A look in the back yard: Mitigating home-grown extremism in Canada

Abstract

Canada has the capability to provide a significant security blanket with which to protect Canadian citizens from the effects of terrorism. I will discuss the scholarly work in the area of extremism and associated ideologies. Contemporary issues of environmentalism, race and gender, and government legitimacy will be examined with respect to how theycontribute to growing extremist segments of Canadian society. Findings support the argument that, as society grows in its liberal approaches, extreme ideologies from those on the fringes may begin to grow in order to counter the influence of opposing views and social policy. This article closes with a discussion of how the growth of extremism may be mitigated through attention to history and societal development, asserting control over the Internet, strengthening the criminal
justice system, and education.