Why CSIS is changing approach to extremist threats, including ‘incel’ violence,

‘Incels’ among ideologies CSIS adopts after charges laid in North York killing

OTTAWA— Canada’s domestic intelligence agency is changing how it talks about extremist threats, adopting a broader vocabulary to include violence inspired by “incels,” ethno-nationalists and other fringe groups.

The move comes a day after authorities laid Canada’s first incel-related terrorism charge against a 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a North York massage parlour.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service signalled Wednesday it would move away from describing terrorism as something perpetrated by “right-wing” or “left-wing” groups, or as exclusively the tool of religious extremists such as Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Instead, CSIS is classifying violent extremism and terrorism by motivation — religious, ideological, or political.

“Given the diverse combination of motivations and personalized world views of recent mass-casualty attackers, the use of such terms as ‘rightwing’ and ‘left-wing’ is not only subjective, but inaccurate in describing the complexity of motivations of (ideological) attacks in Canada and abroad,” read the agency’s annual report, delivered to parliamentarians Wednesday.

The new classification system is unlikely to change much in terms of CSIS operations and investigations. But it may signal a growing awareness within Canada’s national security community of emerging threats.

The agency specifically referenced “incels” — or “involuntary celibates,” an online movement of young men who have given up on finding a sexual partner, some of whom advocate violence against women.

Canada has seen a number of recent violent incidents where the suspects identified as incels.

The Toronto van attack driver, who killed 10 pedestrians and injured 16 others in 2018, told a Toronto police officer he hoped to spark an “incel uprising.” The man accused of attacking a woman and her eight-monthold child with a knife in Sudbury in ’19 told police he was part of the “incel” movement.

On Tuesday, RCMP and Toronto police charged a 17-yearold with “terrorist activity” in relation to a fatal stabbing at Crown Spa, an exotic massage parlour in North York.

On Feb. 24, police arrived at the business and found a man and woman suffering from multiple cuts.

Another woman, 24-year-old Ashley Noell Arzaga, was found dead inside.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was already facing first-degree murder and attempted murder charges.

Investigators later uncovered evidence the teen may have been inspired by incel ideology, but have not released further details. It’s the first time Canadian authorities have used terrorism charges outside al-Qaida or Daesh-inspired incidents.

CSIS’s report noted that, “while no single group has a monopoly” on terrorist threats, Daesh and al-Qaida still represent a danger to Canada.

The agency noted that Canadians who travel to fight for those groups — and those who have returned to Canada after assisting a terrorist organization — remain a “serious threat” to Canada.

Approximately 190 Canadians have been identified as currently abroad engaging in “terrorism-related activities” — not necessarily fighting, but supporting the cause — and roughly half of those Canadians have travelled to Turkey, Syria and Iraq. CSIS is aware of 60 people who have returned to Canada after working with extremist groups abroad.