NEWS
Canada Deports 366 Nigerians in 10 Months as Immigration Crackdown Hits Fastest Pace in Over a Decade, 974 Others Face Imminent Removal
Canada deported 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025, as it intensified its immigration enforcement drive at the fastest pace in over a decade, official data obtained by Saturday PUNCH has shown.
The figure, sourced from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme statistics, also revealed that 974 Nigerians are currently listed in the “removal in progress” inventory, indicating that they are awaiting deportation from Canada.
According to the latest statistics updated on November 25, 2025, Nigeria ranked ninth among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada during the period under review. The data further showed that Nigeria occupies the fifth position among countries with the highest number of foreign nationals awaiting removal.
A closer examination of the figures highlights a fluctuating but generally upward trend in the deportation of Nigerians over recent years.
In 2019, Canada removed 339 Nigerians. This number declined to 302 in 2020, dropped further to 242 in 2021, and fell again to 199 in 2022.
Nigeria did not appear among the top 10 deported nationalities in 2023 and 2024. However, the country returned to the list in 2025, recording 366 removals within just 10 months. This represents an eight per cent increase compared to the 2019 figure, underscoring the renewed intensity of Canada’s immigration enforcement measures.
The spike in deportations coincides with Canada’s aggressive immigration crackdown, with the CBSA now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals every week, the highest weekly removal rate recorded in more than a decade.
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year alone, Canada deported 18,048 individuals, spending approximately $78m to carry out the removals.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally required to remove any foreign national issued an enforceable removal order. Individuals may be deemed inadmissible and face deportation on several grounds, including security concerns, violations of human or international rights, criminality, organised crime, health issues, financial reasons, misrepresentation, and non-compliance with immigration regulations.
Data shows that the majority of those removed, about 83 per cent are failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were rejected. Criminality accounts for approximately four per cent of all removals.
Canadian immigration law recognises three categories of removal orders. Departure orders require individuals to leave Canada within 30 days. Exclusion orders prohibit re-entry for a period ranging from one to five years. Deportation orders impose a permanent ban on return, unless special authorisation is granted.
The Canadian government has explained that the intensified deportation drive is part of broader efforts to tighten immigration targets and address mounting concerns related to housing shortages, labour market pressures, and border security.
To support this policy direction, the government allocated an additional $30.5m over three years to strengthen removal operations, while committing $1.3bn towards enhancing border security infrastructure.
Meanwhile, President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, has warned that deportations could rise even further if Bill C-12, also referred to as the ‘border bill,’ is passed into law.
“One of the clauses in that bill is that a lot of people will be permanently banned from filing a refugee claim in Canada,” Bondy said.
An analysis of CBSA data revealed that Nigeria is the only African country featured among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada in 2025. Other African countries were grouped under the category “remaining nationals,” which collectively accounted for 6,233 removals during the year.
The top 10 countries for deportations in 2025 are Mexico (3,972), India (2,831), Haiti (2,012), Colombia (737), Romania (672), United States (656), Venezuela (562), China (385), Nigeria (366), and Pakistan (359).
Similarly, in the removal-in-progress inventory, Nigeria remains the only African country listed in the top 10. India leads the list with 6,515 individuals awaiting removal, followed by Mexico (4,650), the United States (1,704), China (1,430), Nigeria (974), Colombia (895), Pakistan (863), Haiti (741), Brazil (650), and Chile (621).
Despite the rising deportation figures, Canada continues to be a highly attractive destination for Nigerians in search of better economic and educational opportunities. The 2021 Canadian census revealed that over 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the fifth-largest recent immigrant group and the largest African migrant population in the country.
Further data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada showed that 6,600 Nigerians arrived as new permanent residents within the first four months of 2024, ranking Nigeria as the fourth-largest source of new permanent residents, behind India, the Philippines, and China.
Between 2005 and 2024, more than 71,459 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria 10th among the top source countries for new Canadian citizens.
Canada’s ageing population and persistent labour shortages have continued to fuel demand for skilled professionals and international students, making the country an enduring destination of choice for many Nigerians, even as immigration enforcement tightens.