Statistics
In the last five years, complaints have ranged between 1.5% and 3% of all access requests.
Text version
| Access to information requests received compared to complaints (including IRCC), 2020-21 to 2024-25 | Number of complaints accepted | Number of requests received | Percentage of requests that results in complaints to the OIC |
|---|---|---|---|
2020-21 | 4,068 | 145,962 | 2.79% |
2021-22 | 6,945 | 222,807 | 3.12% |
2022-23 | 7,407 | 236,964 | 3.13% |
2023-24 | 3,361 | 229,564 | 1.46% |
2024-25 | 3,626 | 202,915 | 1.79% |
Inventory
Total of 2,123 complaints (10% are more than 2 years old; goal is to stay under 15%)
Top 5 institutions in inventory, as of February 2, 2026
| Institution | Number (Percentage of complaints in inventory) |
|---|---|
Privy Council Office | 244 (12%) |
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada | 237 (11%) |
Transport Canada | 216 (10%) |
Library and Archives Canada | 114 (5%) |
Global Affairs Canada | 114 (5%) |
Complaints and orders
| Complaints and orders | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025-26 (as of Feb. 2, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Complaints concluded through investigations | 5,528 | 4,060 | 6,787 | 8,089 | 4,183 | 4,108 | 3,233 |
Complaints concluded through investigations – Cease to investigate | 4,057 | 2,867 | 4,854 | 4,854 | 2,527 | 2,123 | 1,556 |
Complaints concluded by Registry | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1,497 | 1,298 | 1,519 |
Total complaints concluded | 5,528 | 4,060 | 6,787 | 8,089 | 5,680 | 5,406 | 4,752 |
Orders – delay and extension of time complaints | 0 | 2 | 25 | 135 | 275 | 329 | 238 |
Orders – refusal complaints | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 35 | 46 | 34 |
Total orders issued | 0 | 2 | 27 | 157 | 310 | 375 | 272 |
% of orders issued – complaints concluded through investigations | 0% | 0.49% | 0.40% | 1.94% | 7.41% | 9.13% | 8.41% |
% of orders issued – all complaints concluded | 0% | 0.49% | 0.40% | 1.94% | 5.45% | 6.93% | 5.72% |
Orders and litigations
- Percentage of complaints with orders: 0.05% (2020–21) to 8.4% (2025–26) – average is less than 5%
- Total of 1,143 orders issued
- Total of 69 federal court reviews of orders involving 12 institutions and 9 writs of mandamus
So far in 2025-26, 6 institutions sought judicial review, totaling 18 cases.
- 9 are currently active files before the Federal Court, including the mandamus against Health Canada.
Federal Court reviews of Commissioner’s orders, as of February 6, 2026
| Institution | Delay complaint cases | Extension of time complaint cases | Refusal complaint cases | Mandamus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Library and Archives Canada | 1 | 12 | ||
Health Canada | 1 | 1 | ||
Privy Council Office | 1 | |||
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation | 1 | |||
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | 1 | |||
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada | 1 |
Applications from institutions for permission to decline to act on access requests
- Total of 88 applications received: 15 permissions were granted.
Criminal Offences
- Total of 5 cases referred to the Attorney General
Evolution over 5 years: Top 3 institutions for which orders were issued, April 1, 2021 - February 2, 2026
Number of orders issued relative to complaints accepted and complaints in inventory (April 1, 2021, to Feb. 2, 2026)
Text version
| Number of orders issued relative to complaints accepted and complaints in inventory for Privy Council Office (April 1, 2021, to Feb. 2, 2026) | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Up to February 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Complaints accepted | 110 | 172 | 218 | 219 | 186 |
Complaints in inventory | 237 | 206 | 255 | 219 | 237 |
Orders issued | 14 | 13 | 25 | 42 | 45 |
Text version
| Number of orders issued relative to complaints accepted and complaints in inventory for National Defence (April 1, 2021, to Feb. 2, 2026) | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Up to February 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Complaints accepted | 69 | 146 | 119 | 381 | 186 |
Complaints in inventory | 111 | 106 | 94 | 144 | 86 |
Orders issued | 1 | 42 | 32 | 64 | 56 |
Text version
| Number of orders issued relative to complaints accepted and complaints in inventory for Library and Archives Canada (April 1, 2021, to Feb. 2, 2026) | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Up to February 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Complaints accepted | 90 | 126 | 101 | 178 | 106 |
Complaints in inventory | 266 | 235 | 143 | 132 | 114 |
Orders issued | 36 | 37 | 104 | 48 | 14 |
Number of access requests received and complaints accepted and percentage of requests resulting in complaints
Text version
| Number of access requests received and complaints accepted and percentage of requests resulting in complaints for Privy Council Office (2020-21 to 2024-25) | Number of requests received | Number of complaints accepted | Percentage of requests resulting in complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
2020–2021 | 616 | 100 | 16.2% |
2021–2022 | 509 | 110 | 21.6% |
2022–2023 | 673 | 172 | 25.6% |
2023–2024 | 1,079 | 218 | 20.2% |
2024–2025 | 744 | 219 | 29.4% |
Department of National Defence, 2024–25 only
| Number of requests received | Number of complaints accepted | Percentage of requests resulting in complaints |
|---|---|---|
2,494 | 381 | 15.27% |
Library and Archives Canada, 2024–25 only
| Number of requests received | Number of complaints accepted | Percentage of requests resulting in complaints |
|---|---|---|
5,215 | 178 | 3.41% |
Key developments and operational pressures within the access to information system (based on Treasury Board Secretariat’s Access to Information and Privacy Statistical Report for 2024-25 Fiscal Year)
- The volume of pages processed continued to increase, affecting the timeliness of responses.
- While the overall number of access to information requests declined compared to the previous reporting period, there was a significant rise in informal requests.
- For the second consecutive year, more requests were closed than received.
Fewer requests, greater processing burden
- Although the number of requests made decreased in 2024-2025, the number of pages processed has increased.
- Excluding IRCC, there was a 33% increase in pages processed compared with 2023–2024.
Ongoing challenges in timely request completion
- More than 20% of access to information requests are not closed within legislated timelines.
- When excluding Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (which received more than 80% of all requests), 35% of access requests were not responded to within legislated timelines.
Media engagement rebounds
- When excluding IRCC, 16.5% of requests were made by media in 2024-25.
- This is in line with pre-pandemic levels.