Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is implementing new measures to streamline the immigration process and reduce extensive wait times for applicants. As part of its recently unveiled strategy, ‘An Immigration System for Canada’s Future,’ IRCC is focusing on aligning application intake with the number of admission spaces available in each immigration program.
This strategic shift is aimed at restoring application processing times to meet standard service levels across key programs. By better managing how many applications are accepted, IRCC hopes to prevent extended backlogs—especially in high-demand programs—ensuring newcomers and their families can better plan their integration into Canadian life.
According to Maple News, one of the programs facing significant backlog is the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP). The department has continued to accept applications for the PGP throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being limited to issuing only a certain number of visas annually. Due to these constraints, the PGP currently holds an inventory of nearly 100,000 individuals, and IRCC is still processing applications submitted as far back as 2020.
The PGP allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents to join them in Canada. However, the overwhelming number of applications has resulted in a waitlist that spans several years, creating challenges for families trying to reunite.
The broader goal of the newly launched strategy is to make immigration more predictable and efficient. Through more careful intake management, IRCC plans to maintain a balanced flow of applications, synchronized with the annual Immigration Levels Plan that sets national immigration targets for a three-year horizon—in this case, covering 2024 through 2026.
By syncing application volumes with admission capacity, Maple News notes, IRCC expects to shorten processing wait times, enhance program transparency, and improve the settlement experience for newcomers. These efforts are part of Canada’s long-term plan to build a modern immigration system that is nimble, fair, and responsive to changing national and global needs.