Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Terror suspect entered Canada with student visa in June 2023, immigration minister confirms

Share

A Pakistani citizen who was arrested last week in Quebec and charged with plotting an alleged terrorist attack in New York City came to Canada on a student visa in June 2023, Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed Tuesday.

“This is all that I'll be commenting on this individual,†Miller told reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, BC. “Obviously there are criminal charges pending. As politicians, as elected officials, in order to make sure the judicial process is not compromised, although we share the goals of the prosecutors in question, it's very important that we don't comment.â€

Miller later clarified that the suspect entered Canada through the Pearson airport in Toronto on June 24, 2023 after a student visa was granted in May 2023.

The U.S. Department of Justice claims Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, resided in Canada and attempted to enter the U.S. to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

On Sept. 4, Canadian police arrested Khan near the border in Quebec and U.S. authorities have charged him with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Khan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

A complaint filed with a New York federal court alleges that Khan began showing his support for ISIS on social media around November 2023. He subsequently started communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers, who were told that "New York is perfect to target jews" because it has the "largest Jewish population in America." 

Khan allegedly intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting on or around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. He allegedly discussed specific plans with the undercover officers, urged them to secure firearms and claimed he was paying a human smuggler to enter the U.S.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Miller said Canadians “can be confident that our security systems and apparatuses have actually worked.â€

“We are constantly looking internally at what we can do to make sure Canadians continue to be safe. But again, no one can pretend and stand honestly in front of you and say that a well-determined actor can't come to this country, and that's why we have the security apparatuses that we have in this country,†Miller said. 

Khan is scheduled to appear at a Montreal court on Sept. 13.

With files from Â鶹´«Ã½â€™ Daniel Otis

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Ontario Ministry of Health says four people have been sickened after consuming beef tongue believed to be contaminated with listeria.

Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.

On September 11, Madeleine Gervais was the victim of a theft in Ottawa's west end. It happened in the Loblaws parking lot in College Square, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted to help her load her groceries into her car.

Local Spotlight

A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.

Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.

A gargantuan gourd – affectionately named ‘Orangina’ by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home – earned the massive honour of being named B.C.’s heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.

Stay Connected