Other People's Wars: A Review of Overseas Terrorism in ... - Edocr

Other Peoples’ Wars -- Chapter Two
Chapter 2. Terrorist Groups with a Presence in Canada
Terrorism in Canada’s History
Canada has a reputation as a haven for terrorists from many different backgrounds. This,
unfortunately, is somewhat true, but we may not be quite as open to penetration by insurgents as
some critics think. This chapter will look at the groups that are active around the world, and
then look at some of those with connections within Canada.
Canadians tend to act surprised to learn that terrorism is present in Canada – a point that does
confirm suspicions that many of us know little about our own history. Irish Fenians were a
concern around the time of Confederation, and Darcy McGee (one of the Fathers of
Confederation) was assassinated by one in 1869. Down through the decades after this, there
were few problems inside Canada, although the Ku Klux Klan made an appearance between
the World Wars and caused some problems. 1 The other major source for occasional acts of
terrorism (usually within their own community) were the Doukhobors, the first of the imported
or ‘émigré’ groups to come into Canada. More would be heard from them after the Second
World War.
Canadians are perfectly capable of generating terrorism on their own, although most incidents
are minor, and narrowly focused within particular communities. Anthony Kellet catalogued 428
incidents of terrorism originating in Canada during a 30-year period between 1960 and 1989. 2
These were acts by a variety of actors from the radical Left and Right, Quebec Separatists, the
Doukhobors (still), and single issue players such as the Animal Liberation Front and anti-
Abortion activists. The majority of these actions (some 200 in all) involved Quebec separatists,
and 143 involved actions by the Sons of Freedom subset of the Doukhobors.
Quebec separatists provoked the greatest emergency with the FLQ crisis in 1970, when –
101 years after the death of Darcy McGee -- a Quebec cabinet minister became the second
Canadian politician to be assassinated. Considerable attention was also generated by the shortlived
career of five radical leftists, who went on a spree in 1982-83 that culminated in a clumsy
but massive truck-bomb outside the Litton Industries plant in Toronto in October 1983. Truck
bombs and assassinations were unusual, as the vast majority of Canadian terrorist attacks
involved Molotov cocktails, pipe bombs, and other unsophisticated forms of attack. Kellet’s
figures only include actual attacks, not threats, by groups that were formed in Canada and
attacking targets inside Canada.
1 Julian Sher, White Hoods: Canada’s Ku Klux Klan; New Star Books, Vancouver, 1983.
2 See Anthony Kellet, “Terrorism in Canada: 1960-1992”, pgs 285-312 in Violence in Canada: Sociopolitical
Perspectives; (Jeffrey Ian Ross ed.), Oxford University Press Canada, 1995
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