Home is supposed to be a place where you can feel safe. For Olufunlayo, it took years of violence, fear and starting over to find one. Now, she’s fighting to keep it. The 61-year-old Nigerian woman built a new life in Quebec after arriving through the now-closed Roxham Road border crossing in 2022. With her deportation scheduled for Nov. 19, Olufunlayo is now fighting to remain in Canada, arguing that returning to her home country would expose her to further persecution and violence because of her sexual orientation. CTV News is using only her first name and has agreed to measures to conceal her identity because of concerns for her safety. “I wasn’t really living — I was living a borrowed life,” she said, describing her life in Nigeria. Olufunlayo said her identity as a 2SLGBTQ+ person made her a target of sexual assaults and life-threatening violence. Her breaking point came in 2020, after she said a family member assaulted her. “I just felt that it was enough — that I couldn’t cope with this any longer,” she said. “Because in my country, you cannot report a lot of these things. I could not survive another experience like this.” She eventually left Nigeria, travelled to the United States and made her way to Quebec where she sought asylum. Building a life in Quebec Determined to integrate into her new home, Olufunlayo promptly began her French-language courses, studying the language full-time. “I feel French is part of me and I’m just in love with the language,” she said, describing the “butterflies” she feels in her stomach whenever she hears it spoken. After completing her one-year French course, she began training to become a hospital orderly. The work was a natural fit for someone who said helping others had been a lifelong mission. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was young,” she said. “That’s just who I’ve always been; very empathetic and putting others ahead of me.” She now works nights at a Montreal hospital, where her dedication has earned her the support of her colleagues and union. Nickson St-Vil, president of the union representing workers at the West-Central Montreal health authority (CIUSSS), said her potential deportation was difficult to accept, particularly given how much she had contributed to the workplace and the wider community. “This kind of situation shouldn’t happen,” he said. “She’s a good worker and she’s been fully integrated in the society for more than two years now.” In a letter supporting her request to remain in the country, another colleague cites her “remarkable dedication to patient care,” and “her willingness to go above and beyond” regular duties to support her team. Outside her hospital shifts, Olufunlayo volunteers at CARI St-Laurent, an organization that supports immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers as they settle into their new communities. Volunteering at least two days a week, including through the group’s Femmes-relais project, she assists in training women in the community to support others and help prevent intimate partner violence. She has also regularly prepared meals at her own expense for people experiencing homelessness. Laurence Normand, a psychosocial worker at CARI St-Laurent, has been helping Olufunlayo navigate part of the immigration process, accompanying her to meetings and supporting her efforts to share her story. Normand said she believes Olufunlayo deserves an opportunity to explain the experiences that have shaped her case. “She should at least be given that chance,” she said. “She didn’t say everything that she went through, all the violence she faced as a woman in the LGBTQ+ community.” Her commitment to her new home also extends beyond her work and volunteer efforts. Olufunlayo has submitted policy proposals to Canadian governments, including one drawing on her own experience navigating the immigration system that calls for a structured, time-limited voluntary registration program to give undocumented people living in hiding a pathway to come forward. A lifetime spent hiding Olufunlayo’s initial refugee claim was rejected in January 2024. She said she had not been able to fully disclose her sexual orientation or the violence she experienced during the initial proceedings. After years of concealing that part of her identity, she said recounting deeply personal and traumatic experiences was difficult, particularly because she had been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. “I couldn’t imagine having to repeat what had happened to me,” she said. She explained that she had initially tried to manage the case on her own, believing she could put the past behind her. Eventually, however, she realized she needed to speak out. Shame and fear of further discrimination also prevented her from sharing everything during her initial asylum proceedings. “I felt ashamed and I knew some people would just further stigmatize me for it,” she said. “I did not feel comfortable disclosing all of this to my male lawyer then.” Her current lawyer, Anne-Cécile Khouri-Raphael, subsequently presented additional information about her experiences and the risks she said she would face if returned to Nigeria through a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA). The process is intended to determine whether someone facing deportation could face persecution, torture, threats to their life or cruel and unusual treatment in their country of origin. But on Oct. 20, that application was also rejected. Her lawyer argued the decision failed to properly consider why Olufunlayo had not disclosed her experiences sooner. “It is logical that a 61-year-old woman who has lived alone her entire life would not immediately come forward to voice the extreme hardships she has experienced,” Khouri-Raphael told CTV News. A motion seeking a stay of removal was subsequently filed, with a hearing scheduled for Nov. 16, just three days before her scheduled deportation. Olufunlayo also submitted an application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds in December 2025. That application remains under review, but does not automatically suspend a removal order. A fight to stay When asked about the specific case, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTV News that pre-removal risk assessments are considered individually, based on the evidence and arguments presented. The department also said it takes the “specific vulnerabilities of 2SLGBTQI+ people into account when assessing risks, and regularly reviews country information, trains staff and updates its guidance to reflect current realities.” It added that H&C applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering factors including a person’s establishment in Canada, employment history, community involvement and contributions to society. A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson noted the country “has processes and safeguards to ensure refugee protection claims are assessed fairly and independently,” and that removal decisions follow established legal procedures. The agency added that it is legally required to remove foreign nationals subject to enforceable removal orders once the available legal processes have been exhausted. Meanwhile, the federal Office of the Minister of Public Safety declined CTV News’ invitation to comment, citing privacy considerations and saying it would not comment on any specific removal case. Back at CARI St-Laurent, Normand explained that Olufunlayo’s case had become personal enough that she stepped outside her usual role to launch a petition calling for her to be allowed to stay. “We always say that we need more workers and now we have someone facing deportation who’s giving so much to the society,” she said. “She’s a perfect citizen, and I don’t see why we should deny her the right to stay here and to live her life in peace.” While Quebec began as a place of refuge for Olufunlayo, she said it had become the place where she discovered her appreciation for a new language, found meaningful work and began to feel a sense of belonging. “I’ve accepted this place as my home, and I feel welcomed here,” she said. “I’d really love to continue to live here because I know that it’s here that I can give the best in me and help as many people as possible.”
