Last year, 1,997 Indians were subject for forced removals by Canadian authorities, trailing only 3,683 Mexicans and far over the third largest cohort, 981 Colombians.
According to the latest data from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), the figure till July 28, 2025, for Indian nationals removed was already at 1,891, second, again, only to 2,678 Mexicans.
The removals for Indians have ballooned over the past years. For instance, in 2019, it was at just 625, less than a third of the 2024 total.
Indians top the countrywise list when it comes to the inventory for removals in progress, with 6,837, followed by 5,170 Mexicans and 1,734 citizens of the United States. Of the total inventory of 30,733, as many as 27,103 were refugee claimants. Indians also form the largest cohort in the category of asylum seekers.
These numbers could continue to rise as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney indicated that there were plans to speed up the process.
Responding to a media query during an event in Toronto on Thursday on whether his government will focus on deporting foreign criminals, Carney said, “The short answer is yes, there are plans to make in faster, to make it better resources and to improve the tracking.
That’s part of a broader set of reforms that we are making to the immigration system here in Canada.” The question related to asylum seekers, as well as those on temporary resident permits.
Anti-immigration sentiment is burgeoning in Canada. On October 10, in a release, Peel Regional Police or PRP, for the first time, stated it was “actively engaged with the Peel Crown Attorney’s Office and the Canada Border Services Agency which will determine whether removal of accused foreign nationals from Canada may be pursued as part of the judicial process.”
That was in connection with the arrest of eight men in connection with the alleged theft of 450 pieces of mail, totalling a combined worth of more than CA$400,000.
Those arrested face a combined total of 344 charges and were identified as Sumanpreet Singh, Gurdeep Chattha, Jashandeep Jattana, Harman Singh, Jasanpreet Singh, Manroop Singh, Rajbir Singh, and Upinderjit Singh.
After being arrested for alleged mail theft, eight Indian nationals in Canada are facing deportation. As per the police, the group allegedly stole mail worth over $400,000. After a months-long investigation into a mail theft operation, Peel Regional Police apprehended the group last month.
The investigation, launched in April, revealed that the group systematically targeted residential mailboxes in Mississauga and Brampton. Peel Regional Police is collaborating with the Crown Attorney’s Office and Canada Border Services Agency to explore deportation proceedings for the accused.
During the search at the locations related to the accused, 450 pieces of stolen mail, including 255 cheques, 182 credit cards, 35 government-issued IDs, and 20 gift cards were recovered. The total value of the stolen items is estimated to exceed $400,000 CAD (approx. Rs 2.44 crore).