Domestic Terrorism in Canada: Who’s Listening?
- Mark Sandler
- Sep 14
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 16
“More terrorism charges in Canada. A youth in Montreal was arrested today following an investigation that revealed he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and that he was planning to acquire an AK-47 and other weapons to carry out an attack. I’m shocked at how few seem concerned – indeed unaware – of how bad things are here. Terrorism-related charges are up nearly 500% – over the last year – with most of the would-be attackers plotting to target Jews and “nonbelievers.” No other country in the western world has seen terrorism charges accelerate to this extent. What’s it going to take for people to wake up……”
-Casey Babb, Senior Fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute
What’s it going to take indeed?
Earlier this year, the RCMP briefed the Minister of Public Safety on how big the problem is:
6 foiled terrorist plots in the past 12 months alone
25 suspects accused of 83 terrorism-related charges in a single year (April 1, 2023-March 31, 2024), a 488% increase
7 of those charged were young people, fueled by online platforms promoting violent extremist ideologies
Overall, the RCMP has seen a 766% growth in charges relating to national security since 2018
The RCMP also sounded the alarm about the inadequacy of existing law enforcement resources to combat violent extremism, foreign interference and hate crimes, all described as “hot issues.”
Consider the characteristics of the types of terror plots foiled:
Rooted in ideological, political or religious violent extremism, many in Islamist extremism;
Targeting Jews, non-believers and Western society generally;
Perpetrators have been radicalized by violent extremism content (usually but not exclusively online) or have produced or contributed to that content themselves;
Perpetrators may be “lone wolves” (that is inspired by and ideologically aligned with terrorist groups although acting alone) or they may be acting on behalf of or at the direction of terrorist groups or sponsors, including the Iranian government itself; and
The Far Right is also implicated in several terror plots
Regardless of the identity of those involved in terror schemes, they almost invariably target Jews as well as others (such as the LGBTQ+ community). Jews are rarely excluded. Extremists across ideological, and political divides still love to hate Jews.
Of course, the numbers associated with terrorism-related offences do not tell the whole extremism story. They do not include the many antisemitic hate crimes not categorized as terrorism offences, but which victimize Jews nonetheless. Or the countless expressions of violent extremism online and elsewhere that do not result in criminal charges.
And if the point hasn’t already been made, consider the Ministry of Finance’s report on money laundering and terrorist financing in Canada. Although it garnered little attention upon its recent release, it describes how terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas and the Khalistani violent extremist group Babbar Khalsa International¹ are actively raising funds in Canada. FINTRAC’s² 2022 Operational Alert named Hezbollah as No. 2 on a list of terrorist organizations most frequently receiving Canadian funds. Daesh/ISIS was No. 1.
Hezbollah raises money through the international drug trade, here and around the world, and uses Islamic money brokers (hawalas) to transfer money overseas. The Ministry report discloses that Hezbollah remains a highly active global player in the cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and Captagon trades, with trafficking networks spanning Latin America, Canada, and the United States. It also trades in stolen and used cars to fund its activities. The Port of Montreal was identified as a known location where luxury vehicles are shipped to Lebanon, financially supporting Hezbollah.
Earlier this year, Khalilullah Yousuf of Toronto pled guilty to two charges relating to what has been described as the largest terrorism financing scheme in Canadian history. He was raising money through GoFundMe and contributing funds for the benefit of Daesh/ISIS. He had also created and distributed over 3,800 internet-based hyperlinks, curated to radicalize, indoctrinate and recruit for the benefit of Daesh/ISIS.
It is little wonder that Canada has been identified by experts as a leading hub of terrorist money laundering and financing in the Western world.
It is little wonder that ISGAP (the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy), which previously blew the lid off undisclosed Qatari influence-peddling in the United States (pouring billions of dollars into American educational institutions) was able to document the alarming influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and one of its leading sponsors, Qatar, in Canada.
