The Data obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals programme also showed that 974 Nigerians are currently listed under “removal in progress” and are awaiting deportation.
The statistics, last updated on November 25, 2025, placed Nigeria ninth among the top 10 countries whose citizens were removed from Canada within the period under review.
Records from the agency indicated that deportations of Nigerians have fluctuated over the years, reflecting shifts in immigration policies and enforcement priorities.
During the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Canada removed a total of 18,048 persons and reportedly spent about 78 million dollars on deportation operations.
Historical data showed that 339 Nigerians were deported in 2019, with the number dropping to 302 in 2020, 242 in 2021 and 199 in 2022.
Although Nigeria did not feature among the top 10 deportation countries in 2023 and 2024, it returned to the list in 2025 with 366 removals recorded within 10 months.
The figure represents an increase of about eight per cent compared to the 2019 deportation record.
Further analysis revealed that about 83 per cent of deported Nigerians were failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were rejected, while criminal offences accounted for roughly four per cent of removals.
Canadian authorities also disclosed that the government approved an additional 30.5 million dollars over three years to strengthen deportation efforts, alongside a 1.3 billion-dollar investment in border security.
Officials explained that the renewed enforcement drive is aimed at meeting revised immigration targets and easing pressures related to housing, labour supply and border control.
Meanwhile, the President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Ms Aisling Bondy, warned that deportations could rise further if Bill C-12, popularly referred to as the border bill, becomes law. She noted that some provisions of the bill could permanently bar certain migrants from filing refugee claims in Canada.
An examination of CBSA figures showed that Nigeria was the only African country listed among the top 10 nationalities deported in 2025. Other African countries were grouped under “remaining nationals,” which collectively accounted for 6,233 removals during the year.
The top 10 countries affected by deportations in 2025 were Mexico, India, Haiti, Colombia, Romania, the United States, Venezuela, China, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Similarly, Nigeria emerged as the only African country among the top 10 in the removal-in-progress category, led by India, followed by Mexico, the United States, China, Nigeria, Colombia, Pakistan, Haiti, Brazil and Chile.