Canada granted asylum to 7,643 Nigerians between January 2024 and June 2026, with the number of successful applications rising by 55 per cent in 2025, according to data from the country’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
The figures show that Nigeria was Africa’s leading source of successful asylum seekers during the period, accounting for approximately one in every five refugee protection grants awarded to African nationals.
Data from the board’s Refugee Protection Division showed that 2,230 Nigerians received refugee protection in 2024, while the figure rose to 3,463 in 2025.
In the first six months of 2026, another 1,950 Nigerians were granted asylum, bringing the total for the 30-month period to 7,643.
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Despite the high number of successful applications, Canadian authorities rejected 3,080 Nigerian claims during the same period, while 1,530 cases were either abandoned or withdrawn.
Overall, 12,253 Nigerian cases were finalised between January 2024 and June 2026.
The figures showed that Nigeria ranked ahead of other African countries in asylum grants, with Uganda recording 3,943, Kenya 3,888, Ethiopia 2,982 and Ghana 2,000 during the period.
The Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 1,867 grants, followed by Rwanda with 1,699 and Cameroon with 1,643.
In 2025, the 3,463 successful Nigerian claims accounted for 6.9 per cent of the 50,067 refugee claims accepted globally by Canada.
During the first half of 2026, the 1,950 Nigerian grants represented 8.8 per cent of the 22,109 refugee protection applications approved worldwide.
Across all nationalities, Canada finalised 202,878 refugee claims between January 2024 and June 2026, granting protection to 118,656 applicants and rejecting 34,546.
African nationals accounted for an estimated 35,000 of the successful applications, representing about 29.5 per cent of the total grants during the period.
The data also highlighted a significant backlog of Nigerian asylum applications awaiting decisions.
As of December 31, 2024, the board had 19,889 Nigerian cases pending, nearly six times the 3,249 cases finalised that year.
In 2025, the number of Nigerian cases finalised increased to 5,039, comprising 3,463 approvals and 1,377 rejections, with the remaining cases falling into other categories.
Globally, the board finalised 79,462 refugee claims in 2025, approving 50,067 and rejecting 14,619.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is an independent federal tribunal responsible for deciding refugee protection claims under the country’s immigration laws.
Its Refugee Protection Division assesses whether applicants qualify as refugees under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention or as persons in need of protection because of risks they could face if returned to their home countries.
Applicants may qualify if they face persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. Protection may also be granted to people who face risks such as torture, death or cruel and unusual punishment if returned home.
Applicants whose claims are rejected may, where eligible, appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division or seek judicial review at the Federal Court.
The board received 107,802 new refugee claim referrals in 2025, with 299,614 cases pending as of December 31 of that year.
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