The all-program draws were on pause for the opening six months of 2022 and then resumed for five more months until a technical issue caused them to be suspended once again. Only late 2022 showed signs of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) application backlog being reduced significantly. After seven years of steady growth since the system’s inception in 2015, this was the first year that saw a complete halt. That being said, it is only provisional as record immigration levels have been forecasted for the coming three years and are expected to increase to 500,000 annually by 2025. Consequently, Express Entry will likely come back with greater vigour in 2023 when Canada attempts to battle its constant labour shortages.
