Gary Mar: Governments need a co-ordinated response to hate and violent extremism

Canada is confronting a level of organized hate, extremism and violent attacks that is testing the strength of our institutions and our ability to uphold the rule of law.

Twice this year, the U.S. Consulate in Toronto has come under gunfire . In between those attacks, synagogues, Jewish schools, neighbourhoods and even cemeteries were targeted. A recent federal government report found that 95.7 per cent of Jewish students on Canadian campuses experienced or witnessed antisemitism over the past year.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw has described a guns-for-hire economy, in which young people are recruited through encrypted apps, paid as little as $600 to $1,000 to carry out attacks and asked to film the acts as proof of completion. These are organized networks exploiting weaknesses that cut across federal, provincial and municipal responsibilities.

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Similar situations have arisen elsewhere in Canada, such as extortion related shootings in British Columbia targeting South Asian businesses and personal residences. The Bishnoi gang , designated a terrorist entity by Canada in 2025, has publicly claimed it has more than 1,000 members operating in Canada to intimidate citizens and the police. Police say these organized criminals are a mix of foreign nationals and Canadian citizens and are not one group or individual but multiple groups threatening public safety.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has approximately 550 investigators responsible for roughly 33,000 outstanding deportation warrants. Organized crime has taken notice. To be clear, none of the individuals charged in the Toronto consulate or synagogue shootings are known to be immigration cases. But if organized criminal groups believe Canada’s enforcement capacity is overstretched, and that our laws on hate, extremism and violent attacks are too weak, it is reasonable to ask whether those same vulnerabilities can be exploited by extremist actors.

The federal government’s response, Bill C-9 , created new offences for intimidation at places of worship and schools. The Canada Community Security Program (CCSP) received an additional $75 million over five years, and the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion was established in June. Although these are positive steps, they are not a strategy.