Terror suspect came to Canada 3 years after allegedly appearing in ISIS video
A Toronto terror suspect at the centre of a controversy over Canada’s security screening system arrived in the country three years after he allegedly appeared in a 2015 ISIS video, according to details released on Wednesday.
A chronology tabled at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security shows Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Feb. 5, 2018 and made a refugee claim that was accepted in February 2019.
He became a Canadian citizen in May 2024, after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service screened him and “returned a favorable recommendation,” according to the timeline tabled by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
CSIS learned in June that Eldidi could pose a security threat and launched an investigation. The RCMP also began an investigation and arrested Eldidi and his son Mostafa on July 28 for allegedly plotting an ISIS attack in Toronto.
The committee voted to probe Eldidi’s path to citizenship after Global News reported he had come to Canada after allegedly appearing in an ISIS video in which he was shown dismembering a prisoner.
His son is an Egyptian citizen who applied for a study permit in 2019 and was refused. He then made a refugee claim at the Fort Erie, Ont., land border in 2020, and was accepted in 2022, after security screening turned up no concerns, the chronology shows.
At Wednesday’s hearing, LeBlanc said an internal review was examining what information was available when, and promised to “move rapidly” to make any needed changes to the security screening system.
The minister also said that as soon as Canada’s security agencies learned of the potential threat, they worked swiftly to secure the arrests of the suspects, who are now in custody and
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