Terrorist Attacks
Muslim family in Canada killed in premeditated truck attack
In Canada, 16 terrorist attacks (of which 6 are Islamist and 10 right-wing extremists) have been identified in the past decade, resulting in 29 deaths and 54 injuries. The most high-profile crime was the deliberate hitting of a truck on walking pedestrians - a Muslim family in London, Ontario in June 2021. All five of the victims were from the same family and were Muslims; most arrived in Canada from Pakistan in 2007. The dead were a 46-year-old man, his 44-year-old wife, their 15-year-old daughter and his 74-year-old mother. The only survivor, a nine-year-old boy of the family, was seriously injured. As the police established, the terrorist 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman acted out of hatred.
The attack was condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, National Council of Canadian Muslims and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. They all called it a terrorist act motivated by hatred.
In 2020, an online report supported by the Public Safety Canada Community Resilience Fund demonstrated that acts of terrorism committed by the far-right have increased by 320% over the past five years, supported by an increasingly connected and internationalist community of right-wing extremism. It argues that central to this increase in activity is the use of social media.
