Canada deported 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025 as immigration enforcement reached its fastest pace in more than a decade, official figures have shown.
Data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme also indicated that 974 Nigerians are currently listed under “removal in progress,” meaning they are awaiting deportation from the country.
The statistics, updated on November 25, 2025, placed Nigeria ninth among the top 10 countries whose nationals were removed from Canada during the period under review. Nigeria also ranked fifth among countries with the highest number of persons awaiting removal.
A review of historical data showed fluctuating removal figures for Nigerians over the years. Canada deported 339 Nigerians in 2019, 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021 and 199 in 2022. Nigeria dropped out of the top 10 list in 2023 and 2024 but re-emerged in 2025 with 366 removals recorded within 10 months, representing an increase of about eight per cent compared to 2019.
The latest removals are part of Canada’s intensified immigration crackdown, with the CBSA now removing close to 400 foreign nationals weekly, the highest rate in over a decade..
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year, a total of 18,048 people were removed at a cost of about $78m.
Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is mandated to remove any foreign national with an enforceable removal order.
Individuals may be declared inadmissible on grounds ranging from security and criminality to misrepresentation, health issues, financial reasons and non-compliance with immigration rules.
About 83 per cent of those removed are failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were rejected, while criminality accounts for roughly four per cent of removals.
Canadian law recognises three types of removal orders: departure orders, exclusion orders and deportation orders, each carrying varying conditions and restrictions on re-entry.
The Canadian government has linked the increased deportations to efforts to meet tighter immigration targets and respond to housing shortages, labour market pressures and border security concerns.
Authorities have earmarked an additional $30.5m over three years to strengthen removals and committed $1.3bn to broader border security initiatives.
President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, has warned that deportations could rise further if Bill C-12, known as the border bill, is passed.
She noted that provisions in the proposed legislation could permanently bar some individuals from filing refugee claims in Canada.
An analysis of the CBSA data showed that Nigeria is the only African country listed among the top 10 nationalities deported in 2025. Other African countries were grouped under “remaining nationals,” which accounted for 6,233 removals.
Mexico topped the list of removals with 3,972 cases, followed by India with 2,831 and Haiti with 2,012. Others in the top 10 included Colombia, Romania, the United States, Venezuela, China, Nigeria and Pakistan.
A similar trend appeared in the removal-in-progress inventory, where Nigeria again emerged as the only African country in the top 10.
Despite the crackdown, Canada remains a major destination for Nigerians.
Census data showed that over 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African migrant group. Immigration records also indicated that 6,600 Nigerians became permanent residents in the first four months of 2024, while more than 71,000 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship between 2005 and 2024, reflecting the country’s continued appeal amid labour shortages and an ageing population.