Terrorist threat to Canada ‘has rarely been higher,’ report says

Warning follows ISIS-related attack in New Orleans and arrests in Ontario and Quebec.

The terrorist threat in Canada “has rarely been higher,” according to a report released on Wednesday in the aftermath of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans.

“The bottom line: Terrorism in Canada is on the rise,” said the study, which found a “statistically significant” surge in terrorism charges between 2007 and 2024.

The number of charges is “an important indicator” of the threat, since terrorism arrests often stem from foiled attack plots, the Ottawa firm Insight Threat Intelligence wrote.

“Across the board, terrorism attacks and charges have increased in this country over the last 18 years.”

Most of the 73 charges during that period involved “religiously motivated” terrorists, specifically followers of “jihadist groups” like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

“However, over the last four years, there has been an increase in diversity of motivation, with ideologically motivated individuals also being charged with terrorism offences,” it said.

The report blamed “a volatile mix of geopolitical tensions and growing radicalization across ideological lines” for the increase in attacks and charges.

The RCMP has disrupted a series of terrorist plots over the past two years by supporters of ISIS, the terrorist group that controlled parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.