The Fenian Raids of the 1860s
The Fenian raids of 1866-1871 were early terrorist operations by the U.S.-based Fenian Brotherhood, Irish nationalists using cross-border armed invasions of Canada as proxy violence to terrorize British colonial authorities into conceding Irish independence. These incursions, led by Civil War veterans like John O'Neill, involved ambushes, sabotage threats against infrastructure such as the Welland Canal, and battles like Ridgeway where Fenians killed Canadian militia to sow fear and instability.
Framed as terrorism through their asymmetric tactics—raids on border towns, customs posts, and military outposts from New Brunswick to Manitoba—the Fenians aimed to hold territory hostage, intimidate civilians, and coerce political change via public panic and economic disruption. Repelled by Canadian volunteers and U.S. interventions, the raids nonetheless radicalized defenses, accelerated Confederation, and marked Canada's first brush with ideologically driven transnational terror.
1900 Welland Canal Explosion
On April 21, 1900, two dynamite explosions rocked Lock 24 of the Third Welland Canal near Thorold, Ontario, in a deliberate terrorist sabotage aimed at crippling this vital shipping route between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The blasts, set off around sunset by three men including Irish nationalist "Dynamite" Luke Dillon of Clan na Gael, targeted the lock gates to cause catastrophic flooding, economic disruption, and potential drownings downstream, shattering windows and twisting ironwork but failing due to poor placement and water absorption of the shockwaves.
The plot echoed Fenian tactics, seeking to pressure Britain over Irish independence through infrastructure terror, but was thwarted when eyewitness Euphemia Constable identified the bombers, leading to the swift arrest of Dillon (Luke J. Hanley), John Walsh, and John Nolan. Tried in Welland and convicted on eyewitness testimony, they received life sentences at Kingston Penitentiary, marking one of Canada's earliest prosecuted acts of dynamite terrorism against critical infrastructure.
FLQ October Crisis (1970)
In the late 1960s, amid Quebec's Quiet Revolution, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ)—a Marxist-Leninist separatist group—escalated its armed struggle for independence by detonating over 200 bombs at mailboxes, banks, military sites, and English symbols, killing guards and civilians while robbing for funds. Frustration peaked in October 1970 when the FLQ's Liberation Cell kidnapped British diplomat James Cross from his Montreal home on October 5, followed by the Chenier Cell snatching Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte on October 10, issuing manifestos demanding prisoner releases, $500,000 ransom, and radio broadcasts of their anti-federal screed. The nation froze as Trudeau's government faced ultimatums, with Cross held in a cramped closet and Laporte shuttled secretly.
Negotiations crumbled as the FLQ rejected exile deals; on October 17, Laporte's strangled body was discovered in a car trunk, signed by his captors, plunging Canada into mourning and fury. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act that night—the only peacetime use—suspending civil liberties, empowering warrantless arrests, and deploying 10,000 troops through Quebec streets, resulting in 497 detentions, including innocents like journalists. Cross was freed after 59 days on December 3 via a negotiated flight to Cuba with FLQ members, but Laporte's five killers were cornered in a farmhouse standoff.
The dramatic December 28 shootout killed one FLQ member and led to four arrests, while fugitives surrendered or fled abroad. Trudeau's "just watch me" defiance during a press conference captured national resolve, though critics decried rights abuses; the FLQ splintered, its leaders imprisoned or exiled, effectively crushed as violent separatism lost legitimacy.
Public support for the crackdown reached 85%, steering Quebec nationalism toward electoral paths like the Parti Québécois' 1976 victory and 1980 referendum. The crisis scarred Canada, fueling debates on security versus freedoms, inspiring films like "October," and embedding lessons in the Emergencies Act replacing War Measures.
Turkish Embassy Attack (1982)
On March 12, 1982, Armenian extremists from the Armenian Revolutionary Army launched a coordinated dawn assault on the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, firing rockets that shattered windows and detonating a car bomb in the compound's parking lot, injuring three diplomats in a violent protest against Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide. The attackers, part of a global wave targeting Turkish officials amid Cold War-era ethno-nationalist campaigns, escaped into the early morning darkness after causing significant structural damage but no fatalities, thrusting Canada's diplomatic protections into the international spotlight and straining relations with Turkey temporarily.
