The most extensive study to date on violent extremism in Alberta is now available to the public.
The Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV) published the report this week, titled Building Awareness, Seeking Solutions: Extremism & Hate Motivated Violence in Alberta.
The 190-page document identifies six broad categories of violent extremist groups with a current or historical presence in Alberta, relying on interviews with law enforcement, community groups and former extremists.
It argues that the greatest risk of violence comes not from organized groups themselves, but socially isolated people on the fringes of extremist movements.
“There are so many different ideas, ideologies and extremist communities that can generate this problem,” said OPV executive director John McCoy, a terrorism studies professor at the University of Alberta.
“So much of it is now taking place or being manifested online. That’s a real game-changer when it comes to this problem.”
The OPV received funding from the federal government last year as part of a plan to address violent extremism in the province. Postmedia reported on the draft report in April.
The six groups it identified as having a presence in Alberta include Al-Qaida and affiliates, anti-government extremists, the far left, patriot and militia groups, white supremacists and “single issue” extremists.
The report details the history of each group, its motivations, and gives rough estimates of how many members each claims in Alberta.
It also covers hate crimes in Alberta, which have risen in recent years.
Researchers interviewed more than 170 law enforcement officers from every municipal police force in the province as well as the RCMP. They also spoke with 21 former extremists, 50 community groups specializing in youth and violence reduction and 120 people whose communities have been victimized by hate-motived violence.
The report also delves into how to counter-violent extremism, equating the problem to a public health issue.
“The methods used to address the problems of addictions, domestic violence, youth gangs, and crime in general can be adapted and augmented to counter violent extremism as well,” the report states. The organization also takes referrals from people concerned about friends and loved ones falling in with extremist movements.
McCoy said he didn’t want to give the impression that Alberta is a hotbed for violent extremism, but did note the province produced a disproportionate numbers of ISIS foreign fighters and a large number of “patriot” militias.
“We don’t want Alberta to be painted with this brush of like ‘Alberta is disproportionately impacted by extremism’ because of some sort of characteristic of Albertans or the province,” he said. “This is really an international problem and it’s only in some small categories that we can say we’re disproportionately impacted.”
“There’s nothing unique about Alberta that makes it more susceptible,” he added.
“It’s sort of an equal opportunity problem, if you will.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
