Canada has ramped up immigration enforcement at the fastest pace in more than a decade, deporting 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025, according to official data obtained by Saturday Punch.
The figures, taken from the Canada Border Services Agency’s Forced Migration Program statistics, also revealed that 974 Nigerians are currently in the “forcibly relocated” inventory, awaiting deportation from Canada.
According to the latest statistics updated on November 25, 2025, Nigeria ranks 9th among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada under review, with 974 Nigerians awaiting deportation coming in at 5th place.
A breakdown of the data showed that the deportation of Nigerians has fluctuated over the years.
In 2019, Canada expelled 339 Nigerians. This decreased to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021, and 199 in 2022.
Nigeria did not make the top 10 in 2023 and 2024, but returned to the list in 2025, recording 366 exclusions in just 10 months.
This represents an 8% increase compared to 2019 numbers.
The deportations come amid Canada’s aggressive immigration crackdown, with the CBSA currently deporting nearly 400 foreign nationals each week, the highest rate in more than a decade.
Canada laid off 18,048 people in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, costing about $78 million in the process.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA has a legal obligation to remove aliens through enforceable removal orders.
Individuals may be found inadmissible and expelled for a variety of reasons, including security reasons, violations of human or international rights, criminality, organized crime, health reasons, economic reasons, misrepresentation, and failure to comply with immigration regulations.
The majority of those excluded (approximately 83%) are asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been rejected.
Criminal removals account for approximately 4%.
Canadian law provides for three types of removal orders. One is a departure order, which requires an individual to leave within 30 days. Exclusion order prohibiting re-entry for one to five years. A deportation order that permanently prohibits an individual from returning home unless special permission is obtained.
The Canadian government says it is tightening immigration targets and stepping up deportations to address concerns about housing shortages, labor market pressures and border security.
It also allocated an additional $30.5 million over three years to strengthen removal efforts and pledged $1.3 billion to strengthen border security.
Aisling Bondi, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, had expressed concern that Bill C-12, also known as the Borders Bill, could lead to more deportations if passed.
“One of the provisions of that bill is that many people will be permanently barred from applying for asylum in Canada,” Bondi said.
Analysis of CBSA data reveals that Nigeria is the only African country in the top 10 countries targeted for deportation in 2025.
Other African countries are classified as “remaining nationals” and accounted for 6,233 deportations in 2025.
The top 10 countries for deportation in 2025 are 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).
Similarly, Nigeria (974) is the only African country in the top 10 for records of ongoing removals. India (6,515) is at the top of the list, followed by Mexico (4,650), the United States (1,704), China (1,430), Nigeria (974), Colombia (895), Pakistan (863), Haiti (741), and Brazil. (650), Chile (621).
Canada remains a popular destination for Nigerians seeking better opportunities. According to the 2021 Canadian Census, more than 40,000 Nigerians immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the fifth largest recent immigrant group and the largest population of African immigrants to Canada.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 6,600 Nigerians were granted new permanent resident status in the first four months of 2024, making them the fourth largest international population after India, the Philippines and China.
Between 2005 and 2024, more than 71,459 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, ranking Nigeria 10th among new Canadian citizenship countries.
Canada’s aging population and labor shortage make it an attractive destination for skilled professionals and students from Nigeria.
