Daniel Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said Thursday during a rare public appearance that nearly one in 10 of the agency’s terrorism investigations involves at least one person under the age of 18, an alarming trend fueled by online extremism.
According to Rogers, there have been nearly 20 violent extremist attacks in Canada since 2014, leaving 29 dead and at least 60 injured.
Worryingly, he said, nearly one in 10 terrorism investigations at CSIS, the country’s domestic spy agency, includes at least one “investigative subject” under the age of 18.
According to Rogers, a minor was arrested in Montreal in August for allegedly planning an attack on behalf of the terrorist group Daesh.
Dan Rogers, a national security and intelligence adviser, gave a rare speech Thursday. (Reuters/Blair Gable/File Photo)
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Just a few months earlier, a 15-year-old minor from the Edmonton area was charged with a terrorism-related offense after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigators feared the teen might commit serious violence in connection with COM/764, a transnational violent online network that manipulates children and youth through widely accessible online platforms.
Rogers also noted that two 15-year-olds were arrested in Ottawa for allegedly plotting to carry out a mass casualty attack targeting the Canadian capital’s Jewish community in late 2023 and early 2024.
“It is clear that radicalized youth can cause the same damage as radicalized adults, but community support for youth can help us detect and prevent radicalization early,” Rogers said. “These tragic numbers would have been higher had it not been for the disruptive actions taken by CSIS and our law enforcement partners.”
The CSIS joined the RCMP and intelligence partners from the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand in releasing a joint public report in December highlighting the evolving issue of youth and violent extremism.
The report provides advice to parents, guardians and others with information to help them identify early concerns and tackle youth radicalization before it is too late.
“Since 2022, CSIS has been involved in the disruption of no fewer than 24 violent extremist actions, each of which has resulted in arrests or terrorism charges,” Rogers said. “In 2024, CSIS played an integral role in the disruption of two Daesh-inspired plots.
“In one case, a father and son were reportedly in the advanced stages of planning an attack in the Toronto area. In another case, an individual was arrested before allegedly attempting to illegally enter the United States to attack members of New York’s Jewish community. In these examples, and many others that I cannot discuss publicly, our counter-terrorism teams worked with law enforcement and saved lives.”
Canadian officials said they were also blocking potentially “deadly threats” from Iran. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency)
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He attributed the radicalization to “eroding social cohesion, increasing polarization and major global events,” which he said “provide fertile ground for radicalization.”
“Many who turn to violence radicalize exclusively online, often without guidance from others,” Rogers said. “They are using technology to do this secretly and anonymously, severely challenging the ability of our investigators to keep pace and identify and prevent acts of violence.”
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Rogers also noted that the CSIS gathers intelligence and defends against transnational repression, with a previous focus on transnational repression by the People’s Republic of China, India and others.
“In particularly alarming cases over the past year, we have had to reprioritize our operations to counter the actions of Iranian intelligence services and their allies, who have targeted individuals they view as a threat to their regime,” he said. “In more than one case, this involved detecting, investigating and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada.”
