Canada could experience a lone-wolf terror attack soon, intelligence authorities have advised the federal government — and antisemitism is overwhelmingly the motivating factor.
“Amid (rising) antisemitic hate, an undetected lone actor could commit an act of serious violence in Canada at any time,” one June 2024 secret assessment reads. Multiple other secret assessments in 2024 similarly warned the feds about likely terrorist violence inspired by Jew hatred.
The documents do not indicate what, if anything, the Trudeau government did to prevent such attacks from taking place, however.
The unsettling warnings are contained in a number of recently declassified security reviews conducted by the Ottawa-based Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC), the federal organization tasked with assessing threats of terrorism in Canada. The documents were obtained under freedom of information laws by the University of Ottawa’s Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic.
Among ITAC’s disturbing findings:
— “ITAC continues to monitor the rising tide of antisemitism and violent rhetoric associated with the conflict in Gaza in Canada with concern … Online actors continue to share violent rhetoric and antisemitic content related to the conflict.”
— “There has been a significant increase in the number of demonstrations in Canada. The number of events from May 1 to 17 was approximately triple the volume during each of the preceding months.”
— “Demonstration tactics have become more targeted and disruptive … Pro-Palestinian protesters have grown frustrated due to perceived government inaction on their demands … groups that are listed (terrorist) entities in Canada, namely al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah have voiced their support for the demonstrations …”
— “Violent extremists have been known to target large demonstrations for recruitment, networking and radicalization opportunities and will likely try to do so again in Canada.”
— “Criminal activities and intimidation tactics on campus and online are likely to continue.”
One of the documents is titled “talking points,” and was likely prepared for the prime minister, the minister of Public Safety, or the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) — or all three. The talking points are revealing because they are more specific than the other documents, and declare that “a violent act of terrorism” could occur within the coming months. Contrary to a CBC report a few days ago, the talking points state that “religiously motivated extremism” — antisemitism — was now much more likely to occur in Canada than “ideologically motivated violent extremism,” which typically comes from the far right.
The main culprit, the government has been warned, is online. “Social media is the main pathway for the consumption of antisemitic and violent extremist content, be it via popular rhetoric available from mainstream providers, or via influencers who actively convey antisemitic content or conspiracy theories. The narratives encourage hate crimes, violence and terrorism …The continual increase in incidents targeting the Jewish community will normalize antisemitism in the mainstream of Canadian society.”
Many of the assessments prepared by ITAC for Canadian government officials focus on the wave of shootings at Jewish schools in Montreal and Toronto over the past two calendar years. The attacks are unlikely to stop, security experts conclude. Said ITAC in one May 2024 assessment marked secret: “Criminal intimidation tactics will likely continue, inspired by extremist beliefs. Shooting at empty schools could be seen as a low-risk tactic to effectively spread fear. Similar shooting incidents are possible in the near term.”
Targeting schools where young children gather is unprecedented in Canada, the intelligence experts say. “The tactic of shooting at schools during the night is novel and has only been employed domestically in Toronto and Montreal since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023,” ITAC says in another May 2024 secret briefing. “Antisemitic acts and rhetoric incited by the Israel-Hamas conflict will possibly escalate again.”
And ITAC was right: One day after their report was written, the Schara Tzedeck synagogue in Vancouver was firebombed in a terror attack — while worshippers were inside. That same week, the Bell Yeshiva Ketana Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire. In June, the Beth Tefilah synagogue in London, Ont. was vandalized. In August, fires were set at a synagogue and Jewish school. In that same month, more than 100 Jewish institutions received bomb threats.
And, in October of that same year, the Bais Chaya Mushka girls school in Toronto was sprayed with bullets — for the second time. That month, the government of Israel released an unprecedented report, showing that Canada has the highest rate of antisemitism of any Western country, with an increase of nearly 700% from before.
ITAC routinely calculates what is called the National Terrorism Threat Level, and works with CSIS — and answers to the government’s national security advisor, who directly advises the prime minister. It is unclear what, if anything, Trudeau was told about ITAC’s repeated warnings about likely terror attacks in Canada.
What’s clear is that the Trudeau government didn’t do much, at all — because, as we all know, the terror attacks continued.
In fact, they have never stopped.