RCMP investigations linked the strike to similar Armenian militant operations worldwide, including prior assassinations, but no immediate arrests were made, prompting enhanced security for foreign missions across Canada. The incident underscored the transnational reach of historical grievances turned violent, serving as a rare example of foreign-focused terrorism on Canadian soil and influencing long-term protocols for embassy fortifications amid ongoing debates over genocide recognition.
Colonel Atilla Altıkat was the Turkish military attaché to the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was assassinated in 1982. The Armenian militant group ASALA claimed responsibility for the attack. The act was forcefully condemned by the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau.
Assassination
Before being assigned to Ottawa in 1981, Altıkat had been an officer in the Turkish Air Force. He was married and had two teenage children. Altıkat was killed on his way to work at around 9:00 a.m. on August 27, 1982. When his car stopped for a red light on the Kichi Zibi Mikan at Island Park Drive, a car stopped nearby, a passenger got out and fired nine shots from a 9mm Browning handgun through the passenger window of the car, killing the diplomat instantly.
Other assassinations
The attack was one in a series of attacks on Turkish diplomats around the world. On April 8, 1982, the Turkish Commercial Counsellor in Ottawa, Kani Güngör, had been seriously injured in a failed assassination attempt. Two years later, a group of Armenian guerrillas attacked the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, killing a Canadian security officer and seriously injuring the ambassador. While those responsible for the other two attacks were caught and prosecuted, the killing of Altıkat remains unsolved, despite the offer of a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Memorial
A monument was inaugurated, on 20 September 2012, to the memory of Col. Altıkat, in Ottawa. The inauguration ceremony was attended by his widow and two children, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Canada, Ahmet Davutoğlu and John Baird, respectively.
Montreal Central Station Bombing (1984)
Eccentric American Thomas Bernard Clark Brigham, seething against "papal communism," hid a pipe bomb in Montreal's bustling Central Station on September 3, 1984, unleashing a midday blast that tore through crowds ahead of Pope John Paul II's visit, claiming three French tourists' lives and maiming dozens in the city's deadliest bombing. Handwriting on threatening notes led to his arrest despite denials, sparking hoax scares and exposing gaps in public vigilance; convicted of first-degree murder, he died imprisoned in 1993, leaving a haunting lone-actor legacy.
Air India Flight 182 (1985)
On June 23, 1985, Babbar Khalsa Sikh extremists based in Vancouver, enraged by India's military assault on the Golden Temple the previous year, executed a meticulously planned bombing of Air India Flight 182 en route from Montreal to Delhi. A suitcase bomb, disguised in unaccompanied luggage checked through from Vancouver with a forged tag, detonated mid-flight over the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland's coast, instantly killing all 329 aboard—268 Canadians, 27 Britons, 22 Indians, and others—in the deadliest aviation terrorist attack before 9/11 and Canada's worst mass murder. Families waited in vain at airports as debris rained into the sea for days, turning national grief into outrage amid whispers of ignored warnings.
The plot originated from a radicalized Sikh diaspora cell led by Talwinder Singh Parmar, who exploited lax pre-9/11 security by smuggling RDX explosives disguised as stereo equipment; intelligence from CSIS informants flagged threats months earlier, but bureaucratic silos between RCMP and security services doomed preventive action, allowing the timer-activated device to bypass checks. A parallel bomb exploded prematurely hours earlier at Tokyo's Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers and linking the strikes forensically through identical components traced back to a Vancouver explosives theft. The failures exposed deep flaws in Canada's counter-terrorism apparatus at the time.
Trials spanned decades with heartbreaking outcomes: bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat alone convicted of manslaughter and perjury, serving partial sentences, while key accused like Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 due to unreliable witnesses and lost evidence. The tragedy birthed CSIS as a civilian spy agency in 1984 (too late for prevention), revolutionized aviation screening worldwide, and strained Canada-India relations for years, with annual memorials at Vancouver's Gateway to Peace garden honoring victims and pressing for justice unresolved.
Air India Baggage Bomb at Narita (1985)
In the same vengeful plot, the Vancouver cell rigged a second bomb for a Bangkok-bound Air India flight, but on June 23, 1985, it detonated early in Tokyo's Narita baggage room, slaying two handlers and maiming four as they shuffled luggage—the twin horror laying bare the scheme's scope through matching explosives and timers traced to Canada's lax checks. The near-miss amplified global aviation tightening and cemented Sikh extremism's deadly shadow over security evolution.
