I wrote a letter on the 1st of November 2018 to the Visa office in London where my last application was processed and got the following reply:
As indicated on our website, the processing times provided are based on how long it took to process 80% of all applications during that time period and are subject to change. As these processing times refer to 80% of applications, some applications will fall outside of these timeframes. In addition, as they are an average, there will be some fluctuations in processing times at peak periods during the course of the year.
That being said, please be assured that your application has been received and is currently in active process and we are making every effort to complete processing as expeditiously as possible. As soon as processing is completed we will contact you.
If you are no longer interested in visiting Canada, please inform our office in writing that you wish to withdraw your application. As processing of your application has already commenced, a processing fee refund would not be applicable.