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Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director Daniel Rogers said during a rare public appearance on Thursday that nearly 1 in 10 of the agency’s terrorism investigations involve at least one person under the age of 18, an alarming trend fueled by online extremism.
According to Rogers, there have been nearly two dozen violent extremist attacks in Canada since 2014, resulting in 29 deaths and at least 60 injuries.
Worryingly, he said, nearly one in ten terrorism investigations into CSIS, the country’s domestic spy agency, involves at least one “subject of investigation” under the age of 18.
In August, a minor was arrested in Montreal for planning an attack on behalf of the terrorist group Daesh, according to Rogers.
National security and intelligence adviser Dan Rogers gave a rare speech Thursday. (Reuters/Blair Gable/file photo)
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Just a few months ago, 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 would commit serious violence related to COM/764, an international violent online network that manipulates children and youth on widely accessible online platforms.
Rogers also noted that two 15-year-olds were arrested in Ottawa on charges of plotting a mass-casualty attack targeting the Jewish community in the Canadian capital between late 2023 and early 2024.
“Clearly, radicalized youth can cause the same harm as radicalized adults, but social support for youth can help us catch radicalization early and prevent it,” Rogers said. “Had it not been for the disruptive action taken by CSIS and our law enforcement partners, these tragic numbers would have been even higher.”
Canadian authorities have prevented several attacks over the past year, officials said. (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennaton)
CSIS joined the RCMP and intelligence partners from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in releasing a joint public report in December highlighting the emerging issue of young people and violent extremism.
The report provides advice to help parents, guardians and others identify early concerns and address youth radicalization before it is too late.
“Since 2022, CSIS has been involved in disrupting at least 24 violent extremist actions, each of which resulted in an arrest or terrorism peace bond charges,” Rogers said. “In 2024, CSIS played an integral role in thwarting two Daesh-inspired plots.
“In one case, a father and son were allegedly in the advanced stages of planning an attack in the Toronto area. In another, a man was arrested before attempting to enter the United States illegally to attack members of the Jewish community in New York. In these instances, and many others I cannot discuss publicly, our counterterrorism teams have partnered with law enforcement and saved lives.”
Canadian officials said they have also blocked potential ‘lethal threats’ from Iran. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency)
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He attributed radicalization to “decreasing social cohesion, increasing polarization and significant global events”, which he said “provide fertile ground for radicalization.”
“Many people who turn to violence are particularly radicalized online, often without direction from others,” Rogers said. “They use technology to do so covertly and anonymously, seriously challenging the ability of our investigators to keep pace and identify and prevent acts of violence.”
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Rogers also noted that CSIS collects intelligence and defends against international repression, previously focusing on international repression by the People’s Republic of China, India, and others.
“In particularly worrying cases over the past year, we have had to reprioritize our operations to counter the actions of Iranian intelligence services and their proxies, who have targeted those they consider a threat to their regime,” he said. “In more than one case, this included detecting, investigating and disrupting potentially lethal threats against persons in Canada.”
