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Immigration Canada’s backlog grows to 1.84 million – Canada Immigration News

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IRCC reports there are 1.84 million people waiting on decisions in its inventory as of mid-March.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided its latest inventory data to CIC News through a media request. The inventory comprises applications submitted by future Canadian citizenspermanent residentsinternational studentstemporary workers, and visitors.

The backlog has progressed as follows since the summer:

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Note on data reporting

The data represents the number of persons currently awaiting processing by IRCC.

CIC News is reporting the data exactly how IRCC provided it. Permanent residence inventory data is from March 15 and temporary residence inventory data is from March 17. The reason for the difference is when IRCC provided the March 15 temporary residence data initially, the “visitor record” data was missing. As IRCC does not keep snapshots of their inventory, except when requested, it was not possible for the media representatives to verify the March 15 visitor record data. The March 17 temporary residence data was provided when requested.

The comparison data from February 1 matches what IRCC provided at that time. In some cases, marked “N/A,” IRCC did not offer the information.

Where has IRCC made progress since last month?

Significant progress is being made on Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) applications. There are just 10,400 CEC persons left to be processed, which suggests IRCC could wind down this backlog by the spring. Meanwhile, tremendous progress is being made on FSWP applications. In the last two weeks, IRCC has processed more FSWP applicants than it did over a seven-month period in 2021. The department processed 4,000 FSWP persons between February 28 and March 15. At this current rate, the department could also wind down the FSWP backlog in the second half of this year.

Express Entry inventory

Immigration category Persons as of Mar. 15 Persons as of Feb. 1 Difference
Federal Skilled Worker Program (EE) 41,336 49,751 -8,415
Canadian Experience Class (EE) 10,388 15,139 -4,751
Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE) 36,590 (EE) + 34,621 (No EE) 68,682 (EE + No EE) +2,529
Federal Skilled Trades Program (EE) 589 805 -216
Grand total 123,524 134,337 -10,813

The family class inventory has shown some progress in the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), as well as the humanitarian and compassionate category. Although there was some growth in the spouses, partners, children and other categories, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has said that processing standards for new applications are back to the 12-month standard. The government offers a tool for spousal sponsorship applicants to monitor their application status.

Family class immigration

Immigration category Persons as of Mar. 15 Persons as of Feb. 1 Difference
FCH-Family relations – H&C 3,320 3,350 -30
Parents and Grandparents 35,324 36,046 -722
Spouses, partners, children, other family 55,301 (spouses) + 9,166 (children and other) 62,826 +1,641
Total Family Class 103,112 102,222 +890

Where has the backlog grown since February?

As of the end of February 2022, the citizenship inventory is 453,265. This figure includes all prospective, mailroom estimates and unopened electronic applications.

IRCC previously reported the backlog for citizenship applicants was standing at about 448,000 on December 31, 2021.

There were about 5,000 more citizenship applications in the inventory at the end of February, compared to the end of December.

The Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) pathway also saw an increase of about 5,400 applicants. Even though IRCC received all applications for this program between May 6 and November 5, 2021, these applications were saved in a cloud environment and not yet considered part of the inventory, an IRCC spokesperson said in an email to CIC News. The applications were then transferred to the Global Case Management System and counted in the inventory. IRCC received about 91,000 applications in total for the TR2PR program. As of March 15, 35,341 persons were reported in the inventory.

Other permanent residency program inventories that saw significant increases include the paper-based Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Caring for Children Program, and the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.

Permanent residence

Immigration category Persons as of Mar. 15 Persons as of Feb. 1 Difference
Economic Class 230,767 230,573 +194
Family Class 103,112 102,222 +890
Humanitarian and Compassionate/Public Policy 27,218 27,436 -218
Permit Holders Class 18 21 -3
Protected Persons 157,552 158,778 -1,226
Grand total 518,667 519,030 -363

Economic class immigration

Immigration category Persons as of Mar. 15 Persons as of Feb. 28 Persons as of Feb. 1 Difference from earliest available date
Agri-Food Pilot Program 649 653 N/A -4
Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs 2,672 2,577 N/A +95
Canadian Experience Class (EE) 10,388 12,088 15,139 -4,751
Canadian Experience Class (No EE) 107 84 N/A +23
Caring For Children Program 17,585 16,316 16,085 +1,500
Federal Self Employed 5,263 5,181 5,396 -133
Federal Skilled Workers (C-50) 190 197 N/A -7
Federal Skilled Workers (EE) 41,336 45,437 49,751 -8,415
Federal Skilled Workers (Pre C-50) 23 23 N/A 0
High Medical Needs Program 16 15 N/a +1
Live-in Caregiver Program 1,268 1,328 N/A -60
Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE) 36,590 37,484 68,682 (EE + No EE) -894
Provincial/Territorial Nominees (No EE) 34,621 32,106 N/A +2,515
Quebec Entrepreneur 408 416 N/A -8
Quebec Investor 14,309 13,845 14,117 +464
Quebec Self Employed 121 89 N/A +32
Quebec Skilled Workers 26,997 26,217 25,263 +1,734
Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot 870 897 N/A -27
Skilled Trades (EE) 589 632 723 -134
Skilled Trades (No EE) 3 3 N/A 0
Start-up Business 1,421 1,295 N/A +126
TR to PR 35,341 34,304 29,864 +5,477
Ministerial Instruction Economic Programs N/A N/A 5,553 N/A
Total Economic Class 230,767 231,187 230,573 +194

There were also a number of increases in temporary residence applications. Work permits saw the largest increase up by about 14,700 between February 1 and March 17. Extensions for both work and study permits as well as visitor records were also on the rise.

Temporary residence

TR category Persons as of Mar. 17 Persons as of Feb. 1 Difference
Study Permit 111,192 112,185 -993
Study Permit Extension 30,533 26,479 +4,054
Temporary Resident Visa 419,243 420,097 -854
Visitor Record 68,528 65,093 +3,435
Work Permit 100,205 85,526 +14,679
Work Permit Extension 142,791 139,218 +3,573
Grand total 872,492 848,598 +23,894

Major changes since autumn 2021

IRCC has stopped holding Express Entry draws for CEC candidates since the fall of 2021, and for FSWP candidates since December 2020. The reason was to clear the large inventory of applications that caused processing times to increase. Pausing Express Entry draws for these programs means no new applications are coming in for them, allowing officers to process the backlog. IRCC has, however, been holding PNP draws biweekly in record numbers.

Public IRCC records suggest that Express Entry draws for FSWP and CEC candidates will resume in 2022, once the backlogs are reduced and the six-month processing standard can resume.

In the 2021 Budget, Canada allocated $85 million to reduce processing times across all IRCC lines of business. Minister Fraser has said this budget will allow Canada to return to processing service standards for study permits, work permits, and permanent resident card renewals by the end of the year. The temporary reduction in Express Entry admissions is so IRCC can wind down the processing of its TR2PR program.

Canada released the 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan in February. The government plans to admit record numbers of newcomers every year for the next three years. The Express Entry targets are significantly reduced for 2022 and 2023 but return to over 110,000 immigrants in 2024.

Canada has also introduced the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), an accelerated temporary residence pathway for Ukrainians fleeing war. IRCC has said these special measures for Ukrainians will not impact the processing of refugee applications.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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