Ugh when I called they told me the BGC can take anywhere from 1 day to a couple months! The agent also told me "hopefully you will be done in 12 months" like yeah.. thanks!When I asked that, the agent said that a lot of background checks go faster, and that sometimes it’s just a few weeks or even a week. It really sucks that it’s so slow to even start, but it’s still possible that it will be done within 12 months.
From your avatar it looks like you’re coming from the US which is supposed to be fast, so that might help?
Btw I think the BGC is short if you've previously applied for a work/study permit.