Canada deported more than 3,300 Indian nationals during the first six months of 2026, making Indians the largest nationality among people removed from the country so far this year, according to data attributed to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The figures show that 3,323 Indian nationals were removed from Canada between January and June 2026. That is already about 88 per cent of the 3,779 Indian nationals removed during all of 2025, putting 2026 on pace to potentially surpass last year’s record.
The sharp increase comes as Canada continues tightening parts of its immigration system and seeks to reduce the number of temporary residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers.
Immigration removals can occur for a variety of reasons, including failure to comply with immigration requirements, unsuccessful refugee or asylum claims, overstaying authorized periods of stay, inadmissibility and cases involving immigration or visa fraud.
Indian nationals reportedly represented the largest nationality among removals during the first half of 2026, ahead of Mexican nationals, with 1,573 removals.
The numbers represent a significant change from previous years. Mexico had ranked first for removals for each of the previous five years, while India generally ranked second. India last topped the list in 2020, when 1,424 Indian nationals were removed.
The reported CBSA figures show a steady increase in removals involving Indian nationals over recent years. There were 603 removals in 2021, followed by 786 in 2022 and 1,132 in 2023. The number climbed sharply to 2,004 in 2024 before reaching 3,779 in 2025.
The trend could continue. According to the reported CBSA data, Indian nationals also make up the largest group in Canada’s “removal in progress inventory,” with 7,669 people awaiting removal.
Canada uses three main types of immigration removal orders: departure orders, exclusion orders and deportation orders. A departure order generally requires an individual to leave Canada within 30 days and confirm their departure with immigration authorities. An exclusion order prevents someone from returning for a specified period, while a deportation order generally prevents a person from returning to Canada unless they receive written authorization from the federal government.
The CBSA maintains information on the reasons people are removed from Canada, but the available data does not provide a country-by-country breakdown of those reasons. As a result, the overall deportation numbers should not be interpreted as showing why each Indian national was removed.
The figures highlight a significant shift in Canada’s immigration enforcement landscape, with the number of Indian nationals facing removal rising substantially over the past several years.