Counter-terrorism

Protecting our communities from the threat of terrorism is of the utmost importance to the Government of Canada. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is the lead Minister for overall counter-terrorism planning, preparedness and response within the Government of Canada, and for national leadership and coordination on matters relevant to national security.

Counter-terrorism Strategy

Building Resilience Against Terrorism, Canada's first Counter-terrorism Strategy, was released in 2012. It explains our national approach to countering terrorism. This comprehensive Strategy guides more than 20 federal departments and agencies to better align them to “prevent, detect, deny and respond” to terrorist threats. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in consultation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for the Strategy's implementation.

Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada

When the Government released the Counter-terrorism Strategy, it was with the understanding that partnership with Canadians is important and that citizens need to be informed of the terrorist threat in as open and straightforward a manner as possible.

Countering Violent Extremism

The first element of the Counter-terrorism Strategy is prevention, and preventing and countering violent extremism is an important part of that work. The Government's approach to combating violent extremism, namely the threat inspired by al Qaida ideology, is coordinated, broad-based and multipronged. A cornerstone of our response is engaging with diverse communities on a range of issues to develop trust and build long-term relationships. We also work to increase public awareness of the threat in order to build community resilience and to help address the problem of radicalization to violence.

Justice for Victims of Terrorism

The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act – and related amendments to the State Immunity Act – allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators of terrorism and those that support them, including listed foreign states, for loss or damage that occurred as a result of an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world.

Kanishka Project

The Kanishka Project provides research on terrorism-related issues affecting Canada, such as preventing and countering violent extremism.

Listed Terrorist Entities

Canada's Anti-terrorism Act enables the government to create a list of "entities" under the Criminal Code. This is a very public way to identify a group or individual as being associated with terrorism.

Remembrance

Learn about the tragic terrorist events that have claimed the innocent lives of Canadians, and see how we honour and remember them.

Safeguarding Canadians with the Passenger Protect Program

The Passenger Protect Program, a shared responsibility between Public Safety Canada and Transport Canada, allows the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, to list an individual if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that:

the individual will engage or attempt to engage in an act that would threaten transportation security; or
they are attempting to travel abroad to commit certain terrorism offences, as defined in the Criminal Code, such as terrorist attacks, funding for weapons, training and recruitment.

The Minister may direct an air carrier to take a specific, reasonable and necessary action to prevent a listed person from engaging in such activities, such as by directing an air carrier to deny transportation to individuals or require them to undergo additional screening.

Individuals who have been the subject of a written direction under the Passenger Protect Program can apply for a review of their status as a listed person through the Passenger Protect Recourse Office.

Security Certificates

The security certificate process within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is not a criminal proceeding, but an immigration proceeding. The objective of the process is the removal from Canada of non-Canadians who have no legal right to be here and who pose a serious threat to Canada and Canadians.