Canada deported 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025 as it intensified immigration enforcement at the fastest pace in over a decade.

Statistics from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme further revealed that 974 Nigerians are currently listed under “removal in progress,” awaiting deportation from Canada.

The data, last updated on November 25, 2025, showed that Nigeria ranked ninth among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada within the period under review. Nigeria also placed fifth among countries with the highest number of pending removals.

A breakdown of the figures showed that Nigerian deportations have fluctuated over the years.

In 2019, Canada deported 339 Nigerians; the number dropped to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021 and 199 in 2022. Nigeria did not feature among the top 10 deported nationalities in 2023 and 2024.

However, in 2025, the country returned to the list with 366 removals recorded within just 10 months—an eight per cent increase compared to the 2019 figure.

The deportations come amid an aggressive immigration crackdown in Canada, with the CBSA now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals weekly, the highest rate in more than a decade.

In the 2024–2025 fiscal year alone, Canada deported 18,048 individuals at a cost of approximately $78m.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally mandated to remove foreign nationals issued enforceable removal orders. Grounds for removal include security concerns, criminality, organised crime, health issues, financial reasons, misrepresentation, and non-compliance with immigration rules.

About 83 per cent of deportees are failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were rejected, while criminality accounts for roughly four per cent of removals.

Canadian law provides for three types of removal orders: departure orders, which require individuals to leave within 30 days; exclusion orders, which bar re-entry for one to five years; and deportation orders, which permanently prohibit re-entry unless special authorisation is granted.

Analysis of the CBSA data showed that Nigeria is the only African country among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada in 2025.

Other African countries were grouped under “remaining nationals,” accounting for 6,233 removals during the year.

The top 10 countries for deportations in 2025 were 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).

In the removal-in-progress inventory, Nigeria again emerged as the only African country in the top 10, with 974 persons awaiting deportation.

President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, had earlier warned that deportations could increase further if proposed border legislation 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,” she said.

Despite the rising deportations, Canada remains a major destination for Nigerians seeking better opportunities.

According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African immigrant group and the fifth-largest recent immigrant population.

Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada showed that 6,600 Nigerians obtained permanent residency in the first four months of 2024, ranking fourth behind India, the Philippines and China.

Between 2005 and 2024, no fewer than 71,459 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria 10th among countries of origin for new Canadian citizens.

Canada’s ageing population and labour shortages continue to drive demand for skilled professionals and students from Nigeria.