Quarterly statistics

The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) publishes statistics about its complaint caseload and related work, including decisions by the OIC Registry (the group that receives, reviews and processes new complaints) about whether to accept complaints, and investigations into admissible complaints.

The following graphs are updated quarterly and are supplemented by data in the Information Commissioner’s annual report.

For more information on the OIC’s investigations-related performance targets and progress against them, consult the Departmental Plan and Departmental Results Report

• Inventory of open complaints
• Number and type of complaints submitted
• Number of complaints submitted versus number concluded
• Outcomes for concluded complaints
• Percentage of complaints concluded with orders

Inventory of open complaints

The OIC has made significant progress reducing the size of its inventory of open complaints. As of January 6, 2025, the inventory contained 2,481 complaints, which is 31% percent fewer than on March 1, 2018 (the beginning of the Commissioner’s first term). This is despite the OIC’s having received more than 33,000 complaints in the interim.

Number and type of complaints submitted

The OIC’s complaint caseload has varied each year since the beginning of the Commissioner’s first term in March 2018. Complaints from potential immigrants or their representatives about a lack of response to the access request for their immigration file accounted for the large increase in delay complaints in 2021–22 and 2022–23. Due to improvements in the processing of access requests by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, among other factors, the number of these complaints has dropped considerably since. More information: Access at issue: Challenging the status quo and Access at issue: The unsustainable status quo.

Number of complaints submitted versus number concluded

The OIC has reduced the inventory of open complaints since the Commissioner began her first term in March 2018. In four out of the seven years (2018–19, and 2022–23 to 2024–25, as of January 6, 2025), the OIC concluded more complaints than it received.

Outcomes for concluded complaints

Complainants could receive one of several outcomes when they submit a complaint. So far in 2024–25, roughly one quarter of the complaints (787) the OIC concluded were well founded or not well founded, and another third were either discontinued by the complainant (606) or concluded by the OIC Registry (the group that receives, reviews and processes new complaints) because they were, for example, inadmissible (814). The investigations into the remaining 1,448 complaints were stopped, most often because, as a result of the OIC's inquiries and work, the complainant received a response to their access request, making further investigation unnecessary. More information: What are the possible outcomes for my complaint?

Percentage of complaints concluded with orders

The majority of complaints the OIC concludes do not require the Commissioner to issue orders. However, the proportion of complaints with orders is increasing—from 0.05% of all complaints concluded in 2020–21 to more than 7% in 2023–24 and 2024–25 (as of January 6, 2025). More information: Information Commissioner’s orders