First-of-its-kind report details extremist groups in Alberta
Alberta is home to a disproportionate number of extremist movements — including far-right groups and people travelling abroad to join armed groups such as ISIS — according to a new report billed as the first of its kind.
OPV executive director John McCoy said he’s unaware of any other studies that identify and quantify extremist groups in Alberta. McCoy said one major conclusion is that individuals on the edges of extremist groups — often radicalized on social media — are the biggest threat.Al-Qaida, affiliates and splinter groups The report found Alberta has been home to “both intimate and established networks” tied to al-Qaida and affiliated groups, and “highly isolated cases that are connected with AQAS networks wholly online.
Roughly 20 people are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq from Calgary — including 10 or so who shared a loose connection with a now-closed mosque in downtown Calgary. Norman Raddatz — the man who killed Edmonton city police Const. Daniel Woodall and shot another officer in 2015 — expressed Freeman-style sentiments and was investigated for harassing a Jewish family. James Roszko, the man who murdered four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe in 2005, was also known to have violent anti-government views. Both perpetrators are dead.
The OPV estimates there were 20 to 30 people involved in Antifa and anti-racist groups in Calgary, with only a small number who support violence during confrontations with the far right.Patriot and Militia GroupsPatriot and militia groups are motivated “primarily by xenophobia and anti-government views,” the report said, adding many members share anti-Islamic sentiments. Some engage in survivalist activities like “prepping” and firearms training.
“However, there are not-trivial concerns that individuals associated with, or more accurately on the margins of these groups, may carry out ‘lone actor’ or small network violence.”
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