What do you mean by "take"? Canadian employers aren't very familiar with a concept of working visa in practice - they prefer you to first have a permanent residence, then they can talk about hiring you. To get permanent residence, you have to pass the process, which is many months long.

Am I substantially missing something?

I think the gp is referring to Canada's point system. As long as you have enough points, then you will be admitted into Canada.

But how long is the wait?

In US, if - and that's a big if - you're lucky enough to win H-1b early April, you may start working early October. Is there anything as fast with Canada? Without employer agreeing to hire you even though you don't have a working visa - i.e., you have to apply for one?

Yes. Skilled worker visas which don't require employer sponsorship, and are open ended.

Hmm, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/skilled-... lists processing times in months. Options with many months of wait are known, but are there anything faster? Say, 90 days?

Not really. To get sponsored by an employer you need a labour market opinion and there are certain conditions (like no Canadian candidates applying for said position during a certain time period).

Nope. Unless anyone is someone who has 1 year experience (not just a degree) in one of just 24 allowed occupations, AND can get an application before a small cap is reached. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/complete-appl...