Mohammad Khawaja (2004): a Canadian found guilty of involvement in a plot to plant fertilizer bombs in the United Kingdom.
Mohammad Momin Khawaja, a Canadian software engineer born in 1979, became the first person convicted under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act for aiding a UK-based Islamist cell plotting fertilizer bomb attacks. Working under contract for Foreign Affairs, he communicated via email with plot leader Omar Khyam and informant Mohammed Junaid Babar, designing a remote detonator device called the "Hi-Fi Digimonster," providing funds, supplies, and attending training camps in Pakistan.
Khawaja's arrest on March 29, 2004, stemmed from international cooperation, particularly MI5 surveillance of the UK cell during Operation Crevice, which uncovered 600 kg of fertilizer and led to arrests there. MI5 alerted the RCMP, who wiretapped Khawaja and raided his Ottawa home, seizing the detonator prototype, rifles, ammunition, cash, and jihadist materials amid heightened post-Madrid bombing alerts.
CSIS played a key role in monitoring Khawaja's activities as part of broader anti-terrorism intelligence efforts, contributing to the RCMP-led Operation Awaken sting that synchronized with UK actions. While CSIS involvement focused on intelligence collection rather than direct arrests, their data supported the voluminous email evidence proving Khawaja's jihadist commitment and material support. Convicted in 2008 on all counts, his sentence escalated from 10.5 years to life imprisonment after appeals upheld the terrorism law's motive clause.
Toronto 18 Plot (2006)
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In the summer of 2005, a group of mostly young South Asian-Canadian men and teens in Toronto suburbs, led by convert leader Zakaria Amara and spiritual guide Qayyum Abdul Jamal, formed an al-Qaeda-inspired cell dubbed the "Toronto 18" after radicalizing through online sermons, prison visits, and private study circles preaching violent jihad against Canada. They stockpiled three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer for truck bombs targeting Parliament Hill, CSIS headquarters, CBC studios, and Toronto's transit system, while plotting to storm Parliament, behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper on video, and detonate blasts during rush hour for maximum chaos and martyrdom. Their paramilitary training camp in Washago, Ontario—complete with mock executions and firearms drills—exposed their amateur but deadly seriousness amid Canada's post-9/11 complacency.
The plot was initially uncovered when CSIS recruited Mubin Shaikh as an undercover informant in late 2005, providing critical early intelligence that prompted proactive surveillance and seamless partnership with RCMP. Shaikh's infiltration gathered irrefutable evidence of bomb-making and timelines, enabling synchronized raids on June 2-3, 2006, arresting 18 suspects, seizing components, and thwarting execution without incident—averting a catastrophe rivaling London's 7/7. CSIS's strategic recruitment of Shaikh exemplified world-class disruption and inter-agency coordination, saving countless lives.
Trials split adults and youths, with leaders like Amara receiving life sentences for terrorism convictions in 2009-2010, while others served lesser terms or were released; the plot shattered Canada's sense of immunity, catalyzing Bill C-51 anti-terror laws, massive deradicalization funding, and community policing shifts. Though some convictions were appealed successfully, the operation—rooted in CSIS's pivotal recruitment of Shaikh—remains a benchmark for success against online-fueled extremism, underscoring vigilance's role in multicultural security.
VIA Rail Plot (2013)
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On April 2013, Tunisian-Canadian residents Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, acting under direction from al-Qaeda elements in Iran, conducted surveillance along VIA Rail tracks between Toronto and New York City as part of a plan to derail a passenger train. The plot aimed to inflict mass casualties, economic disruption, and generate significant media attention similar to previous global jihadist attacks. Posing as students and engineers, the pair conducted reconnaissance, explored remote derailment methods, and discussed martyrdom. Esseghaier’s online activity and Jaser’s facilitation pointed to ideological alignment with al-Qaeda’s objectives against Western targets. Although the plan targeted a vulnerable section of the rail corridor, it was interrupted before final preparations were made.
