Data show that 14,609 people were sent letters informing them they are facing deportation between 2016 and May, 2023
Members of the Canadian Border Services Agency gather at the Canadian border crossing in Surrey, B.C., on Oct. 16, 2012.Most people living in Canada who have been sent deportation letters in the past eight years are still in the country, according to official figures disclosed by the Canada Border Services Agency.
The figures show that 3,087 people – fewer than a quarter of people sent deportation letters since 2016 – have been removed from Canada. The CBSA reply also showed that 771 people with deportation letters had left the country voluntarily since 2021. Rebecca Purdy, a spokeswoman for the CBSA, said in a statement that the agency has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals who are subject to an enforceable removal order. In 2023, it enforced the removal of 14,962 people, she said.
“While some people subject to a removal order will be removed almost immediately, others will pursue legal recourse mechanisms available to them, which can take years to adjudicate,” she added. Immigration Minister Marc Miller is planning to create a path to citizenship for people who have lived and worked in Canada illegally for years, many of whom have children.