OTTAWA — The Carney government sent a senior Canadian official to a Trump administration summit targeting what Washington describes as a resurgence of international left-wing terrorism.The official, who works at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, attended Thursday’s Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism at the U.S. State Department, according to Minister Anita Anand’s office, although Anand herself was not in attendance. The meeting brought together representatives from more than 60 countries as the Trump administration sought support for increased intelligence sharing, financial enforcement and other measures directed at far-left organizations.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened the gathering by describing radical leftism as a “distinctive and unique evil.”“It has always been driven by a hatred — above all else, a hatred for civilization itself,” Rubio said.“It is a revolt of the worst against the best, a revolt of the weak and the cowardly against the strong and the good.”.Rubio argued that far-left groups use different ideological labels but share what he described as an underlying desire to destroy Western institutions.“They can call themselves anti-capitalist or anti-imperialist or communist or anarchist or Marxist, but the fundamental character is always the same,” he said.“It is a poisonous resentment, cloaked in the language of equality and justice and liberation.”Rubio said left-wing political violence has historically been underestimated by governments, law enforcement and the media.He claimed 93% of terrorist attacks in the West between 1970 and 1980 were committed by far-left extremists.“These are numbers that would shock most Americans today because we’ve been taught to believe that this kind of political violence simply doesn’t exist, or it’s being exaggerated,” Rubio said. “But it does exist, and we’re actually underestimating it.”Rubio also pointed to attacks on immigration officers, political assassination attempts, the killing of a health-care executive and the shooting at a Catholic elementary school as evidence that the United States is facing “a new wave of this old evil.”Canada’s participation drew immediate condemnation from federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis, who accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of exposing progressive Canadians to danger.“Trump is fueling a new McCarthyism that is both delusional and dangerous. It’s clearly intended to crack down on Americans who are resisting his anti-democratic agenda: including deadly ICE raids and endless wars of aggression. It’s also a serious escalation of violent authoritarianism from our next-door neighbour," Lewis said.“Canada’s participation in this spectacle puts progressive Canadians at real risk. It’s outrageous, and the Prime Minister owes Canadians an explanation as to why he’s involving our country in this ugly episode.”The Trump administration has said the campaign is aimed at violent actors rather than lawful political activity.The State Department said far-left terrorism has remained a “blind spot” in international counterterrorism efforts despite attacks against private citizens, political leaders, police, businesses and critical infrastructure.The Carney government has not publicly identified the Canadian official who attended or explained what role Canada intends to play in the American-led initiative.
