When the Canadian government listed Blood & Honour, a neo-Nazi group, and its armed branch, Combat 18, as terrorist organizations last month, it marked the first time that any extreme-right organization in Canada had been publicly named as such. The listing effectively puts Canadian extreme-right groups on notice, warning them they will no longer get a “pass” for their involvement in politically motivated violent activity or association with international groups that engage in violence.

The listing brings Canada’s Proscribed Entities list to 60 groups, the vast majority of whom remain organizations with links to al Qaeda or the Islamic State. The listing of these neo-Nazi groups is an important step because it tells Canadians that their government is taking the threat of right-wing extremism and violence seriously. Equally important, it makes clear to those drawn to extremist propaganda and ideologies that this is unacceptable in Canada, regardless of the religious or political origins of those ideologies.