NEW DELHI: Canada deported 3,323 Indian nationals in the first six months of 2026, almost three times the 1,273 Indians the United States deported to India in nearly seven months.
According to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) data, the deportees this year account for nearly 88% of the 3,779 Indian nationals removed during the whole of 2025, which was itself a record high. If the current pace continues, Canada is on course to surpass last year’s figure and set a new annual record.
By comparison, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, 1,273 Indian nationals were deported from the US between January 1 and July 22, 2026. The US deported 3,567 Indian nationals in the whole of 2025, the highest figure since 2011. As many as 1,368 Indians were deported from the US in 2004.
The comparison is notable not only because of the gap in numbers, but also because Canada reached its 2026 figure in just six months, while the US figure covers nearly seven months.
The surge in Canada comes as Ottawa tightens its immigration system and seeks to reduce the number of temporary residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers. The government has also stepped up enforcement against people who no longer have legal status to remain in the country.
Indian nationals became the largest nationality group among people removed from Canada in the first half of 2026, overtaking Mexicans, who accounted for 1,573 removals. Mexico had topped Canada’s list of nationalities removed in each of the previous five years, while India had consistently ranked second.
India last occupied the top spot in 2020, when 1,424 Indian nationals were deported from Canada.
The number subsequently fluctuated before rising sharply in recent years. Canada deported 603 Indians in 2021, 786 in 2022, 1,132 in 2023 and 2,004 in 2024, before reaching 3,779 in 2025.
The reasons for removal include non-compliance with immigration rules, rejected asylum or refugee claims, visa overstays, and immigration or visa fraud. However, the CBSA maintains a separate database on the reasons for removal and does not provide a country-wise breakdown, making it difficult to determine how many Indian nationals were removed for each specific reason.
The number of Indians in Canada’s removal pipeline also remains high. CBSA data show that 7,669 Indian nationals were in the country’s “removal in progress inventory”, the largest group among nationalities awaiting removal.
Canada’s removal system broadly operates through three types of orders.
A departure order requires a person to leave Canada voluntarily, generally within 30 days. If the person does not leave within that period, the departure order automatically becomes a deportation order.
An exclusion order prevents a person from returning to Canada for a specified period, generally between one and five years.
A deportation order permanently bars a person from returning unless they obtain written authorisation from the Canadian government.
The rising number of Indian nationals being removed comes amid a broader recalibration of Canada’s immigration policy. After years of rapid population growth driven partly by temporary residents and international migration, Ottawa has introduced measures aimed at bringing down the number of temporary residents while tightening eligibility and enforcement.
The US, meanwhile, has also intensified immigration enforcement and deportations under President Donald Trump.