RCMP Arrest Montreal Minor on Terrorism Charges

A Montreal youth has been arrested on terrorism-related charges after he had allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and was in the process of planning an attack, the RCMP says.

The Mounties said the boy was arrested in the Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Aug. 20, but did not release his name or age. 

The RCMP had begun its investigation in April, and said the boy had stated online that he wanted to attack several groups of people, and that he intended to acquire weapons like AK-47s to carry out the attack.

The accused will appear in youth court on Aug. 21 on three counts of providing or making available property or services for terrorist purposes, participation in the activity of a terrorist group, and facilitating a terrorist activity.

The RCMP investigation was handled by nearly 40 employees from the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.

The RCMP said in a statement that countering radicalization to violence remains a “top priority” for the Canadian government, and the RCMP is committed to countering “religiously motivated violent extremism.”

“Collaboration and information sharing are key to detection and disruption efforts by law enforcement and our partners, such as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service,” the RCMP said.

The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and Canada’s partners in the Five Eyes alliance issued a report in December 2024 that warned of minors becoming radicalized and planning to undertake terrorist activities. The report said it is important for government agencies, the education sector, mental health services, and tech companies to make efforts to identify and counter the radicalization of minors.

“It is important to work together early as once law enforcement and security agencies become involved, it is often too late,” the report said.

CSIS’s 2024 Public Report also said that the overall violent extremist threat to Canada remains at a “heightened level” with online radicalization contributing to an increasing number of people, some of whom are youth, mobilizing with intent to commit violence.

The report said multiple religiously motivated violent extremists were arrested in Canada in 2024 for terrorism-related offences, and they were mainly motivated by wars in the Middle East and inspired by the Islamic State. This includes a father and son, Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi, who were arrested while in the advanced stages of planning an attack in Toronto, as well as Pakistani citizen Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, who planned to cross into the United States to attack Jewish people in New York City.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.