CANADA deported no fewer than 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025, as the North American country intensified immigration enforcement at its fastest pace in more than a decade, official figures have revealed.
Data obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme sighted by News Point Nigeria show that, in addition to those already deported, 974 Nigerians are currently listed in the “removal in progress” inventory, meaning they are awaiting deportation from the country.
The statistics, updated on November 25, 2025, place Nigeria ninth among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada within the review period. Nigeria also ranked fifth among countries with the highest number of individuals awaiting removal.
A historical breakdown of the figures indicates that Nigerian deportations have fluctuated significantly over the years. In 2019, Canada removed 339 Nigerians, a number that dropped to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021, and 199 in 2022.
Nigeria did not appear among the top 10 deportation countries in 2023 and 2024, but returned to the list in 2025, recording 366 removals in just 10 months, representing an eight per cent increase compared to the 2019 figure.
The deportations are occurring amid an aggressive immigration enforcement drive by Canadian authorities. According to CBSA data, Canada is now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals every week, the highest rate recorded in over 10 years.
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Canada deported 18,048 individuals, spending approximately $78 million on removal operations.
Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally mandated to remove any foreign national with an enforceable removal order. Individuals may be declared inadmissible for several reasons, including security concerns, criminality, organised crime, human or international rights violations, health issues, financial reasons, misrepresentation, and non-compliance with immigration laws.
CBSA figures show 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 deportations.
Canadian law recognises three types of removal orders. A departure order requires individuals to leave Canada within 30 days. An exclusion order bars re-entry for between one and five years. A deportation order, the most severe, permanently bars individuals from returning unless special authorisation is granted.
The Canadian government says it is tightening immigration controls to meet revised immigration targets and respond to growing concerns over housing shortages, labour market pressures, and border security.
To support this policy shift, the government has allocated an additional $30.5 million over three years to strengthen removal operations, alongside a broader $1.3 billion investment in border security.
However, immigration advocates have raised concerns that deportations could increase further if Bill C-12, popularly referred to as the “border bill,” becomes law.
President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, warned that some provisions in the bill could permanently shut the door on asylum seekers.
“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.
Analysis of the CBSA data also revealed that Nigeria is the only African country listed among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada in 2025. Other African countries are categorised under “remaining nationals,” which collectively accounted for 6,233 removals within the same period.
The top 10 countries for deportations in 2025 are Mexico (3,972), India (2,831), Haiti (2,012), Colombia (737), Romania (672), the United States (656), Venezuela (562), China (385), Nigeria (366), and Pakistan (359).
Similarly, Nigeria is the only African country to feature in the top 10 of the removal-in-progress inventory, which is led by India (6,515), 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 remains a top destination for Nigerians seeking better education, employment, and living conditions.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, more than 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African migrant group and the fifth-largest recent immigrant population in the country.
Further data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show that 6,600 Nigerians became new permanent residents 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 contributing new citizens to Canada.
Canada’s ageing population and persistent labour shortages continue to drive demand for skilled professionals and international students, particularly from Nigeria underscoring the growing tension between immigration enforcement and economic needs.