Last Updated On 16 September 2026, 10:03 AM EDT (Toronto Time)
Canada has already enforced more than 12,000 immigration removals in the first seven months of 2026, and one nationality stands dramatically ahead of all others on the latest Canada Border Services Agency enforcement list.
A total of 3,717 Indian nationals were removed from Canada between January 1 and July 31, 2026, according to CBSA’s most recently published data.
That figure represents approximately 29.8% of all enforced removals recorded during that period, meaning nearly three in every ten people removed from Canada so far this year held Indian citizenship.
India also leads CBSA’s much larger removal-in-progress inventory, with 8,817 Indian nationals currently listed among cases actively moving through the enforcement pipeline.
The 12,491 enforced removals recorded through July 31, 2026, therefore include a mix of deportation orders, exclusion orders, and departure orders.
Table of Contents
CBSA’s Latest Extortion Crackdown Leads To 111 Removals
Alongside its broader removal operations, CBSA announced on September 14, 2026, that its targeted enforcement initiative against extortion networks had resulted in 111 removals from Canada.
As of September 3, 2026, the agency reported that 188 removal orders had been issued on various inadmissibility grounds as part of this initiative, with 111 of those individuals already removed.
The regional breakdown of the extortion-linked enforcement activity is as follows.
| Region | Removal Orders Issued | Individuals Removed |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Region | 91 | 58 |
| Prairie Region | 47 | 30 |
| Greater Toronto Area | 50 | 23 |
| Total | 188 | 111 |
CBSA began formally tracking immigration enforcement cases with potential links to extortion in the Pacific and Prairie regions in August 2025, later extending the initiative to the Greater Toronto Area in November 2025.
The agency highlighted four recent individuals linked to extortion or organized criminal schemes who were removed from Canada.
Palwinder Singh was removed after the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada found him inadmissible for being a member of a criminal organization linked to extortion-related violence, including an extortion-related shooting in the fall of 2025.
Jasmer Singh, who had been convicted in Canada of forcible confinement, was found inadmissible for serious criminality and was issued a deportation order before being removed.
Amitoz Bajwa was removed after the IRB found him inadmissible for being a member of an organization engaged in a pattern of criminal activity, with links to firearms-related activity and an extortion-related shooting.
Sahibjot Singh was found inadmissible by the IRB for links to an organization engaged in a pattern of criminal activity and acknowledged committing offences forming part of that organization’s criminal pattern before being removed.
It is important to note that the 111 extortion-linked removals represent a separate targeted initiative and should not be merged with the nationality-level statistics presented earlier.
CBSA’s release does not identify the citizenship of the 111 removed individuals, and the agency has emphasized that these cases involve investigations into potential links to extortion and can involve different inadmissibility grounds.
Indians Top Canada’s Latest Removal List
India’s position at the top of CBSA’s 2026 removal list is not merely a matter of leading by a narrow margin.
The gap between India and the second-ranked nationality, Mexico, is substantial.
Mexico recorded 1,936 enforced removals through July 31, meaning India’s total is nearly double that of the next closest country.
This represents a significant shift from recent years, when Mexico consistently led CBSA’s nationality rankings.
Top 10 Nationalities Removed From Canada In 2026
The following table shows the top 10 citizenship groups in CBSA’s enforced removal statistics through July 31, 2026.
| Citizenship | Enforced Removals (Jan–Jul 2026) |
|---|---|
| India | 3,717 |
| Mexico | 1,936 |
| United States | 510 |
| Colombia | 473 |
| Haiti | 414 |
| Romania | 356 |
| Bangladesh | 269 |
| Nigeria | 260 |
| Turkey | 253 |
| China | 230 |
| Remaining nationalities | 4,073 |
| Total | 12,491 |
Several features of this table are worth noting.
The United States ranks third with 510 removals, reflecting the fact that enforcement applies to nationals from all countries, including Canada’s closest ally and neighbour.
Colombia, Haiti, and Romania round out the middle of the list, while Bangladesh, Nigeria, Turkey, and China each recorded between 230 and 269 removals.
The remaining nationalities not individually listed account for 4,073 removals combined, illustrating that CBSA’s enforcement mandate reaches a wide range of citizenship groups.
India Also Tops Canada’s Removal-In-Progress List
Beyond the 12,491 removals that have already been enforced, CBSA maintains a separate inventory of cases still working through the enforcement pipeline.
As of July 31, 2026, this removal-in-progress inventory contained 44,781 individuals.
