Canada Deports 366 Nigerians in 10 Months as Immigration Crackdown Intensifies
Daniel Theophilus Cole 
International News: Canada deported 366 Nigerian nationals between January and October 2025, according to the latest data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), marking Nigeria’s return to the country’s top 10 list of nationalities with the highest deportations for the first time in more than ten years.
The data, updated on November 25, 2025, shows Nigeria ranked ninth among the most deported nationalities during the period, reflecting an aggressive immigration enforcement push by Canadian authorities.
Beyond those already removed, the CBSA statistics reveal that 974 Nigerians are currently listed under “removal in progress,” meaning they are awaiting deportation from Canada. This places Nigeria fifth among nationalities with pending removal cases.
Deportation Figures Show Sharp Rebound in 2025
- 2019: 339 Nigerians deported
- 2020: 302
- 2021: 242
- 2022: 199
- 2023–2024: Nigeria absent from top 10
- 2025 (Jan–Oct): 366 deportations
The 2025 figure represents an eight percent increase compared to 2019, despite covering only ten months.
The surge comes amid Canada’s most aggressive immigration crackdown in over a decade. The CBSA is now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals per week, the highest pace recorded in more than ten years.
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Canada deported 18,048 people, spending approximately $78 million on removals.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally required to remove any foreign national with an enforceable removal order.
Individuals may be declared inadmissible for reasons including:
- Security concerns
- Human or international rights violations
- Criminality or organised crime
- Health or financial grounds
- Misrepresentation
- Non-compliance with immigration rules
About 83 percent of those removed are failed refugee claimants, while criminality accounts for roughly four percent of deportations.
Types of Removal Orders Under Canadian Law
- Departure Orders: Require individuals to leave within 30 days
- Exclusion Orders: Bar re-entry for one to five years
- Deportation Orders: Permanently bar re-entry unless special authorization is granted
The Canadian government says the intensified deportations are part of efforts to meet stricter immigration targets and respond to housing shortages, labour market pressures, and border security concerns.
To support this, Canada has allocated an additional $30.5 million over three years to strengthen removal operations, alongside a $1.3 billion investment in border security.
The President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, has warned that deportations could increase further if Bill C-12, also known as the “border bill,” is passed.
“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.
CBSA data shows Nigeria is the only African country featured in Canada’s top 10 nationalities deported in 2025. Other African countries were grouped under “remaining nationals,” which accounted for 6,233 removals during the year.
Top 10 Nationalities Deported from Canada in 2025:
- Mexico – 3,972
- India – 2,831
- Haiti – 2,012
- Colombia – 737
- Romania – 672
- United States – 656
- Venezuela – 562
- China – 385
- Nigeria – 366
- Pakistan – 359
