According to official statistics our correspondent was able to collect, Canada increased its immigration enforcement campaign at the fastest rate in more than ten years, deporting 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025.
According to Saturday PUNCH, the data, which came from the removals program statistics of the Canada Border Services Agency, also showed that 974 Nigerians are presently in the “removal in progress” inventory, awaiting deportation from Canada.
According to the most recent data, which was updated on November 25, 2025, Nigeria came in ninth place among the top ten nations deported from Canada under review, with 974 Nigerians in fifth place among those who were pending deportation.
Data analysis revealed that deportations from Nigeria had varied over time.
339 Nigerians were deported from Canada in 2019; this number fell to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021, and 199 in 2022.
Nigeria returned to the list in 2025 after 366 deletions in just 10 months, despite not making the top 10 in 2023 or 2024.
When compared to the 2019 figure, this indicated an eight percent gain.
The CBSA is currently deporting around 400 foreign people every week, the highest number in more than ten years, as part of Canada’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
Canada used around $78 million to remove 18,048 persons during fiscal year 2024–2025.
The CBSA is legally required to remove any foreign individual with an enforceable removal order under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
For a variety of reasons, including security concerns, abuses of human or international rights, criminal activity, organized crime, health concerns, financial motives, deception, and noncompliance with immigration regulations, people may be deemed inadmissible and subject to deportation.
Approximately 83% of those being deported are unsuccessful refugee applicants whose asylum requests were turned down.
About 4% of removals are due to criminal activity.
According to Canadian law, there are three different kinds of removal orders: deportation orders, which forbid people from returning unless they receive special authorization; exclusion orders, which prohibit re-entry for one to five years; and departure orders, which mandate that people leave within 30 days.
In an effort to tighten immigration targets and address issues with housing shortages, labor market pressures, and border security, the Canadian government claims it is stepping up deportations.
In addition, it committed $1.3 billion to improve border security and $30.5 million over three years to support removal efforts.
Aisling Bondy, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, had voiced worries that if Bill C-12, popularly referred to as the “border bill,” is passed, deportations could increase even more.
Many persons will be permanently prohibited from submitting a refugee claim in Canada, according to one of the bill’s provisions, Bondy stated.
Nigeria is the only African nation included in the top 10 nationalities for deportations in 2025, according to an analysis of the CBSA statistics.
The category of “remaining nationals,” which included 6,233 removals in 2025, includes other African countries.
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) are the top 10 countries for removals in 2025.
Nigeria (974) is the only African nation to rank in the top 10 in the removal-in-progress record. India (6,515) leads the inventory, 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).
Nigerians looking for better chances continue to flock to Canada.
Over 40,000 Nigerians immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the largest group of African migrants in Canada and the fifth-largest recent immigrant group, according to the 2021 Canadian census.
In the first four months of 2024, 6,600 Nigerians became new permanent residents, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This made Nigerians the fourth-largest group of foreigners to be granted permanent status, behind China, India, and the Philippines.
Nigeria ranked 10th among source nations for new Canadian citizens, with around 71,459 Nigerians obtaining citizenship between 2005 and 2024.
Nigerian students and talented professionals are drawn to Canada due to its aging population and labor shortages.
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