UK Foreign Office Says Terrorists ‘Very Likely’ to Attempt an Attack in Canada

The sign for the British Foreign Office in an undated file photo. (Yui Mok/PA Media)

A department of the British government is warning potential travellers to Canada that there’s a high probability terrorists will try to conduct an attack in Canada.

“Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Canada,” says the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in a travel advice notice. It adds there’s a “high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals.”

The department says that attacks could be “indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.”

“You should remain aware of your surroundings, keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of local authorities.”

Canadian authorities assess the current threat level from terrorism at “Medium,” and it hasn’t changed since 2014. It was elevated from “Low” to “Medium” on Oct. 17, 2014, a few days prior to Michael Zehaf-Bibeau killing Corporal Nathan Cirillo at the War Memorial and his attempt to target politicians on Parliament Hill.

The FCDO noted four attacks having taken place in Canada in recent years. It mentions the 2023 stabbing in Surrey, B.C. for which alleged ISIS supporter Abdul Aziz Kawam has been charged with four terrorism charges.

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It also notes the 2021 vehicle attack in London, Ontario, which killed four people, the 2020 hammer attack that killed one person in Scarborough, Ontario, and the 2020 machete attack in Toronto, Ontario, which killed one and injured two.

The FCDO doesn’t provide additional information to justify its threat level for Canada, but it provides a link to Canada’s threat level portal.

The latest available version of the travel advice web page in the Internet Archive is from July 3, and at that time the FCDO assessed the threat of terrorism in Canada as “likely” instead of “very likely.”

The Epoch Times asked the FCDO about the rationale for the threat level and for raising it in recent months but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Public Safety Canada did not directly comment on the FCDO advisory but said that “Canada’s law enforcement and security agencies monitor all potential threats and have robust measures in place to address them.”

“We will keep Canadians informed of any changes to the threat level,” said spokesperson Tim Warmington in a statement to The Epoch Times.

‘Robust’ Process

The issue was raised in the House of Commons on Nov. 8, with Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for details about the British advisory.

“Does the prime minister agree with the U.K. Foreign Office’s assessment? And what is he doing to protect Canadians from such an attack?” said Mr. Poilievre.

Mr. Trudeau said there’s a “robust” process to determine the threat level. “We are continuing to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can to keep Canadians safe,” he said.

The prime minister remarked that tensions are currently high and that the best thing Canadians can do is to “stay true to our values, be respectful of one another, feel each other’s pain, and be there to support through very difficult times of a rise in hatred, including Islamophobia and antisemitism.”

Mr. Poilievre pressed Mr. Trudeau on the discrepancy between the threat levels assessed by Canada and the U.K.

“Terrorists are not interested in feeling other people’s pain, they’re interested in causing other people pain,” he said.

“I can’t speak to how the U.K. makes its determinations, but I certainly can say that in Canada we have top security agencies and officials who work daily to reassess the threat levels to Canadians,” said the prime minister.

Canada has seen a rise in hate crimes following the latest round of armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian group the government considers a terrorist entity.

There were two attempted arsons at Jewish institutions in Montreal on Nov. 7.

Montreal police say there have been 48 reported hate crimes and incidents against the Jewish community and 17 against the Arab-Muslim community since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to CBC News. In contrast, there were 72 hate crimes and incidents reported against all groups for all of 2022.

Mr. Trudeau told reporters on Nov. 8 that the current tensions and attacks are “terrifying” and “unacceptable.”