ISD was delighted to play a central role at Public Safety Canada’s “MegaWeek” event on Polarization and Preventing Violent Extremism in Toronto in October. Our growing programming in Canada—building on over a decade of partnerships in the country—was reflected in ISD experts’ contributions to key discussions on policy responses to extremism, online harms and polarization to the over 300 government officials, law enforcement, thought leaders, and front-line practitioners in attendance.    

We started the week by presenting on ISD’s work in Canada to the Honourable Ruby Sahota, Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, who opened the conference with an announcement doubling down on financial support for prevention initiatives.  

Milo Comerford, Director of Policy and Research for Counter Extremism, was on the first panel of the conference, sharing crucial insights from ISD’s research on domestic extremism challenges in Canada, and their implications for effective prevention and intervention.   

Other ISD experts continued to drive thought leadership throughout the week’s events. Anne Craanen, Senior Researcher and Policy Manager for Extremism, led a dynamic workshop showcasing ISD’s development of a harms taxonomy around the intersection of misogyny and violent extremism, part of our partnership with the Christchurch Call Foundation. 

Senior Analyst Aoife Gallagher, presented ISD research on male supremacy and anti-LGBTQ+ targeted hate in Canada, providing evidence underpinning a session on online gender-based violence. Meanwhile, Senior Manager Steven Rai contributed ISD’s cutting-edge research and practitioner resources in a dedicated workshop on nihilistic violence.      

We’re grateful for our ongoing partnership with Public Safety’s Canada Centre, and excited to keep expanding our work in Canada in the months ahead.