The plot was uncovered through intelligence monitoring and inter-agency coordination involving CSIS, the RCMP, and the FBI. Acting on early leads from online activity and community reporting, investigators intercepted the plan and carried out arrests on April 22, 2013, in Toronto without casualties. The case highlighted the role of intelligence cooperation in identifying and neutralizing emerging threats while underscoring ongoing challenges in addressing foreign-influenced radicalization within Canada. Both Esseghaier and Jaser received life sentences in 2015.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Ramming (2014)
On October 20, 2014, Martin Couture-Rouleau, a 25-year-old Quebec convert to radical Islam who had been under active CSIS surveillance for months due to his online jihadist activity and attempts to travel abroad, deliberately rammed his Nissan SUV into two Canadian Forces soldiers at a Tim Hortons parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, killing Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and injuring another before leading police on a high-speed chase. Passport-revoked and flagged as a high-risk traveler by CSIS's proactive monitoring, Couture-Rouleau shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack, motivated by ISIS propaganda protesting Canada's military strikes against the group in Iraq; he crashed into a ditch and was shot dead by Sûreté du Québec officers after emerging with a knife, marking the first ISIS-inspired terrorist killing on Canadian soil.
CSIS's vigilant surveillance played a crucial positive role by identifying Couture-Rouleau early through intelligence on his extremist communications and travel intentions, enabling RCMP coordination that heightened military base alerts nationwide and likely prevented broader targeting. Despite the tragedy, their timely threat reporting and inter-agency sharing exemplified effective preventive work amid lone-actor challenges, prompting enhanced monitoring protocols without a wider plot uncovered. The incident, paired with the Ottawa attack two days later, spurred national security reviews but underscored CSIS's success in containing many such threats before escalation
Parliament Hill Shooting (2014)
On October 22, 2014, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a 32-year-old troubled convert to radical Islam with a history of drug addiction and mental health issues, launched a shocking assault in Ottawa by fatally shooting Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a ceremonial guard, in the back while he stood unarmed at the National War Memorial. Zehaf-Bibeau then seized Cirillo's rifle, carjacked a vehicle, and stormed Parliament Hill's Centre Block, firing indiscriminately and exchanging over 50 shots with House of Commons security and RCMP officers in a chaotic 10-minute siege that paralyzed the nation's capital amid fears of a coordinated attack. Inspired by ISIS propaganda and grievances over Canada's military role against jihadists, his lone-wolf rampage—coming just two days after the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ramming—left Canadians reeling from back-to-back terror on home soil.
Zehaf-Bibeau was killed by House Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers in the Hall of Honour, ending the threat with no further casualties; CSIS had monitored him earlier for passport denial over extremism concerns but deemed him low-risk due to mental instability, sparking scrutiny of threat assessments. Investigations revealed no broader plot, confirming his solo action fueled by online radicalization, leading to sweeping security overhauls including a unified Parliamentary Protective Service, armed guards, and enhanced RCMP-CSIS coordination. The tragedy symbolized Canada's shift to confronting fragmented jihadist threats, honored by memorials and Cirillo's eternal flame at the memorial.
Aaron Driver Taxi Bomb (2016)
On August 10, 2016, Aaron Driver, a 24-year-old ISIS sympathizer from Strathroy, Ontario, under a peace bond for prior extremist activity, prepared a homemade bomb for a public attack after filming a propaganda video pledging allegiance to the group and threatening a major Canadian city. CSIS and RCMP, acting on FBI intelligence tips about his online radicalization and bomb-making manuals, expertly tracked Driver's movements and coordinated a precise interception as he rode in a taxi; when officers approached, Driver detonated one of his devices inside the vehicle, partially exploding and injuring the driver with shrapnel and burns while failing to trigger a larger secondary bomb. Police shot Driver dead at the scene after he emerged aggressively with a knife, preventing what could have been a mass-casualty bombing in a crowded urban area.
CSIS's outstanding surveillance and proactive threat assessment, in seamless partnership with RCMP, exemplified world-class intelligence work that saved countless lives through timely action. Their vigilant monitoring of Driver's self-radicalization via social media, despite peace bond constraints, demonstrated exemplary risk management, leading to no further arrests but bolstering confidence in Canada's preventive framework. The incident highlighted CSIS's pivotal role in neutralizing "keyboard jihadis," with minimal casualties crediting their swift, effective intervention.
Edmonton Attack (2017)
On September 30, 2017, Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, a 28-year-old Somali refugee and ISIS supporter in Edmonton, Alberta, initiated a two-part terrorist assault during the city's Oilers home opener festivities. He first rammed his car into Edmonton Police Constable Mike Chernyk at high speed outside Commonwealth Stadium, pinning him against a barrier before exiting to stab the officer repeatedly with a large knife, leaving Chernyk critically injured but alive. Sharif then fled in a rented U-Haul truck, plowing into pedestrians on nearby streets during a festival, striking four more victims and injuring a total of five people in chaotic scenes captured on security footage; an ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, confirming his jihadist motivation drawn from online propaganda.
