Toronto: Over 100 institutions in Canada were emailed bomb threats on Wednesday, with the wording on the messages “seemingly identical” to those received by many hospitals and malls in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), India on Tuesday.
Canadian media reported that approximately 125 institutions, mainly linked to the Jewish community, received the emailed threats, which were sent early in the morning, around 5am.
The outlet CBC News, which viewed a copy of an email, reported it had “seemingly identical wording” to those threatening government and private hospitals and malls in the NCR a day earlier.
In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it was “aware of threats made today to a number of institutions, including synagogues and hospitals, across Canada. We are working with local law enforcement, who are actively responding to ensure locations are safe and secure”.
It also said the Federal Policing National Security Program was investigating the source of the threats. CBC cited RCMP Sergeant Charles Poirier as saying that its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team out of Montreal was leading the investigation and that the team was “aware of the email sent in India and that it was in contact with international partners to see if suspects had been identified, and whether similar emails were sent in other places as well”.
However, a senior Indian official said they had not been contacted on this account.
According to Indian media reports, the email said, “We have placed many explosives in your building. They are placed in black backpacks. The bombs are set to go off in a few hours. You will all end up in a pool of blood, none of you deserve to keep living. Everyone inside the building will lose their lives.” Similar threats had targeted NCR schools in May.
The institutions threatened were in all major Canadian urban centres including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Hamilton and Ottawa, where a hospital was targeted.
In a statement, the advocacy organisation, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said, “We are in contact with law enforcement and all indications point to these threats being nuisance emails designed to disrupt lives.”
“We will remain vigilant, but we will never be intimidated,” it added.
In a post on X, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the threats, as he said, “I’m disgusted at reports that more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada were targeted by threats today. This is blatant anti-semitism.”