It is little wonder that organizations such as Samidoun, another prohibited terrorist group in Canada, and its leaders, themselves connected to Hezbollah, the Iranian terror regime, Islamic Jihad and various radical student-based organizations continue to operate largely with impunity in Canada.
I started this editorial by asking “what’s it going to take” to wake up Canadians. Hopefully, it won’t take a successful terrorist enterprise. Or another Boulder, Colorado.
Here are 11 things we can do, amongst others, to prevent that from happening:
Resources – Ensure that robust human and financial resources are provided to the RCMP, CSIS and their partner agencies that prioritize the investigation, disruption, and prosecution of domestic terrorism, as well as money laundering and financing for the benefit of terrorist groups here and abroad.
National Strategy – The federal government must develop a robust national strategy to combat the domestic terrorism, money laundering and financing described in this opinion piece.
Muslim Brotherhood – The federal government must address, unimpeded by political considerations, the evidence relating to the proliferation of Muslim Brotherhood networks in Canada and its implications for national security. It is also important to protect the mainstream Muslim community from those who seek to radicalize its community members or shun those who fail to adhere to their extremist agendas. Governments should listen to those Muslim voices (including our coalition members) who are courageously speaking out about extremism and antisemitism as antithetical to their faith or values.³
Funding – The federal and provincial governments must more effectively identify, track and freeze governmental and non-governmental funding to entities with ties to political, ideological or religious violent extremists, including designated terrorist groups under the Criminal Code.
Follow the Money – The federal and provincial governments must review the currently inadequate financial disclosure requirements associated with sources of funding for various institutions as they relate to each government’s jurisdiction.
Parliamentary Priorities – When the House of Commons and the Senate resume their work next week, they and their committees must identify as a priority the issues around terrorism, money laundering, and terror financing, highlighted in this opinion piece. They, together with law enforcement, must also conduct a robust investigation into the role of non-democratic foreign entities, such as Qatar, in promoting extremists and extremist organizations in Canada. They must take a holistic approach to extremism that also includes border security and immigration, terrorist and hate propaganda online, and abuse of charitable status.
Senate Justice Committee – On December 2, 2024, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights commenced its study on antisemitism in Canada, including the adequacy of laws, policies, education, digital platforms, and law enforcement. Shortly after the Committee commenced its work, Parliament was prorogued. It is imperative that this Committee’s work continues if the federal government is committed to addressing pervasive antisemitism in Canada, and that, as I urged at the time, it examines the sources of antisemitic violent extremism in Canada, including Islamism.⁴
Hate Speech is a Crime – There is a direct connection between the dissemination of antisemitic hate propaganda, whether online or in person, and domestic terrorism. Hate propaganda both radicalizes others and motivates them to commit hate crimes or acts of terror. Local police must understand the profound impact that hate speech has not only on the targeted community, but as the stimulant for serious criminality. In some jurisdictions, police largely ignore the content of speech, particularly at protests, regarding their work as successful if no one is hurt or attacked on their watch. We must continue to train and educate police and prosecutors across the country about the manifestations of contemporary antisemitism and the distinction between protected speech and hate speech.
In this regard, hatemongers should be unable to immunize themselves from legal accountability through deliberately substituting “Zionist” for “Jew.” We know that extremists are instructed to do precisely that:
“The yahood (Jews) own everything. That’s how they control everyone. Money.”
“London [Ontario] is filled with these yahoodi’s. We have to make a list of where we can and can’t eat.”
“If someone sees this gc [group chat] and reports it, we [are] all getting expelled.”
“The government are slaves to these Jews [prompting this strategic message] Guys, this is serious. [If] you want to refer to them as something, refer to them as Zionists. If you get caught referring to them as Jews they’ll get you for antisemitism and ruin ur life. And this isn’t an exaggeration.” - Excerpt from WhatsApp Chat respecting students at Western University.
