Canada has spent more than $78 million deporting over 18,000 people in the 2024-25 fiscal year, the most since the government of Stephen Harper, according to data obtained by the Star from the Canada Border Services Agency.
The vast majority of those deported have been asylum seekers whose refugee claims have been rejected, the data says.
The surge comes as the federal government tightens immigration targets and limits new international student permits, a shift that experts say is likely to fuel a rise in deportations as hundreds of thousands of temporary residents face shrinking pathways to permanent status and as a “regularization program” for undocumented migrants, initially promised by the Trudeau government, remains stalled.
… The deportation level in 2024 was the highest since 2012, when more than 19,000 people were removed under Harper’s Conservative government. Deportations include all removals enforced in a given fiscal year, including refugee claimants as well as those living, working or studying in Canada who have overstayed their legal status.
The Star wants you to believe Carney is deporting failed asylum seekers at the same rate as Harper!
But the Star commits a sin of omission failing to point out Harper outperformed Carney by a huge margin based on the total number of asylum seekers each administration has faced.
Google AI – How many asylum seekers did Canada receive in the year 2024 vs. 2012?
In 2024, Canada received approximately 190,000 new asylum claims, a significant increase compared to the 20,500 applications received in 2012.
She says — as Canadians face rising living costs, ongoing challenges in finding affordable housing, and increasing pressure on public services — refugees and newcomers have too often been unfairly cast as scapegoats for deeper systemic issues.
