Canadian Funds Flow to Khalistani Extremist Groups: Report

The report titled ‘2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada’ said: “Several terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code in Canada that fall under the Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE) category, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Khalistani violent extremist groups Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation, have been observed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to receive financial support originating from Canada,” the report said.

The Canadian government report added that these groups previously had an extensive fundraising network in Canada but now appeared to consist of smaller pockets of individuals with allegiance to the cause but seemingly no particular affiliation to a specific group.

While talking about the abuse of non-profit (NPO) and charitable activities, the report said that 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. Despite these observations, it is estimated that revenue generation through NPO abuse represents a relatively small percentage of the operational budgets of terrorist groups overall.

The latest report comes two months after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's report for 2024, released on June 18, said ongoing involvement in violent activities by Canada-based Khalistani extremists continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests.