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Canada deported 366 Nigerians from January to October 2025, according to official data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The figures, extracted from the CBSA’s Deportation Program and last updated on November 25, 2025, show that 974 Nigerians are currently listed as “in deportation” and awaiting deportation from Canada.
According to the data, Nigeria ranked 9th out of the top 10 countries expelled from Canada during the study period. Nigeria also ranked fifth among countries with the highest number of people awaiting removal.
A breakdown by year shows that deportations of Nigerians have fluctuated in recent years.
In 2019, Canada deported 339 Nigerians. That number decreased to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021, and 199 in 2022. Nigeria was not among the top 10 deported nationalities in 2023 and 2024, but returned to the list in 2025, recording 366 deportations in just 10 months.
The increase comes amid an aggressive immigration crackdown by Canadian authorities.
The CBSA is currently deporting nearly 400 foreigners each week, the highest deportation rate in more than a decade. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year alone, Canada laid off 18,048 people at a cost of approximately $78 million.
Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally required to remove aliens with enforceable removal orders.
Individuals may be declared inadmissible for a variety of reasons, ranging from security concerns, criminality and organized crime to misrepresentation, health problems, economic reasons, violations of human or international rights, and non-compliance with immigration regulations.
According to the CBSA, failed asylum applications account for approximately 83 percent of all deportations, and crime-related cases account for approximately 4 percent.
Canadian law recognizes three categories of removal orders. One is a departure order, which requires an individual to leave the country within 30 days. Exclusion order prohibiting re-entry for one to five years. A deportation order that permanently prohibits return unless special permission is granted.
The Canadian government says the stepped-up deportations are part of a broader effort to meet revised immigration targets and address housing shortages, labor market pressures and growing concerns about border security.
To this end, we have committed $1.3 billion to strengthen border security and allocated an additional $30.5 million over three years to strengthen removal operations.
Aisling Bondi, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, warned that passing Bill C-12, commonly referred to as the “border bill,” could lead to a further increase in deportations.
He noted that the bill’s provisions could permanently bar many people from applying for asylum in Canada.
Analysis of CBSA data reveals that Nigeria is the only African country in the top 10 nationalities to be deported in 2025.
Other African countries are classified as “remaining nationals” and together account for 6,233 deportations annually.
The top 10 countries for expulsions in 2025 were 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).
Nigeria also stands out as the only African country to feature on the top 10 list of people awaiting removal. India (6,515) had the most cases in this category, 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 deportation, Canada remains a major destination for Nigerians seeking better economic and educational opportunities.
According to the 2021 Canadian Census, more than 40,000 Nigerians immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest African immigrant group and the fifth largest group of recent immigrants overall.
Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship data reveals that 6,600 Nigerians were granted permanent resident status in the first four months of 2024, making the country fourth in the country after India, the Philippines and China.
Between 2005 and 2024, more than 71,000 Nigerians acquired Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria among the top 10 countries for new citizenship.