India leads this inventory as well, with 8,817 Indian nationals currently listed.
| Citizenship | Removal-In-Progress Inventory |
|---|---|
| India | 8,817 |
| Mexico | 6,239 |
| Nigeria | 2,264 |
| China | 1,867 |
| United States | 1,641 |
| Colombia | 1,372 |
| Pakistan | 1,291 |
| Bangladesh | 1,190 |
| Ghana | 1,083 |
| Remaining nationalities | 17,698 |
| Total | 44,781 |
*Note: CBSA’s published citizenship rows do not add up to its stated removal-in-progress total of 44,781. The displayed rows are short by 1,319 cases, but CBSA’s published table does not identify those 1,319 cases as Haiti. Immigration News Canada has therefore reproduced only the citizenship figures explicitly published by CBSA.
The removal-in-progress inventory includes individuals who can currently be processed for removal but whose cases may face practical barriers, including the issuance of travel documents by foreign governments.
CBSA also maintains separate inventories for individuals who are not yet actionable (452,178 cases), those whose removal is not currently possible (36,027 cases), and wanted individuals whom CBSA is working to locate (34,039 cases).
The combined total across all four inventories stood at 567,025 as of July 31, 2026.
How 2026 Indian Removal Numbers Compare With 2025
The 2026 data becomes even more striking when placed alongside the full-year 2025 figures.
During the entire 2025 calendar year, Canada removed 3,779 Indian nationals.
By July 31, 2026, with five full months still remaining in the year, Canada had already removed 3,717 Indian nationals.
That means the first seven months of 2026 had reached approximately 98.4% of the total number of Indian nationals removed during the entire previous year.
At the current pace, the 2026 full-year total for Indian nationals is on track to significantly exceed the 2025 total.
The shift is also visible in the nationality rankings.
In 2025, Mexico led the removal list with 4,837 removals and India ranked second with 3,779.
In the latest 2026 data, India has overtaken Mexico to occupy the number-one position, while Mexico’s 2026 total through July (1,936) is running well below its 2025 pace.
| Citizenship | Full Year 2025 | Jan–Jul 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 3,779 | 3,717 |
| Mexico | 4,837 | 1,936 |
| Haiti | 2,275 | 414 |
| Colombia | 892 | 473 |
| Romania | 828 | 356 |
| United States | 803 | 510 |
How Many People Has Canada Removed Each Month In 2026?
CBSA publishes monthly removal figures that reveal significant variation across the first seven months of the year.
| Month | Enforced Removals |
|---|---|
| January | 2,652 |
| February | 1,267 |
| March | 1,423 |
| April | 1,787 |
| May | 2,217 |
| June | 1,599 |
| July | 1,546 |
| Total (Jan–Jul) | 12,491 |
January recorded the highest monthly total at 2,652 enforced removals, followed by May at 2,217. February was the lowest month at 1,267 removals.
The data does not show a consistent month-over-month increase or decrease, and CBSA has previously noted that removal volumes can fluctuate due to factors including court proceedings, travel document availability, and international cooperation timelines.
Canada Recorded A Historic Removal High In 2025
The 2025 calendar year marked a record for CBSA enforcement.
The agency carried out 23,160 enforced removals during the year, which Public Safety Canada and CBSA have described as the highest number of inadmissible persons removed in the history of the agency.
The following table places 2026’s partial-year total in historical context.
| Year | Total Enforced Removals |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 12,858 |
| 2021 | 7,523 |
| 2022 | 8,335 |
| 2023 | 15,231 |
| 2024 | 17,397 |
| 2025 | 23,160 |
| 2026 (through July 31) | 12,491 |
The 2021 figure of 7,523 was depressed by travel restrictions and operational limitations during the pandemic.
Removals increased sharply from 2022 through 2025, rising from 8,335 to 23,160, with 2025 reaching the highest annual removal total recorded in CBSA history.
The 2026 figure of 12,491 through seven months should not be directly compared against the full-year totals above without noting that five months of data remain outstanding.
It would be premature to claim that 2026 will surpass the 2025 record based on the available partial-year data alone.
What the data does show clearly is that the 2026 surge in Indian national removals is one of the most distinctive enforcement trends visible in this year’s CBSA statistics.
Why Are People Being Removed From Canada?
