CSIS warns of rising threats but avoids naming Islamic extremism, specific drivers

CSIS warns that radicalization is increasingly happening in private, anonymous online spaces, where individuals consume violent content and reinforce each other’s views.

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The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says violent extremism in Canada is becoming harder to track, harder to define, and more difficult to stop.

The 2025 public report, released last week, describes a threat environment that “continues to pose a significant threat to Canada’s national security and remains a critical operational priority for CSIS” adding that extremism is “motivated by an increasingly diverse range of beliefs and convictions.”

Those beliefs, CSIS says, can form a “salad bar” of grievances. Previously distinct ideologies are now blending together to create what the agency calls a “complex, diverse, chaotic” landscape that challenges investigators’ ability to respond.