A 32-year-old Romanian man who tried to sneak into Canada through the High Arctic from Greenland has been deported from North America at least twice before, immigration officials say.

The man, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody after arriving in Grise Fiord in a small motorboat Monday. His journey of about 1,000 kilometres from Greenland had taken about eight days.

A Romanian man tried to enter Canada via Grise Fiord in this motorboat from Greenland.
(Jeffrey Qaunaq)

Cold and hungry crossing the ice-filled waters of Baffin Bay, the man told police he planned to carry on to Toronto.

The man was deported from Canada in 2000 after he was convicted of break, enter and theft, said Chris Kealey of the Canada Border Services Agency in a telephone interview from Ottawa Wednesday.

"He had had a series of run-ins with the law," Kealey said. "As a result of those convictions, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, he was found to be a danger to Canadians and therefore subject to deportation."

The Romanian was also deported from the United States in 2005, he said.

Tough sailing

Residents of Grise Fiord, on the southern coast of Ellesmere Island, were surprised to find the stranger had landed in their community, where he immediately tried to sell his boat to local hunters.

'The whole community was amazed how he managed to go from that great distance to Grise Fiord in such a small boat with limited equipment really.'-Grise Fiord resident Marty Kuluguqtuq

Marty Kuluguqtuq said the man must have had a rough crossing because the boat's propellers were bent and the windshield was smashed from the waves.

"The whole community was amazed how he managed to go from that great distance to Grise Fiord in such a small boat with limited equipment really," said Kuluguqtuq.

Immigration officials are travelling to the High Arctic Thursday to pick up the man and take him to Ottawa.