Extremists saw 2021 Canadian federal election as opportunity to plan violence, says CSIS

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Extremists saw 2021 Canadian federal election as opportunity to plan violence, says CSIS
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Extremists planned to commit violence during 2021 Canadian federal election, says CSIS

One of Canada’s spy agencies says extremists saw the 2021 federal election as an opportunity to plan violence.

In its 2021 annual report released Friday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says it hosted a behind-the-scenes conference last year that aimed to warn public officials planning the election about efforts by hostile foreign states to interfere in the campaign as well as threats from radicals who sought to discourage Canadians from voting or use the balloting exercise as a reason to hurt or kill people.

CSIS said the event was designed to inform election planners “on the threats associated with foreign interference, as well as from ideologically-motivated violent extremist actors who viewed the election as an opportunity to discourage Canadians from democratic participation or to plan acts of violence.”

CSIS director David Vigneault in a foreword to the report says the lengthy COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive the spread of ideologically motivated violent extremism in Canada. “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMVE activity has been fueled by an increase in extreme antiauthority and anti-government rhetoric often rooted in the weaponization of conspiracy theories,” CSIS said.

He declined to identify people but said “a number of Canadian influencers and proselytizers have emerged within IMVE movements. These IMVE influencers promote misinformation and action, including violence.”

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