The Canadian government has accepted that Khalistani terrorist groups operate and raise funds from its soil and the said extremists encourage the use of violence to “establish new political systems”. The report, titled ‘2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada’, at least two Khalistani separatist groups have received financial support originating from Canada.
The Canadian government report on terror financing further states that the groups – Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation – have received funds from inside Canada to conduct their politically motivated activities.
The new report comes just two months after Ottawa’s intelligence agency talked about the presence of a politically motivated violent extremism threat in Canada since the mid-1980s. This, the report said, grew as Khalistani extremists sought to use violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan within India’s Punjab, reported PTI.
Report flags ‘Politically Motivated Violent Extremism’
The new report highlights that these Khalistani groups operate and encourage politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE). They prefer using violence “to establish new political systems, or new structures and norms within existing systems.”
“While PMVE may include religious elements, actors are more focused on political self-determination or representation, rather than racial or ethnic supremacy,” the report further said.
Terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah fall under the list of terrorist entities under the Criminal Code in Canada that fall under the PMVE category. The report mentions that violent extremist groups Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation are also part of the list and have been observed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to receive financial support originating from Canada.
Three years ago in 2022, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada’s (FINTRAC) Operational Alert on Terrorist Activity Financing had stated that Lebanon-backed Hezbollah was the second most frequently identified international terrorist entity to receive outgoing Canadian funds, PTI said.
The 2025 Assessment report highlights the PMVE financing methods too and said Hamas and Hezbollah are established and well-resourced groups that fall under the PMVE category. “These groups use diverse funding methods to sustain their operations, including the abuse of the money services businesses (MSB) and banking sectors; use of cryptocurrencies; state financing; abuse of the charitable and non-profit organisations (NPO) sector; and criminal activity,” it said.
Report admits Khalistani’s agenda
The report went on to add that these Khalistani extremist groups support violent means to establish an independent state within Punjab, India, and are suspected of raising funds in a number of countries, including Canada.
“These groups previously had an extensive fundraising network in Canada but now appear to consist of smaller pockets of individuals with allegiance to the cause but seemingly no particular affiliation to a specific group,” the report further revealed.
It said that these groups abuse non-profit and charitable activities to further their cause. “The misuse of the charitable and NPO sectors has been observed as a prominent financing method used by Hamas and Hezbollah. Khalistani violent extremist groups have also been known to use networks to solicit donations from diaspora communities to raise and move funds, including through NPOs,” the report pointed out.
According to the report, these findings are estimated to involve billions of dollars in illicit proceeds annually in Canada.
(With agency inputs)