Canada spent more than $78 million deporting over 18,000 people in the 2024–25 fiscal year, marking the highest number of removals since the era of former prime minister Stephen Harper and signalling a sharp shift in federal immigration enforcement.
Data obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency shows that most of those deported were asylum seekers whose refugee claims had been rejected. The figure of 18,048 removals represents a 55 per cent increase compared with 2019 and is the highest annual total since 2012, when more than 19,000 people were removed under a Conservative government.
The rise comes as Ottawa tightens immigration targets and caps new international student permits, moves experts say are shrinking pathways to permanent residency for hundreds of thousands of temporary residents and are likely to drive deportation numbers even higher. Deportations include not only failed refugee claimants but also people who overstayed visas or violated the conditions of their work or study permits.
Federal spending on removals has climbed alongside enforcement. In 2019, Ottawa spent about $51 million on deportations. That number has now jumped by more than 50 per cent, bringing total removal costs since 2018 to more than $380 million.
The cost of removing someone varies widely. According to the CBSA, an unescorted deportation averages about $3,700, while escorted removals — required for medical reasons or when there are safety concerns — can cost roughly $12,500 per person.
In explaining the surge, the CBSA said it reflects a significant increase in foreign nationals entering Canada in recent years as visitors, workers and students, as well as a spike in refugee claims. “While the vast majority of foreign nationals comply with the conditions of their entry, some do not, and they then become subject to immigration enforcement,” the agency said.
To manage the growing workload, the CBSA pointed to $30.4 million in federal funding under Ottawa’s Border Plan to expand enforcement capacity, enabling up to 20,000 removals in each of the 2025–26 and 2026–27 fiscal years. The agency says it is already on track to exceed that target in 2025.
Critics, however, question the government’s priorities. Aisling Bondy, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, said the scale of spending on deportations sends a troubling message. “We’re dedicating so many resources to removing people from Canada while we’re in the midst of a housing crisis and cost-of-living crisis,” she said, arguing that funds could instead be directed toward social programs.
Catherine Connelly, a professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business who studies migrant workers, said the government’s abrupt policy shift is leaving many temporary residents vulnerable. “Deportations are likely to accelerate because of the large numbers of people who were admitted on a temporary basis and thought there was a very good chance they would become permanent residents,” she said.
CBSA data shows about 93 per cent of deportations since 2019 have been for non-compliance — people living in Canada without authorization, most of them failed refugee claimants. Only about seven per cent involved criminality or organized crime. That imbalance, Bondy said, raises concerns that speed and volume are being prioritized over fairness.
In her practice, she has seen clients given as little as a week’s notice before removal, leaving little time to seek a deferral or legal stay. “Officers could be put under pressure to prioritize numbers over due process,” she warned.
Advocates also point out that the deportation surge appears to contradict the Trudeau government’s 2021 pledge to explore a “regularization program” for undocumented migrants — a pathway that could grant legal status to workers already contributing to Canadian communities. After consultations in 2022, hopes were raised among an estimated 500,000 undocumented residents working in sectors such as construction, caregiving, agriculture and food processing. But the program has yet to materialize.
Asked about the status of the plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it could not speculate on future policy decisions, but acknowledged that keeping workers with needed skills in Canada and ensuring proper protections “makes sense” for the economy.
As deportations climb to levels not seen in more than a decade, critics say Canada now faces a defining question: whether enforcement will continue to dominate its immigration agenda, or whether pathways to stability for those already here will finally take shape.