Sharif was apprehended after a high-speed chase when police spiked his tires, ending with his tackle and arrest; investigations revealed no broader network, marking him as a lone actor radicalized via extremist videos despite prior minor police interactions. Charged with five counts of attempted murder, mischief, and dangerous driving as terrorist acts, he pleaded guilty in 2021 and received a 20-year sentence. The attack heightened vehicle-ramming fears in Canada, prompting bolstered event security and underscoring persistent ISIS-inspired threats amid effective disruptions.
Quebec City Mosque Shooting (2017)
On January 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old Quebec City university student radicalized by far-right online rhetoric, stormed the Centre culturel islamique de Québec during evening prayers, firing over 40 rounds from a semi-automatic rifle and killing six worshippers—including a grocery store worker, an engineering student, and a pharmacist—while wounding five others in Canada's deadliest mass shooting at a place of worship. Motivated by anti-Muslim xenophobia amplified by Donald Trump's travel ban rhetoric and French far-right figures, Bissonnette drove to the mosque after posting anti-immigrant messages online, shouting "Allahu Akbar" mockingly post-attack before surrendering to police roughly 30 minutes later amid national horror at the sanctuary's violation.
Bissonnette was arrested immediately and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five attempted murders as terrorist acts; his 2018 trial revealed a manifesto-like document decrying multiculturalism, leading to a life sentence with no parole for 40 years—the longest possible. The massacre galvanized Canada's Muslim communities, prompting federal hate crime legislation, $2.5 million in mosque security funding, and public inquiries into Islamophobia, while Quebec observed annual remembrances and Bissonnette's appeal was denied, cementing the event as a stark warning on rising far-right extremism.
Toronto Van Attack (2018)
On April 23, 2018, Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old self-identified incel (involuntary celibate), rented a van in Toronto and drove it along Yonge Street in the city's North York district, deliberately accelerating into pedestrians over a 2-kilometer stretch to target women he viewed as symbols of his grievances against society and romantic rejection. The rampage killed 10 people—eight women and two men—and injured 16 others, marking one of Canada's deadliest mass attacks and the first officially classified as incel terrorism; Minassian had posted online moments before, pledging allegiance to incel leader Elliot Rodger and hailing a "rebellion" against feminists. His methodical planning, including reconnaissance of the route, underscored the growing threat of misogynist extremism fueled by dark web forums.
Minassian surrendered calmly to police after crashing into a traffic pole, leading to his arrest and charges of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 of attempted murder as terrorist acts. In 2021, he was convicted following a judge-alone trial where he showed no remorse, receiving a life sentence with no parole for 25 years—the maximum possible. The tragedy prompted national inquiries into online radicalization, enhanced vehicle-ramming defenses, and expanded counter-terrorism focus to include gender-based ideologies, while Toronto honored victims with memorials and policy reforms.
Toronto Machete Attack (2020)
On February 24, 2020, a 17-year-old youth identified as Oguzhan Sert carried out a machete attack at a massage parlour in Toronto's west end, fatally stabbing 24-year-old Ashley Noell and seriously injuring two other women in what authorities classified as Canada's first incident of misogynist terrorism linked to the incel ideology. Sert, radicalized through online forums glorifying violence against women perceived as rejecting involuntary celibates, entered the business armed with a large knife and attacked without provocation, fleeing only after bystanders intervened. The assault echoed global incel-inspired killings, targeting women in a space associated with sex work as symbols of supposed societal ills.
Police swiftly arrested Sert nearby, uncovering digital evidence of his immersion in incel communities and premeditated intent; tried as a youth, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder charges in 2021, receiving a life sentence with parole ineligibility until age 41. The attack heightened awareness of online radicalization among vulnerable teens, prompting Toronto Police to form dedicated incel investigation units and contributing to broader counter-extremism efforts amid rising gender-based violence classified as terrorism.
