TORONTO – “Terrorism in Canada is on the rise” and “the terrorist threat in Canada has rarely been higher”, according to a report released today by the firm “Insight Threat Intelligence” (ITI) chaired by Jessica Davis, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Global Affairs Canada. 

The study by ITI found a “statistically significant” increase in terrorism charges in Canada between 2007 and 2024: during this period, according to the report, there were 73 such charges and this figure represents “an important indicator” of the threat, since arrests for terrorism often result from foiled attack plans. Most of the 73 charges involved “religious-motivated” terrorists, particularly followers of “jihadist groups” such as the Islamic State (ISIS). “However – the report emphasizes – over the past four years there has been an increase in the diversity of motivations, with individuals motivated by ideological reasons”.

According to ITI President Jessica Davis (in the pic below, from ITI’s website), the increase in attacks and accusations can be attributed to ” a volatile mix of global tensions and radicalization across multiple ideologies” and this, says Davis, highlights “an urgent need to reassess and adapt our counterterrorism strategies”.

The situation appears to have gotten worse in the last two years in particular, as the RCMP has foiled a series of terrorist plots by ISIS supporters during that time, including a planned attack on a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Hill (for which two minors from Ottawa were arrested). Recently, a father and son were charged in connection with a foiled attack in Toronto: Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi and his son Mostafa were arrested in July while allegedly plotting an attack in Toronto on behalf of the Islamic State, and although the father is accused of appearing in a 2015 ISIS video of him mutilating a prisoner, he was granted refugee status and later Canadian citizenship before being charged in connection with the foiled attack in Toronto (read the whole story in our previous article here). And then, again: also last year, a Pakistani student was arrested in Quebec while he was traveling to the United States to conduct a mass shooting in a Jewish center: this is Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, who had received a student visa in May 2023 and arrived at Toronto’s “Pearson” airport on June 24, 2023 (read the whole story in our previous article here). Finally, another young man with terrorism ties was arrested in December in Toronto by RCMP.

Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s 2023 visit to Ontario: on January 1, the alleged ISIS supporter used a truck to mow down victims on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing fourteen. In an appeal posted on Twitter X the day before yesterday, the RCMP asked Canadians “to report any information which could be pertinent to the FBI’s investigation”.

“While incidents like attacks and travel provide visible evidence of terrorist activity – Davis says – , arrests and charges often reveal the underlying, disrupted plots—offering a fuller picture of the threat within our borders”. Threat that generally comes from those who have been able to cross those borders undisturbed and even legally, sometimes despite a dark past…

The pic above is from Canada Border Services Agency’s page on Twitter X (@CanBorder)