Canada’s immigration enforcement is seeing an unprecedented uptick in the number of Indian nationals being forcibly removed. According to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), India’s citizens accounted for 1,932 removals in 2024 — a sharp rise of over 70 % compared with 2023’s figure of 1,129. Indians made up 11.5 % of all removals last year, up from 7.5 % in 2023.
The number has more than tripled since 2019 when just 625 Indian nationals were removed — representing 5.6 % of removals then.
What’s driving the surge?
Several factors are cited by Canadian officials and analysts:
- Canada’s government has signalled a tougher stance on foreign nationals found to be involved in criminal activity or who violate immigration rules. During a recent event, Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged the priority given to removals of “inadmissible foreign nationals” and announced efforts to speed up processes and improve tracking.
- Immigration workloads and irregular-stay concerns have grown. Many of the removals stem from cases involving individuals overstaying permits, abusing student or temporary worker routes, or proceeding through asylum systems and being found inadmissible.
- Some provincial and local jurisdictions express frustration over infrastructure and social services strains amid rising immigration volumes. That has fuelled political pressure for tighter enforcement.
Why Indian nationals?
India has become one of the largest source countries for recent immigrants and temporary residents in Canada (students, workers, etc.). As the volume from India increases, so do the absolute numbers of those flagged for removal when admissibility issues arise. For example, the removals-in-progress list shows large numbers of Indian nationals pending removal.
Broader implications
The trend raises questions for Canada–India relations and the Indian diaspora in Canada. With record removals, the issue may affect community perceptions, service-delivery to students and workers, and bilateral migration dialogues. For Indian nationals in Canada — especially those on temporary permits or awaiting status decisions — the rising removal numbers act as a reminder of the importance of full compliance with immigration rules.Canada is applying stronger removal pressures amid an evolving immigration and enforcement environment. Indian nationals now constitute a growing share of those removed — reflecting the changing profile of migration flows but also the heightened focus on enforcement. Whether this trend continues will depend on how Canada balances its immigration ambitions with the administrative and enforcement realities of removals.