Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has once again reduced its immigration application backlog, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline. As of April 30, 2025, the backlog stood at 760,200 applications—a 2.53% drop from March’s total of 779,900.
This positive trend highlights the IRCC’s ongoing efforts to streamline immigration processing and return to service standard timelines. It also signals improved operational efficiency following several years of pandemic-related disruptions.
Monthly data illustrates this downward trajectory: from a backlog of over one million applications in November 2024 to just over three-quarters of a million in April 2025. The monthly reductions ranged from 2.5% to nearly 8%, with the most significant cut occurring in February 2025.
Despite the declining backlog, the overall number of pending applications has increased. The total application inventory reached 2,041,800 by the end of April, up by 65,100 compared to March. This rise indicates that while IRCC is getting better at processing older cases, new applications are arriving at a faster pace than before.
An application is considered part of the backlog when it exceeds IRCC’s published service standards—the standard processing times for each immigration category. For instance, Express Entry applications are expected to be finalized within six months, while family sponsorship applications have a 12-month service standard. Any delay beyond these timelines classifies an application as ‘backlogged.’
The sustained reduction is a hopeful sign, especially for those navigating Canada’s various immigration pathways. It may also be a result of digital transformation and resource reallocation strategies previously announced by the IRCC to address surging demand.
While inventory size alone doesn’t indicate inefficiency, the primary focus remains on reducing backlogged files that take longer than published standards to finalize. As IRCC aims to meet its ambitious immigration targets in the coming years, sustained backlog reduction will be critical to maintaining public confidence and program effectiveness.