October 7 families and CIJA mark International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism

Ottawa, ON – August 21, 2026 – Today, on the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) joins the Canadian Families of Victims of October 7 in remembering innocent Canadians murdered by terrorists around the world, including the eight Canadians brutally murdered by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

They also honour the resilience of survivors and their families and reaffirm the fundamental right of every person to live safely and free from terror.

“Canadians need to know that eight fellow citizens were among those murdered on October 7,” said Jacqui Rivers Vital, whose daughter Adi was murdered by Hamas terrorists while protecting her two children. “Today is a day to remember those we lost, to honour their lives and to make sure their stories are never forgotten. Terrorism doesn’t end when an attack is over. It leaves families forever changed and ripples through entire communities long after the headlines have disappeared.”

“Here in Canada, the threat of terrorism and politically motivated violence is growing,” says CIJA. Last month, Toronto Police arrested and charged an individual for allegedly acting for the benefit of, and in association with, Hamas.

Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre has also warned of a “realistic possibility” of both a violent extremist attack targeting Canada’s Jewish community and that the Islamic Republic of Iran has directed local criminal networks to target Jewish Canadians. Meanwhile, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has acknowledged countering Iranian intelligence services and their proxies, which have targeted individuals they perceive as threats to their regime, including Iranian Canadians.

“This growing convergence of international terrorism, youth radicalization, local criminal elements and foreign entities, including the Iranian regime, demands a robust response,” said Noah Shack, CEO of CIJA. “Canada must get tough on terrorism and take the strongest possible measures to ensure terrorist organizations, their supporters and their proxies cannot operate in our country.”

CIJA and the Canadian Families of Victims of October 7 are urging the Government of Canada to take concrete action against terrorism, including:

• Urgently list terrorist entities that threaten Canadians, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, which has claimed responsibility for attacks in Canada, Palestine Action Canada, which has targeted strategic industries and whose UK counterpart was designated a terrorist organization by close Canadian ally the United Kingdom, and Masar Badil, acting in association with Samidoun, a Canadian listed terrorist entity.
• Strengthen Canadian counterterrorism law, including by criminalizing the wilful promotion of terrorism and looking to the United Kingdom’s framework to close gaps in Canadian law, including making it a criminal offence to be a member of a listed terrorist entity.
• Give police, intelligence, and security agencies the resources and coordination they need to proactively identify, disrupt, and dismantle networks that organize, finance, facilitate, or carry out terrorism and violent extremism in Canada.
• Fully enforce existing terrorist listings, ensuring that financing, recruitment, material support, and other terror activities are investigated and disrupted, as well as deportations of IRGC officials and senior members of Iran’s repressive regime living in Canada.