The Canada Border Services Agency admitted it had 29,248 foreign fugitives at large in the department's "wanted inventory" while deportees totalled 10,041.

DOCUMENTS: @CanBorder says more than 29,000 foreign fugitives remain at large nationwide including those convicted of serious crimes: " don't quite understand why we would tolerate this."  https://t.co/9NvS6ql83B #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/MjdXnkpTii

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) October 20, 2023

The data about the number of foreign nationals loose inside Canada was first reported Friday morning in Blacklock's Reporter.

Losing track of foreign criminals is not a new problem for Canada's border guards.

Commons committee wants regular updates on number of foreign fugitives in Canada after @CanBorder loses track of 2,800 criminals due to be deported.https://t.co/jKIqLzL79I @OAG_BVG @taxpayerDOTcom #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/die19gqJsY

— Holly Doan (@hollyanndoan) February 26, 2021

In a 2021 report to the House of Commons, the CBSA admitted to losing track of 2,800 targets for deportation who were already convicted of criminal offences.

“Criminal cases are very important for public safety,” Auditor General Karen Hogan testified to the public accounts committee in February 2021.

DOCUMENTS show foreign fugitives have a better than 50-50 chance of evading deportation: "I don't quite understand why we would tolerate this." https://t.co/yEiXJuIodX #cdnpoli @MarcoMendicino @TomKmiec @CanBorder pic.twitter.com/zXUUSRsQx6

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) December 15, 2022

According to previous reporting by Blacklock's, “foreign fugitives have a better than 50-50 chance of dodging deportation, new records show. Of thousands of foreigners ordered out of the country in the past six years, fewer than half, 48 percent, were actually deported.”