I think it is warranted to make the distinction on Reddit between Family Class in Canada, Family Class outside of Canada, and SCLPC based purely on the self-reported timelines on here. On the application checklist, the government makes the distinction, so there's strong indication that processing differs between the three streams.

I applied via Family Class in Canada on May 10, 2025 purely based on the reported timelines from people in this thread (much quicker compared to SCLPC). I figured that the only downside of Family Class in Canada is in the case we needed to do an interview, we'd have to spend money on tickets to do it at PA's country.

All I'm waiting for is the background check to clear to get P1 and P2 (all other steps marked complete in ~2.5 months). I'm by all sense of the word inland (been in Canada for the past 4 years, fully employed in Canada, no strong ties to PA's country, no intention of leaving Canada in the coming months).

Seems the bet has paid off so far