Canada's Immigration Backlog Falls in June 2026 | ImmigraCan

Two numbers published by IRCC in mid-June 2026 together tell the story of where Canadian immigration is headed. The first: the backlog is shrinking. The second, perhaps more important: the intake of new temporary residents has practically collapsed.

The shrinking backlog

The total immigration backlog fell from 935,000 in March to 922,700 in April 2026 — a reduction of 12,300 applications in a single month. Since the January peak, the cumulative drop has reached 67,600 applications. As a proportion, the backlog now represents about 42.8% of the total inventory, down from more than 47% at the start of the year.

IRCC's target is to process 80% of applications within published service standards, and April's data show the department getting closer to that in most categories. Worth noting: the permanent residence inventory remains above 1 million applications, so the improvement isn't uniform across all pathways.

The turnaround in temporary residents

The strongest signal is on the other side. New arrivals of students and temporary workers between January and April 2026 fell about 73% compared to the same period in 2024. That's a sharp reduction, in line with the government's strategy to rebalance the proportion of temporary residents in the country.

What this means if you want to immigrate

The practical consequence is decisive: more than half of new permanent residents now come from within the temporary population already in Canada. In practice, programs like Express Entry through the CEC (Canadian Experience Class) pathway and provincial nominations have become the most relevant routes for people already in the country studying or working.

For Brazilians still in Brazil, the strategic takeaway is this: entering first through a well-planned temporary pathway (study or work) and building Canadian experience may today be a more solid path to PR than waiting for a generous general draw that might not come anytime soon.

Plan your route

Every profile has a best entry point. Take the eligibility quiz to see which programs make sense for you, and calculate your CRS to understand where you stand in Express Entry right now.

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*This content is informational and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. ImmigraCan is not affiliated with the Government of Canada or IRCC. Always confirm official information at canada.ca, and for your specific case, consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or a lawyer.*