Terrorism in Canada

Terrorism and mass attacks in Canada includes acts of terrorism, as well as mass shootings, vehicle-ramming attacks, mass stabbings, and other such acts committed in Canada that people may associate with terroristic tactics but have not been classified as terrorism by the Canadian legal system. (For example, the 2018 Toronto shooting was a mass shooting that law enforcement officials did not connect to terrorism.)^[1]

The Criminal Code of Canada defines terrorist activity to include an "act or omission undertaken, in or outside Canada, for a political, religious or ideological purpose, that is intended to intimidate the public with regard to its security, including its economic security, or to compel a person, government or organization (whether in or outside Canada) to do or refrain from doing any act, and that intentionally causes one of a number of specific forms of serious harm."^[1] As such, some of the terrorist acts listed here are related to external events and nationalities, while others, such as the FLQ crisis in 1970, are related to internal tensions within the country.

Matters relevant to overall counterterrorism in Canada, as well as national security within the federal government, fall under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, who heads Public Safety Canada (PSC).^[2] Two other ministers with particularly crucial roles with respect to counter-terrorism are the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of National Defence.^[3]

The Canadian government uses the National Terrorism Threat Level (NTTL) to identify the probability of terrorism occurring in Canada. As of 22 May 2021^[update], Canada's current threat level is "Medium," which means that a "violent act of terrorism could occur;" it has been at this level since October 2014.^[1][4]