Toronto 18 Plot (2006)
The Toronto 18 plot refers to a foiled terrorist conspiracy in Canada that came to light in June 2006, involving the arrest of 18 men accused of planning multiple attacks, including bombings targeting the Canadian parliament and the Toronto subway. The arrests occurred on the night of June 2-3, with authorities asserting that the plot had not progressed beyond the planning stage. Among the accused were individuals of South Asian descent, many living in Toronto and the nearby suburb of Mississauga. The alleged plans also included the murder of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and hostage-taking to demand the release of Muslim prisoners.
The aftermath of the arrests raised important discussions in Canada regarding the definitions of terrorism and the potential presence of Islamist extremist groups within the country. In 2008, a teenage plotter was found guilty of participating in the conspiracy, despite defense arguments suggesting the activities were more akin to youthful mischief than serious threats. The case highlighted broader concerns about radicalization and the influence of extremist ideologies, while also prompting debates about legal standards for prosecuting terrorism-related offenses. Overall, the Toronto 18 incident reflects a complex intersection of youth, extremism, and the challenges of counterterrorism efforts in a multicultural society.
Subject Terms
Toronto 18 Plot (2006)
Summary: Canadian police arrested 18 men on the night of June 2-3, 2006, and accused them of plotting a string of attacks in Canada, including bombing parliament and the Toronto subway and the murder of the prime minister. Police said they arrested the men in order to prevent their plot from advancing beyond the planning stage. Two years later, on September 25, 2008, one of the accused plotters (unnamed because he was 17 years old in June 2006) was found guilty of participating in a terrorist conspiracy.
Date: June 2-3, 2006.
Place: Toronto, Canada.
Incident: Canadian authorities arrested 18 men, including five under age 18, and accused them of planning terrorist attacks in Canada using fertilizer bombs. The government accused the suspects of planning to attack the Canadian parliament, the headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., and the Toronto subway. The plot also involved capturing and decapitating Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as taking hostages to demand freedom for unnamed Muslim prisoners and withdrawal of Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Police said the suspects had participated in terrorist training camps inside Canada and arranged to acquire three tons of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient in fertilizer bombs like the one used by Timothy McVeigh to destroy the federal office building in Oklahoma.
Police said the arrests of the suspects on the evening of June 2, 2006 and the morning of June 3 were made to prevent the plot from advancing beyond the planning stage.
Known or presumed perpetrators
The men arrested all appeared to be of South Asian ancestry, and all but two lived in Toronto or the suburb of Mississauga. Two of those charged in the plot were already in jail on other charges. Authorities suggested at least half a dozen suspects had in common ties to a storefront mosque, the Al Rahman Islamic Center for Islamic Education in Mississauga. All but two of the suspects were from Toronto or from the suburb of Mississauga, Ontario.
Charges against seven suspects were later dropped.
On September 25, 2008, the first verdict in the case found one of the teenage plotters guilty of participating in a terrorist plot. Justice John Sproat wrote that evidence was "overwhelming" that a terrorist group existed and that the defendant was part of it as shown "by his participation and contribution intended to enhance the ability of the terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity." The defendant found guilty was 17 at the time of his arrest and was not identified. He was a native of Sri Lanka who converted to Islam.
The defense argued unsuccessfully that the plot was more a matter of play-acting than a serious threat. Activities described by police as terrorist training was really on the order of teenage antics, such as spinning a car on an icy parking lot ("cutting doughnuts"), a common winter activity of Canadian teenagers.
Impact
The case of the "Toronto 18" raised two issues in Canada: first, what constitutes participating in a terrorist plot, and second, the possible existence in Canada of Islamist extremist groups participating in a wider worldwide jihad.
The defense had argued that the defendant had never participated in an attack and that what the government called "terrorist training" could as just as easily be described as adolescent antics. The judge ruled that under Canadian law it was not required for a defendant to know the specifics of any plot or attack, but only to knowingly participate in a "terrorist enterprise." The ruling observed that after the "training camp," the defendant had remained close to the alleged ringleader and had carried out other acts, such as shoplifting camping gear and walkie-talkies, on the group's behalf.
Canadian critics of the prosecution objected that the defendant was guilty by association and/or of having a guilty mind, rather than of having actually participated in a realistic plot.
On the issue of links to a wider global jihad, or plans to attack the United States, authorities offered no evidence of direct links to Al Qaeda or of plans to attack the United States. Terrorism experts suggested that the Toronto 18 plotters had been influenced by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda's attacks on the United States and elsewhere. These experts suggested the arrests signified a new era of prospective terrorism by extremist Muslims acting independently while under the general influence of more notorious leaders like bin Laden.
History/Background
Canada has experienced waves of terrorism in recent decades, particularly by proponents of independence for the province of Quebec (about 200 attacks between 1960 and 1989). Advocates of unification of Ulster and the Republic of Ireland have also been active in Canada to a lesser degree.
Foreign-based terrorists were blamed for 62 attacks, mostly against diplomatic installations, between 1960 and 1989. Targets included missions of the government of Cuba and Yugoslavia.
Another source of domestic Canadian terrorism was attacks by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, blamed for assassinating a Turkish military attaché and a takeover in 1985 of the Turkish embassy in Ottawa.
Sikh terrorists have also been active in Canada, including the bombing of an Air India plane en route to Canada from Europe in which 329 people died.
The Animal Liberation Front is believed to have a significant presence in Canada and is blamed for numerous attacks.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is thought to have a large presence in Canada, although its attacks are confined to Sri Lanka. Canada is a major location of fundraising and political recruiting among Tamil exiles living there.
Bibliography
Gaya, Beenish. "Accused Toronto 18-Now Toronto 11-Undergo Trial by Media." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 27:5 (July 2008) 2p. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=32458235&site=isc-live
Hoffman, Bruce and David Dryer. "Terrorism in the West: Al-Qaeda's Role in 'Homegrown' Terror." Brown Journal of World Affairs 11:2 (Spring/Summer 2007) 9p. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=25431103&site=isc-live