Understanding why individuals are removed from Canada requires looking at CBSA’s inadmissibility data, which breaks down enforced removals by the legal grounds under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
| Inadmissibility Ground | Removals (Jan–Jul 2026) |
|---|---|
| Non-compliance (s. 41) – refugee claimants | 10,050 |
| Non-compliance (s. 41) – non-claimants | 1,544 |
| Criminality (s. 36) | 746 |
| Other inadmissibility grounds | 84 |
| Misrepresentation (s. 40) | 67 |
| Total | 12,491 |
The most significant takeaway from this table is that 10,050 of the 12,491 enforced removals, or approximately 80.4%, involved non-compliance by refugee claimants.
This category includes refugee claimants whose claims were not approved and individuals who did not pursue their claims or comply with requirements under the refugee determination process.
An additional 1,544 removals involved non-compliance by individuals who were not refugee claimants, such as people who overstayed visas or violated the conditions of work or study permits.
Criminality under section 36 of IRPA accounted for 746 removals, representing approximately 6% of the total.
The “other” category of 84 removals covers inadmissibility on grounds including security concerns under section 34, human or international rights violations under section 35, organized crime under section 37, health grounds under section 38, financial inadmissibility under section 39, cessation under section 40.1, and inadmissible family members under section 42.
Misrepresentation, which includes making false statements or withholding material information in immigration applications, accounted for 67 removals.
This breakdown is critical because it demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of enforced removals in 2026 are not criminal deportations.
CBSA does not publish a nationality-by-inadmissibility cross-tabulation in this dataset, which means the fact that Indian nationals lead the overall removal list does not, on its own, tell us how many Indian nationals were removed for criminality versus non-compliance or other grounds.
Deportation vs Removal: What Is The Difference?
Canadian immigration law draws an important distinction between the general concept of removal and the specific legal category of a deportation order.
When public discussion and news headlines refer to “deportation,” they are typically using the term as a broad shorthand for any removal from Canada.
However, CBSA tracks three separate types of removal orders, and the consequences of each one differ significantly.
Through July 31, 2026, CBSA recorded the following removal-order breakdown.
| Removal Order Type | Number (Jan–Jul 2026) |
|---|---|
| Deportation order | 7,333 |
| Departure order | 2,618 |
| Exclusion order | 2,540 |
| Total | 12,491 |
Deportation orders accounted for 7,333 of the 12,491 enforced removals, or approximately 58.7% of the total.
The remaining 41.3% were departure orders and exclusion orders, which carry different re-entry rules.
Three Types Of Canada Removal Orders Explained
Each removal order type under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act carries specific consequences for the individual’s ability to return to Canada.
Departure order: This order requires the individual to leave Canada within 30 days after it becomes enforceable and to confirm their departure with CBSA by obtaining a certificate of departure.
If the individual does not leave within 30 days, the departure order automatically becomes a deportation order.
Exclusion order: This order requires the individual to leave Canada and generally bars them from returning for one year.
If the exclusion order was issued on grounds of misrepresentation under section 40 of IRPA, the bar extends to five years.
In either case, the individual may apply for an Authorization to Return to Canada where applicable.
Deportation order: This is the most serious type of removal order.
It requires the individual to leave Canada and permanently bars them from returning unless they obtain written Authorization to Return to Canada from IRCC.
How Removals Are Carried Out
Not every enforced removal involves CBSA officers physically escorting someone onto a flight.
According to CBSA’s 2026 data through July 31, approximately 66% of removals were confirmed departures from Canada, meaning CBSA verified that the individual left the country and issued a certificate of departure.
Approximately 34% were administrative removals, a category CBSA uses for cases where sufficient evidence establishes that an individual who did not formally confirm their departure is no longer in Canada and the removal order can be administratively enforced.
Less than 1% fell into other verification methods.
What The Latest CBSA Numbers Mean For The Rest Of 2026
Canada’s immigration enforcement apparatus is operating at an elevated tempo heading into the final months of 2026.
CBSA has stated it is removing approximately 400 people per week, the removal-in-progress inventory contains nearly 45,000 individuals, and the government has committed significant new funding and staffing to enforcement.
Bill C-12, which received Royal Assent in March 2026, introduced new asylum-claim eligibility rules and changes intended to make asylum processing more efficient, including provisions that can make removal orders effective sooner in certain circumstances.
The targeted extortion crackdown is continuing, with CBSA signalling that further investigations and removals will follow as cases progress.
For Indian nationals specifically, the data suggests that the full-year 2026 removal total is very likely to exceed the 2025 figure of 3,779.
The broader removal-in-progress inventory of 8,817 Indian nationals indicates that enforcement activity involving Indian citizens will remain a prominent feature of CBSA operations well beyond September.
