Three Montreal Jewish schools have been hit by gunfire, synagogues have been firebombed, a former Canadian justice minister was targeted in an Iranian assassination plot, and a police officer was shot while protecting Jewish worshippers on Yom Kippur. Now, senior Canadian security officials are warning that the threats facing the country’s Jewish community have reached unprecedented levels.
According to a new report in The Globe and Mail, national security officials are particularly concerned about the speed at which individuals are becoming radicalized and the growing danger of violent attacks against Jewish Canadians. Their warnings follow a series of federal intelligence assessments documenting terrorist plots, threats from foreign governments and attacks against Jewish institutions.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) disclosed in its 2025 public report that one attack and five plots targeting Jewish institutions or interests had been recorded since 2014. Among those disrupted plots was the August 2025 arrest of a Montreal minor who investigators said intended to attack Jewish people and police officers.
A separate intelligence assessment prepared by the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre (ITAC) on June 29, 2026, identified four Islamic State inspired plots against Jewish targets that had been disrupted since October 2023. The document, first examined by Montreal Jewish News in July, warned that violent extremist and criminal threats against Jewish communities were likely to continue. The report did not identify the suspects or intended targets.
One of the most serious incidents involved former Canadian justice minister and longtime Montreal MP Irwin Cotler, who was warned by the RCMP in October 2024 that Iranian agents were allegedly preparing to assassinate him within 48 hours. Cotler, a prominent human rights advocate and longtime critic of the Iranian regime, had already been under round the clock police protection since November 2023.
In a November 2024 interview with Global News, Cotler confirmed that his security detail had warned him of the imminent threat while he was attending an event at McGill University. His protection was immediately intensified, and he was subsequently advised that the danger had diminished. Although reports indicated that police had identified two possible suspects, authorities never publicly confirmed whether they had been arrested.
The Canadian government formally acknowledged the foiled assassination attempt in February 2026. In regulations published in the Canada Gazette, Ottawa specifically cited the Cotler case as an example of Iranian operations against perceived enemies abroad. The document described how Iranian intelligence services use criminal organizations and intermediaries to threaten, intimidate and sometimes assassinate critics of the regime.
Canada joined 28 other countries earlier this month in condemning Iranian assassination plots and attacks abroad. As Montreal Jewish News reported on October 12, the international declaration specifically identified attacks against Jewish communities and political dissidents, including operations carried out through criminal intermediaries.
The threat is not limited to Canada. Earlier this month, a German court sentenced two men to prison for their roles in an Iranian directed operation targeting Jewish and pro Israel figures, including Volker Beck, president of the German Israeli Society, and Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. According to MJN’s reporting on the German case, one of the men had received instructions directly from officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a visit to Tehran.
Montreal’s Jewish community has already experienced repeated attacks against its institutions. On November 9, 2023, bullets struck both Azrieli Talmud Torah on St. Kevin Avenue and Yeshiva Gedola on Deacon Road. Three days later, Yeshiva Gedola was shot at again, with police discovering bullet damage to the building and shell casings nearby. On May 29, 2024, police investigated another shooting at the Belz school housed in the Young Israel of Montreal synagogue on Hillsdale Road. At least two bullets struck the front of the building. None of the shootings resulted in injuries.
In September 2026, Abdirazak Mahdi Ahmed pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in connection with the November 12 attack on Yeshiva Gedola. Prosecutors did not establish an anti Jewish motive, and Ahmed was not prosecuted under Canada’s terrorism laws. No charges have been publicly announced in connection with the November 9 shootings at Yeshiva Gedola and Talmud Torah.
Congregation Beth Tikvah and the neighbouring Federation CJA offices in Dollard-des-Ormeaux were targeted in December 2024 by Mohamed Ilyess Akodad, who subsequently pleaded guilty. During a June 2026 sentencing hearing, Akodad testified that he had been offered $15,000 to set fire to two buildings and a vehicle. He claimed he had no idea the targets were Jewish institutions and said he ultimately received only $3,000 after failing to complete the assignment.
As Montreal Jewish News reported in its investigation into criminals being paid to attack Jewish institutions, Akodad’s testimony raised questions about the individuals who selected the targets, supplied the materials and arranged payment. Those responsible for commissioning the attacks have not been publicly identified. An April 2026 federal intelligence assessment separately warned that Iranian intelligence services may be using local criminal networks to carry out attacks against Jewish interests in Canada, although no foreign connection has been established in the Akodad case.
More recently, on June 5, 2026, Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Westmount was targeted in an attempted arson. Police arrested a 38 year old suspect after a window was smashed and an attempt was made to set fire to the synagogue. The building sustained relatively minor damage following a rapid response by emergency services.
The number of reported incidents remains disproportionately high. According to Statistics Canada, police recorded 788 hate crimes targeting Jewish Canadians in 2025, representing approximately 71 per cent of all religion motivated hate crimes nationwide. Although the figure declined by 16 per cent from 2024, Jews remained the most frequently targeted religious community, despite accounting for approximately one per cent of Canada’s population.
CSIS has also warned that rapid online radicalization is complicating counterterrorism investigations. Its 2025 report noted that extremist propaganda, conspiracy theories and violent material can influence individuals without direct contact with an established terrorist organization. The agency acknowledged that investigators are finding it increasingly difficult to identify potential attackers before they act.
Despite the documented plots and attacks, Canada’s national terrorism threat level remained at medium in the June ITAC assessment, meaning officials considered a terrorist attack a realistic possibility. The assessment concluded that the growing threats, particularly those directed against Jews, had not been accompanied by sufficient evidence of increased extremist capabilities or completed attacks to justify raising the nationwide rating.
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