Ayomide Awe
Canada has deported 643 Nigerians within the last 18 months, placing Nigeria among the top 10 nationalities removed from the North American country and making it the only African nation on the list.
Official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency showed that 438 Nigerians were deported in 2025, while another 205 were removed between January and June 2026.
The latest Immigration Removal Statistics released by the agency ranked Nigeria as the 10th highest nationality removed in 2025 before moving up to ninth position in the first half of 2026.
The CBSA said immigration removals involve foreign nationals who no longer have the legal right to remain in Canada.
Data from the agency indicated that deportations of Nigerians have fluctuated over the past six years.
Canada deported 302 Nigerians in 2020, 242 in 2021 and 200 in 2022. Nigeria dropped out of the country’s top 10 deportation list in 2023 and 2024 before returning in 2025 with 438 removals.
By June 2026, another 205 Nigerians had already been deported.
Nigeria remained the only African country listed among the top 10 nationalities removed from Canada in both 2025 and the first half of 2026.
Other countries on the list included India, Mexico, Haiti, Colombia, Romania, the United States, Pakistan, Venezuela, China, Bangladesh and Chile.
The figures also showed that Canada has significantly intensified immigration enforcement in recent years.
According to the CBSA, total enforced removals rose from 12,858 in 2020 to 23,160 in 2025, the highest annual figure recorded within the six-year period covered by the report.
Between January and June 2026 alone, Canada carried out 10,607 removals, suggesting the country could record another high deportation figure by the end of the year if the current pace is sustained.
In 2025, Mexico recorded the highest number of deportations with 4,837 nationals removed, followed by India with 3,779 and Haiti with 2,275. Nigeria ranked 10th with 438 removals.
For the first half of 2026, India topped the list with 3,323 deportations, followed by Mexico with 1,573, while Nigeria ranked ninth with 205 removals.
The CBSA attributed most deportations to violations of Canada’s immigration laws, particularly cases involving failed refugee claimants.
In 2025, the agency recorded 19,225 removals involving refugee claimants found inadmissible for non-compliance with immigration regulations, while 2,549 other removals involved non-claimants on similar grounds.
Other deportations were linked to criminality, organised crime, misrepresentation and other violations under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The report further showed that most deportees left Canada voluntarily without escorts.
Of the 23,160 removals recorded in 2025, 20,619 were unescorted, while 1,639 required escorts.
Between January and June 2026, 9,862 deportees left unescorted, compared to 542 escorted removals.
Despite the increased enforcement, the CBSA disclosed that it still had 40,827 removal cases pending as of June 30, 2026, while the total inventory of immigration enforcement files exceeded 572,000.
The agency said many of the pending cases were delayed by refugee claims, court proceedings, travel document issues and other legal or administrative processes.
The CBSA maintained that enforcing removal orders promptly was necessary to protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and ensure fairness for those who enter or remain in the country legally.
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