Whether the overall 2026 annual removal total will match or exceed the record 23,160 set in 2025 will depend on CBSA’s operational capacity, legal proceedings, the availability of travel documents from foreign governments, and the pace at which cases clear the remaining enforcement stages.
What is clear from the latest data is that Canada’s immigration enforcement system is operating at historically elevated levels, Indian nationals now occupy the most prominent position in the country’s removal statistics, and the federal government has signalled no indication that this enforcement posture will soften before the year ends.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many people has Canada deported in 2026?
Canada enforced 12,491 immigration removals between January 1 and July 31, 2026, according to the latest CBSA data. These enforced removals include three types of removal orders under Canadian immigration law: deportation orders (7,333), departure orders (2,618), and exclusion orders (2,540). The term “deported” in popular usage refers broadly to all removals from Canada, but only deportation orders, which accounted for approximately 58.7% of the total, are technically classified as deportations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. CBSA has stated it is currently removing approximately 400 inadmissible individuals per week, and additional removals will continue to be recorded through the remainder of the year.
Which nationality has the most deportations from Canada in 2026?
India leads CBSA’s 2026 removal list with 3,717 enforced removals recorded through July 31, representing approximately 29.8% of all removals during that period. Mexico ranks second with 1,936, followed by the United States (510), Colombia (473), and Haiti (414). India also leads CBSA’s removal-in-progress inventory with 8,817 cases as of July 31, 2026. This marks a shift from 2025, when Mexico led the annual removal list with 4,837 and India ranked second with 3,779. CBSA does not break down nationality data by removal-order type or by inadmissibility ground, so the 3,717 figure includes Indian nationals removed under all three types of removal orders and across all inadmissibility categories.
Why is Canada removing so many Indian nationals in 2026?
CBSA’s published data does not offer a specific explanation for why India leads the 2026 removal list, and the agency does not publish a cross-tabulation of nationality by inadmissibility ground.
What the broader inadmissibility data shows is that 80.4% of all 2026 enforced removals involved non-compliance by refugee claimants. This category includes claimants whose claims were not approved as well as individuals who did not pursue their claims or comply with requirements under the refugee determination process.
An additional 12.4% involved non-compliance by non-claimants, such as visa overstayers or work and study permit violators, while 6% involved criminality. The overall data suggests that the majority of removals across all nationalities are connected to the refugee determination system rather than to criminal inadmissibility.
Can someone return to Canada after being deported?
The answer depends on which type of removal order was issued. A departure order allows the individual to leave Canada voluntarily within 30 days and, once confirmed, does not bar future applications to return. An exclusion order bars the individual from returning for one year, or five years if it was issued on misrepresentation grounds, unless they obtain an Authorization to Return to Canada. A deportation order permanently bars the individual from returning unless they obtain a written Authorization to Return to Canada from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
When assessing an Authorization to Return to Canada application, immigration officers consider factors including the reason for the original removal order, how much time has passed, the applicant’s current circumstances, the reason they want to return, and whether the circumstances that led to the removal have changed. Any underlying inadmissibility must also be resolved before an Authorization to Return to Canada can be issued.
How many people are currently waiting to be removed from Canada?
As of July 31, 2026, CBSA’s removal-in-progress inventory contained 44,781 individuals who could currently be processed for removal. Beyond that, 452,178 individuals were in the not-yet-actionable inventory, which includes people with pending refugee applications or other unresolved proceedings. A further 36,027 were in the removal-not-possible category due to factors such as pending Federal Court appeals or criminal proceedings, and 34,039 were listed as wanted individuals whom CBSA is actively working to locate. The combined total across all four removal sub-inventories stood at 567,025. India leads the removal-in-progress inventory with 8,817 cases, followed by Mexico (6,239), Nigeria (2,264), and China (1,867).
Fact-Checked: The information presented in this article is based on official data published by the Canada Border Services Agency on its immigration removal statistics page, last modified September 11, 2026, and on CBSA news releases published on Canada.ca. All figures, percentages, and legal explanations have been independently verified against these primary sources.
Disclaimer: This article is published for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Individuals facing removal proceedings or immigration enforcement action should consult a qualified immigration lawyer or a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
You may also like: New Ontario Minimum Wage Increase Coming In October 2026
10 New Ontario Laws and Rules In September 2026
These International Students In Canada Set To Face Increased Scrutiny
Entry-Level CRA Jobs Hiring Now Across Canada, Salary Up To $73,595