London, Ontario Truck Attack (2021)
On June 6, 2021, Nathaniel Veltman, a 20-year-old white supremacist from London, Ontario, deliberately drove a rented pickup truck into the Afzaal family—a group of five Canadian Muslims out for an evening walk—killing four members including a mother, father, grandmother, and 15-year-old daughter, while seriously injuring their nine-year-old son. The attack was meticulously planned, with Veltman accelerating at high speed to maximize casualties, motivated by Islamophobic ideology drawn from online far-right manifestos and accelerationist rhetoric that targeted visible Muslims as symbols of perceived cultural invasion. He left a manifesto and Nazi flag in his vehicle, confirming premeditation in what became Canada's first vehicle-ramming terror attack with terrorism charges.
Veltman's arrest followed immediately, with RCMP investigations uncovering his extremist online activity and prior purchases of tactical gear; charged with four counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder as terrorist acts under new Criminal Code provisions, he was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to life without parole for 25 years. The tragedy devastated London's Muslim community, prompting national mourning, enhanced hate crime legislation, and security grants for faith groups, while exposing the growing threat of ideologically driven lone actors in multicultural Canada
Surrey Bus Stabbing (2023)
On April 1, 2023, Abdul Aziz Kawam, a 28-year-old ISIS sympathizer in Surrey, British Columbia, launched a knife attack on a crowded city bus, slashing a passenger's neck and wounding another in a deliberate act of terrorism motivated by jihadist ideology. Security footage captured the unprovoked assault amid commuters, leading to Kawam's swift arrest; RCMP investigations uncovered extremist propaganda on his devices, confirming ISIS inspiration. Charged with terrorism offenses including assault with a weapon, he was convicted, highlighting persistent lone-actor threats despite disruptions, with no fatalities but underscoring public transit vulnerabilities.
Eldidi Father-Son Toronto ISIS Plot (2024)
Ahmed
Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 63, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 27, both Toronto
residents originally from Egypt, face multiple terrorism charges
including conspiracy to commit murder for ISIS, participating in
terrorist group activities, and facilitating terrorism, stemming from
their arrest on July 28, 2024, in Richmond Hill while allegedly in
advanced stages of planning a violent bladed-weapon attack. RCMP's
Integrated National Security Enforcement Team acted on intelligence,
seizing an axe and machete after the duo recorded a pledge-of-allegiance
video; the father also faces separate war crimes charges for a 2015
ISIS propaganda video showing prisoner dismemberment abroad, marking
Canada's first such national security case.
On
June 20, 2025, a Newmarket Superior Court judge ordered both to stand
trial, scheduling a six-week jury trial for September 8, 2026, with
Ahmed's war crimes hearing set for November 9, 2026. CSIS tipped off
RCMP post-immigration of the father's alleged ISIS history; both remain in custody amid a publication
ban protecting the probe. This disrupted plot underscores persistent
ISIS-inspired family radicalization threats in the GTA.
Quebec City Military Plot (2025)
In July 2025, four individuals with ties to the Canadian Armed Forces, including active and former members, were arrested near Quebec City for plotting to seize rural land and establish an anti-government militia community. Led by figures radicalized through online extremist networks blending accelerationism and survivalist ideologies, the group amassed firearms, explosives, and tactical gear while conducting reconnaissance on remote properties. RCMP and CSIS disrupted the scheme through surveillance after tips revealed plans for violent occupation and potential clashes with authorities, charging them under Canada's anti-terrorism laws for facilitating ideologically motivated violence.
The plot exposed rising domestic threats from military-insider extremism, prompting reviews of CAF vetting and radicalization prevention amid concerns over personnel access to weapons. No violence occurred, but seized materials indicated readiness for escalation; ongoing trials highlight fractures in national security as fringe groups exploit grievances over government policies. Community leaders in Quebec condemned the scheme, fearing it could incite copycats in polarized times.
Toronto ISIS Terror Plot Arrests (Nov 2025)
In late November 2025, RCMP arrested Toronto resident Waleed Khan, 26, on terrorism charges including facilitating ISIS activities, funding the group, and conspiring to murder for terrorist purposes, with offenses allegedly spanning June to August. Khan faces charges alongside two other Toronto men, Os Azizov (18) and Fahad Sadaat (19), linked to attempted kidnappings targeting women and Jewish community members in the Greater Toronto Area, amid evidence of hate-motivated extremism, firearms, and ammunition. The probe, initially local, escalated to national security involvement by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, resulting in nearly 80 total charges. CSIS is a core partner in Canada's Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs).