Canada deported 366 Nigerian nationals between January and October 2025, marking a sharp rise in removals as immigration enforcement reached its highest level in more than a decade, official data have shown.
Figures from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme also indicate that 974 Nigerians are currently listed as removal in progress, meaning they are awaiting deportation. The data were last updated on November 25, 2025.
Nigeria ranked ninth among the top 10 countries with the highest number of deportees during the period under review and fifth among nationalities with the largest number of pending removals.
A review of historical records shows fluctuating deportation trends over the years. In 2019, 339 Nigerians were deported, before the number declined to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021 and 199 in 2022.
Nigeria did not appear among the top 10 deported nationalities in 2023 and 2024, but re-entered the list in 2025 with 366 removals recorded within 10 months—about an eight per cent increase compared with 2019.
The rise comes amid a broader enforcement drive by Canadian authorities. The CBSA is now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals weekly, the highest rate in over 10 years.
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year alone, Canada deported 18,048 people at an estimated cost of $78 million.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is required by law to remove foreign nationals subject to enforceable removal orders. Individuals may be deemed inadmissible on grounds including security concerns, human or international rights violations, criminal activity, organised crime, health or financial issues, misrepresentation, or breaches of immigration rules.
Available data show that failed refugee claimants account for about 83 per cent of removals, while cases linked to criminality represent roughly four per cent.
Canadian law provides for three types of removal orders: departure orders, exclusion orders and deportation orders.
Nigeria is the only African country among the top 10 nationalities deported in 2025. Other African countries are grouped under remaining nationals, which together accounted for 6,233 removals during the year. Mexico led the list with 3,972 deportations, 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).
Despite the increase in deportations, Canada remains a major destination for Nigerians. The 2021 census showed that more than 40,000 Nigerians migrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African migrant group.
Between 2005 and 2024, over 71,000 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria among the top 10 countries of origin for new Canadian citizens.
