Polarization and Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism in Canada since 2015

Executive Summary

This essay by Stephanie Carvin traces the relationship between polarization and ideologically motivated violent extremism in Canada since 2015, culminating in the 2022 Freedom Convoy occupation of Ottawa. The Convoy is presented not as a spontaneous outburst or a foreign-directed plot, but as the product of a polarized movement that grew over the preceding decade, convincing thousands of Canadians to abandon politics as persuasion and policy reform in favour of an anti-politics oriented toward revolution.

The essay first examines the conditions that made this possible: the rise of social media and the transformation of the far-right into the more mainstream-seeming "alt-right," aided by changes in aesthetics, messaging (from "race" to "identity"), and a supporting media ecosystem of hate entrepreneurs and outlets such as Rebel News and True North Canada. It then traces how political events since 2015 — the candidacies and elections of Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau, the arrival of Syrian refugees, and the reaction to parliamentary motion M-103 on Islamophobia — fed the rise of a populist, anti-government movement that ultimately capitalized on pandemic fatigue and a perceived lack of political leadership to produce the Freedom Convoy. The essay concludes by considering the challenges these polarized, anti-government movements pose for Canada's national security and democratic politics.