Florin Fodor (born 1974) is a citizen of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

who made several efforts to illegally enter

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. His last incursion gained notoriety as the first

illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

to attempt to enter Canada through its vast and sparsely populated

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. Fodor was first deported from Canada in 2000. He was deported again in 2006, when he is reported to have been returning to family in Canada. He left

Sisimiut Sisimiut (), also known by its Danish name Holstensborg or Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loos ...

, Greenland on September 11, 2006, in a fibreglass boat he purchased there, and arrived at

Grise Fiord Grise Fiord (; ) is an Inuit hamlet on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of three populated places on the island; despite its low population (144 residents at the 2021 Canadian census), ...

eight days later, on September 18, 2006. Upon arriving, he was almost out of food and had only five litres () of fuel left. Fodor pleaded guilty in November 2006 to two charges of violating Canada's Immigration Act. He was sentenced to seven and a half months of detention. Justice Lise Maisonneuve ruled that Fodor should be deported when his sentence was complete. Nunavut's then

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Eva Aariak Eva Qamaniq Aariak (, ; born January 10, 1955) is a Canadian Inuit, Inuk politician, who was elected in the 2008 Nunavut general election, 2008 territorial election to represent the Electoral district (Canada), electoral district of Iqaluit Ea ...

, cited Grise Fiord's apprehension of Fodor in a speech she delivered to the Nunavut Legislature on February 19, 2009. Federal Ministers

Chuck Strahl Charles Richard Strahl (February 25, 1957 – August 13, 2024) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2011. First elected for the Reform Party, he was the leader of the Democratic Representative C ...

and

Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓕᐅᓇ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping ...

were guests of the Legislature. In her speech Aariak cited Fodor's example as a demonstration of how important the people of Nunavut were to protecting Canadian sovereignty.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fodor, Florin 1974 births Living people Romanian expatriates in Canada