For more about this issue, see the opinion piece of Joseph Neuberger, President of the CJLA.
Wilful Promotion of Terror – The Criminal Code contains a myriad of terrorism offences. They are complicated and difficult to read or understand. The extent to which they extend to those who express material support for or glorify designated terrorist groups is unclear.⁵
Parliament should create a new offence: wilful promotion of terrorism. It would criminalize the conduct of those who, by communicating statements wilfully promote terrorist activities or the activities of a terrorist group. Such a provision would be a permissible infringement on speech, the Supreme Court having already determined that wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group (containing precisely the same core language) is a constitutionally valid offence.
This offence would focus on promotion of and support for terror, rather than requiring a determination of whether that promotion or support was based upon hatred directed against an identifiable group, such as Jews.
Possession of Terrorist Symbols – Parliament should create a new offence, mirroring offences that already exist in other countries, that prohibits anyone from wearing, carrying or displaying an article, or that exhibits a name, word, symbol or other representation that identifies, or is associated with, a terrorist group designated as such under the Criminal Code. There should be zero tolerance for the use and display of paraphernalia associated with a designated terrorist group prohibited in Canada.
Deradicalization of Young People – In the RCMP’s briefing to the Minister of Public Safety, it reported that online platforms were contributing to substantial youth engagement with violent extremist ideologies. Indeed, last year, the RCMP and CSIS, in collaboration with other Five-Eyes law enforcement and security agencies, took the extraordinary measure of issuing a call for collective action to address the radicalization of young people and their involvement in violent extremism. Government must heed law enforcement's call for action and devote human and financial resources to deradicalization strategies.
The call for collective action emphasizes that young people are particularly vulnerable to, and conversant with, online violent extremism.
Not only are more young people being radicalized than ever before, but they are being radicalized more rapidly than ever before. This is explained by the pervasiveness of violent extremism online, which is “more accessible, more digestible and more impactful” than it ever has been in the past.
Conclusion
There are law enforcement agencies that deserve much credit for disrupting the steady flow of terror plots in Canada. These include the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), led by the RCMP, with representation from multiple federal, provincial and municipal partners and agencies. CSIS is also working with other law enforcement agencies to identify and disrupt terrorist activities in Canada.
However, the status quo is unsustainable. Law enforcement needs assistance. A great deal of assistance. That starts with recognition of the problem. And prioritizing the solutions.
It’s time for Canada to wake up. It’s time for Canadians to repudiate violent extremism, and refuse to accept Canada’s role as a hub for money laundering and terror financing.
It’s time for law enforcement to use all the criminal law tools in their arsenal.
It’s time for Parliament to provide the necessary resources and legislative changes.
It’s time for governments to acknowledge the problem and the reality that a focus on Islamist extremism is not an attack on the Muslim faith, but a focus instead on the efforts to pervert it to advance a malevolent agenda.
What’s it going to take? You, the reader. As a start, that’s what it’s going to take. Engagement. Advocacy. Commitment.
Jews and non-Jews. People of all political persuasions. Otherwise, our voices are too small.
Let your MPs and MPPs and municipal leaders know that this is a critically important issue for you. And for your community. And for your children and grandchildren.
Endnotes
A recent Hindu-Jewish National Conference, United Against Extremism, identified the types of extremist violence both communities are exposed to, including the 1985 bombing of Air India flight 182, a terrorist act that claimed 328 lives, including 268 Canadians.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, a government agency that collects, analyzes and discloses financial intelligence to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.
Recommendations 3,4 and 5 are similar to, or drawn from recommendations ISGAP has made in its recent report on Canada.
Islamism is distinguished from the Islam faith. Islamism refers to a political ideology that derives its claims from a radical interpretation of Islam, characterized as “often illiberal and extremist.”
In some circumstances, expression of such support may constitute counselling another person to commit a terrorism offence under s. 83.221(1) although the scope of this provision, in practice, is unclear.
About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.