Canada expands high-risk travel alerts to 17 African countries in latest security update

Over this three-day period, Global Affairs Canada elevated or reaffirmed high-risk travel advisories affecting 17 African nations, citing escalating instability, governance fragility, and emerging cross-border threats.

While Ottawa conducts periodic global reviews, the scope and timing of this update align with a broader international trend: a tightening of mobility, security, and immigration policies, particularly in Western nations.

The move parallels the increasingly hard-line posture taken by the United States under President Donald Trump, whose administration has championed stricter border oversight and heightened scrutiny of high-risk travel corridors.

Canada’s advisories highlight a confluence of factors armed conflict, extremist activity, disputed political transitions, and unpredictable security conditions as primary drivers behind the expanded warnings.

Nations such as Somalia, Sudan, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso continue to face active insurgencies and fragmented territorial control.

Others, including Ethiopia and Nigeria, are navigating volatile internal political dynamics, periodic mass protests, and region-specific communal violence.

According to the advisory, countries classified under “Avoid non-essential travel” indicate that safety and security could be at risk.

Travelers should carefully evaluate the necessity of travel based on business, family, or personal reasons, as well as familiarity with the region. Those already in the country should consider whether their presence is essential and, if not, plan to leave when it is safe to do so.

For countries labeled “Avoid all travel,” the advisory is more severe. Travel to these locations is strongly discouraged due to extreme risks to personal safety and security. Those already present should make arrangements to depart if it is safe and feasible.

The timing of the update also follows a series of governance and digital-security failures across parts of the continent.

Most recently, Somalia’s e-visa data breach, which exposed sensitive information of more than 35,000 travellers, underscored the growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in states with limited digital infrastructure oversight.

Canada, like other Western governments, now considers such cyber incidents when evaluating the safety and reliability of entry systems abroad.

Canada’s recalibrated advisories sit within the global wave of immigration and travel restrictions being reinforced by Washington and echoed across Europe.

Western governments are increasingly risk-averse, relying on anticipatory assessments that account not only for conflict but also governance resilience, law-enforcement capacity, consular accessibility, and cyber readiness.

For affected African nations, the listing is a reminder of long-standing structural challenges. Improving security requires more than counterterrorism; it demands credible governance, investment in digital protections, professionalised law-enforcement agencies, stronger judicial systems, and reduced political volatility.

Strengthening regional coordination through bodies like the AU, ECOWAS, IGAD, or SADC is equally essential.

Canada’s November advisories, though restrictive, spotlight areas where reforms can shift global perception and ultimately restore confidence in travel and stability across the continent.