From Victor Osula, Abuja
Canada has announced one of its most extensive travel risk reassessments in recent years, updating advisories for 17 African countries between November 13 and 15, 2025, amid mounting concerns over worsening security conditions across the continent.
The sweeping revision, issued by Global Affairs Canada, forms part of a broader global security review that reaffirmed high-risk advisories for 34 countries worldwide. Canadian authorities say the updated warnings were driven by escalating political instability, intensifying armed conflicts, and the rise of transnational threats in several regions.
Officials noted that rapidly shifting local conditions, mass protests, and unpredictable political transitions have increasingly endangered travellers, prompting the need for heightened caution and more frequent advisory updates.
The development aligns with a wider international trend toward stricter mobility and border policies, mirroring the hard-line security posture of the United States under President Donald Trump, whose administration has prioritised tighter immigration controls and closer scrutiny of high-risk travel routes.
Africa remains at the centre of the adjustments, with numerous countries struggling with insurgencies, territorial fragmentation, and persistent civil unrest. Somalia, Sudan, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso continue to battle entrenched extremist violence, while Ethiopia and Nigeria face volatile political environments marked by mass demonstrations and recurrent communal clashes.
Under the revised guidelines, Global Affairs Canada placed the affected countries into two categories.
The Avoid All Travel classification—reserved for nations facing extreme security threats includes South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, and Sudan. Canadians in these areas are strongly urged to leave when possible.
The Avoid Non-Essential Travel category covers Madagascar, Ethiopia, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), Eritrea, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Tanzania, with some advisories applying specifically to high-risk regions within these countries. Travellers are urged to reconsider non-urgent trips and ensure they have contingency plans if already on the ground.
Canadian officials emphasised that the travel advisories remain subject to continuous review and may be updated as security conditions evolve across the affected regions.
The update underscores Canada’s growing concern over Africa’s instability and reinforces the government’s commitment to safeguarding its citizens amid increasingly volatile global travel conditions.
