On July 23, 2025, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its latest backlog update, revealing a troubling surge in unprocessed applications.

The total inventory of applications under processing has climbed to 2,189,500, an increase of 71,700 from the 2,117,800 reported in June 2025.

Of these, 842,800 applications now exceed IRCC’s service standards, up from 802,000, representing 38.5% of the total inventory.

This growing backlog, spanning citizenship, permanent residency, and temporary residency categories, underscores a critical challenge for Canada’s immigration system.

This analysis delves into the latest IRCC data, offering a detailed breakdown of the backlog across all categories, comparing trends over time, and exploring the human stories behind the numbers.