Canada deported 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025, marking its most aggressive immigration enforcement drive in over a decade
Figures from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals program show that another 974 Nigerians are currently listed under “removal in progress,” awaiting deportation.
As of November 25, 2025, Nigeria ranked ninth among the 10 nationalities most frequently removed from Canada this year, while it placed fifth among countries with the highest number of pending removals.
A closer look at historical trends shows fluctuating numbers over the years. Canada removed 339 Nigerians in 2019, 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021, and 199 in 2022. Nigeria dropped out of the top 10 list in both 2023 and 2024, but re-emerged in 2025 with 366 deportations recorded in just 10 months—an increase of about eight percent compared with 2019.
The surge comes amid a broader crackdown, with the CBSA now deporting nearly 400 foreign nationals every week, the fastest pace in more than 10 years. During the 2024–2025 fiscal year alone, Canada removed 18,048 people at a cost of roughly $78 million.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally required to enforce removal orders against foreign nationals deemed inadmissible. Grounds for removal include security concerns, human or international rights violations, criminal activity, organized crime, health or financial issues, misrepresentation, and breaches of immigration rules.
About 83 percent of those deported are failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were denied, while criminal cases account for roughly four percent. Canadian law recognizes three types of removal orders: departure orders, which require exit within 30 days; exclusion orders, which bar re-entry for one to five years; and deportation orders, which permanently ban return unless special authorization is granted.
The Canadian government says the intensified removals are part of efforts to realign immigration targets and address housing shortages, labour market pressures, and border security challenges. To that end, it approved an additional $30.5 million over three years to boost removals and committed $1.3 billion to border security upgrades.
Aisling Bondy, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, warned that deportations could rise even further if Bill C-12, known as the border bill, becomes law. “According to Bondy, one provision in that legislation states that many individuals will face a permanent prohibition on submitting asylum applications in Canada.”
CBSA data shows Nigeria as the only African country among the top 10 nationalities deported in 2025. Other African countries fall under a broader “remaining nationals” category, which accounted for 6,233 removals this year.
Mexico led all countries with 3,972 removals in 2025, followed by India (2,831), Haiti (2,012), Colombia (737), Romania (672), the United States (656), Venezuela (562), China (385), Nigeria (366), and Pakistan (359). In the current removal inventory, India tops the list with 6,515 cases, 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). Nigeria remains the only African country in this top 10.
Despite the deportations, Canada continues to attract Nigerians seeking better opportunities. The 2021 Canadian census shows that over 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African immigrant group and the fifth-largest overall during that period. Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada also indicates that 6,600 Nigerians became permanent residents in the first four months of 2024 alone, ranking fourth behind India, the Philippines, and China.
Between 2005 and 2024, more than 71,459 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria as the 10th largest source country for new citizens. Canada’s ageing population and labour shortages continue to make the country an attractive destination for Nigerian professionals and students.
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