, introducing shorter eviction timelines, a codified definition of habitually late rent, financial prerequisites for raising certain issues at hearings, and…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.