I'm not familiar with the details of this specific attack, so I won't comment on it. But to put terrorism in Canada in context, here are some interesting statistics from the Global Terrorism Database from 1970 to 2013.
There have been a total of 68 attacks, averaging 1.5 year, with the most in 1982, 1995, and 2000, and 2008 (5 each). There have been a total of 337 deaths, with 331 (98.21%) in 1985. That was the bombing of Air India Flight 182 departing Montreal, perpetrated by Sikh radicals living in Canada targeting India. The other casualty producing event that year was a bombing at a commuter train station by an American war vet.
Of the 68 attacks, only 9 (13.24%) targeted government, police, or military, with 48 (70.59%) targeting 'Other' (i.e. businesses, journalists, etc).
The vast majority of attacks are not lethal, with only 9 producing fatalities. And only three (4.41%) lethal attacks were committed by firearms and six (8.82%) committed by explosives. In fact, there hasn't been an attack by firearms since 1998 and no suicide attacks. Compared to the U.S. where the majority of fatal terrorist attacks are perpetrated by firearms. Bombings are a particular favorite in Canada, totaling 48 (70.59%) such attacks with 8 (11.76%) firearm attacks.
What surprised me was the variety of threat groups, even if relatively inactive (at least compared to threat groups in the U.S.); everyone from Hamas and Sikhs, to right-wing radicals and American veterans.
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