Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) continues to face mounting pressure as the total case backlog reached 958,850 applications by August 31, 2025. According to Maple News, this represents an increase of over 57,000 submissions in just one month, up from 901,700 at the end of July.
Over the last six months, IRCC’s inventory has experienced consistent growth. The backlog decreased in March and April 2025, but has since been climbing steadily: 802,000 in May, 842,800 in June, and 958,850 in August. This trend highlights sustained delays across immigration streams, with applicants experiencing longer-than-expected processing times.
The total number of applications in the IRCC inventory stood at 2,199,400 at the end of August. Of these, 1,240,550 (56%) were being handled within the department’s official service standards, leaving around 944,000 applications outside processing time benchmarks.
Permanent residence (PR) applications remain a major contributor to the backlog. As of August’s end, PR applications totaled 901,800. However, only 431,500 were being processed on time, meaning 470,300 cases were classified as backlogged—an increase from 443,500 in July.
These applications include high-demand immigration streams such as Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorships. Although IRCC has not released category-level backlog figures, it did confirm that 20% of Express Entry applications were outside processing standards, slightly improved from 21% the previous month.
The recent spike in study permits has drawn particular concern. International students make up a significant portion of Canada’s immigration flow, and delays in their permit processing could disrupt academic schedules and regional economies that rely on student populations.
The IRCC backlog issue remains an urgent challenge for Canada’s immigration system, especially as the country continues to aim for record-high immigration levels. While the department is working on digital transformation and staff expansion, backlogs risk undermining service quality and global confidence in Canada as an immigration destination.
Maple News will continue to monitor developments in IRCC processing and backlog management as further data becomes available.