Evaluation of the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence

Background

Radicalization, especially that which leads to violence, poses a significant threat to public safety. Preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) and connected forms of harm, such as violent extremism online, is a complex and evolving issue. In 2017, the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (the Canada Centre) was established as a centre of excellence to provide national leadership on the federal government's approach to Countering Radicalization to Violence (CRV). The federal approach was formalized in 2018 with the launch of the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence (the National Strategy). The Canada Centre is responsible for implementing the National Strategy.

The Canada Centre's activities are supported by four core functions which operate in an integrated manner. The policy function provides guidance to support the development of legislation and decision-making, while the research function monitors, collects, analyses and shares relevant information. The engagement function coordinates the Canada Centre's internal functions as well as stakeholder engagement activities that include knowledge sharing and networking events. The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) is the main aspect of the programming function, and it provides support for prevention and intervention projects and capacity building in the CRV space.

The Canada Centre was initiated with $10M in ongoing annual funding, of which $7M is allocated to the CRF. Multi-year increases were provided in Budget 2021 and Budget 2024, the latter through Canada's Action Plan to Combat Hate (CAPCH) which provided an additional $6.5M annually until fiscal year 2026 -2027. That investment included a top-up to the CRF of $3.5M annually, and funding to bolster the Canada Centre's capacity to provide data analytics reporting and to advance Canada's commitments to the Christchurch Call to Action.

The Canada Centre engages a number of partners and allies working across a broad spectrum of activities domestically and abroad. Federal government partner organizations include, but are not limited to: Canadian Heritage (PCH); Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS); Correctional Services Canada (CSC); Privy Council Office (PCO); Statistics Canada (StatsCan); and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

Engagement Purpose and Methodology

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance, effectiveness (achievement of outcomes) and efficiency of the Canada Centre. The evaluation covered the period from fiscal year 2020-2021 to 2025-2026 and was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results and the Directive on Results. The Canada Centre was last evaluated in 2020.

Interviews

33 key informant interviews were conducted. The interviews included Public Safety Canada (PS) staff, staff from other governmental departments, CRF recipients, provinces and territories (PTs), and international partners.

Literature and Program Document Review

Program documents and literature (e.g. government reports, articles, academic research) were reviewed.

Survey Performance and Financial Data

Available performance data was reviewed and program financial data was analysed.

Limitations

Some performance and outcome data were limited or were still being developed during the evaluation period, which reduced the ability to assess longer-term results. The most recent and available data has been used to inform the findings.

Findings

Relevance

Mandate and Priorities

The Canada Centre's mandate is to provide national leadership on Canada's CRV efforts. The scope of this role, including the federal approach to CRV, is articulated in the National Strategy developed in 2018. The National Strategy focuses on prevention, intervention and disengagement efforts. Within the National Strategy, these are organized across three priority areas: building, sharing and using knowledge; addressing radicalization to violence in the online space; and supporting interventions.

Although the National Strategy is eight years old, the Canada Centre's three priority areas were found to continue to be relevant. In particular, addressing radicalization to violence in the online space has increasingly become a central focus of the Canada Centre's current work and is an internationally recognized area of concern.

The Canada Centre also contributes to the implementation of the CAPCH, a federal initiative established in 2024 and led by PCH which brings together a whole-of-government approach to confronting the broad spectrum of hate and hate-motivated violence.

The Government of Canada has continued to support work in CRV with increased funding to the Canada Centre and the CRF. In addition to the investments made to the Canada Centre and CRF through Budgets 2021 and 2024, in a June 2026 announcement from the Prime Minister, the work of the Canada Centre was said to "confront hate online and violent extremism in our communities." This continued support demonstrates the ongoing relevance of the Canada Centre.

Canada Centre's Integrated Model

The Canada Centre's effectiveness is closely tied to its integrated centre of excellence model. This model enables the coordination of policy, research, programming and engagement activities in one central location, and serves as the foundation for the Canada Centre's results across its core functions.

It was found that this approach facilitated collaboration and synergies between the core functions. For example, interviewees described how the policy function informs research and CRF programming; at the same time, policy work reflects the trends identified through research and engagement activities with partners, recipients and stakeholders.

External interviewees with particular knowledge of the Canada Centre demonstrated a consistent understanding both of its integrated approach and how the model permits it to deal with complex challenges and trends that arise within CRV work in fulfillment of its mandate. Commenting on the level of collaboration, teamwork and coordination observed among the Canada Centre's core functions, a federal government partner noted that "the team there is truly integrated – they actually work together and talk to one another and it's not just a paper exercise of integration." It was also suggested by domestic partners that the Canada Centre's integrated centre of excellence approach is unique in the Canadian federal government, as well as among the Five Eyes allies.

Internal interviewees described the Canada Centre's engagement function as the hub through which opportunities for collaboration are facilitated. The engagement function serves a dual role cross coordinating the activities of the Canada Centre's core functions and connecting the Canada Centre with the outside world.

While engagement activities have been a key element of the Canada Centre's work from its inception, a dedicated engagement team was only created in late 2024 when additional funding was received through the federal Budget. The creation of this team supported the recommendation from the 2020 Evaluation of the Canada Centre to increase outreach at the stakeholder and community level.

The engagement team has enhanced program delivery, organized regular meetings among the internal functions to promote cross-team awareness and provided supplemental supports when needed. This increased ability to coordinate has been seen as invaluable by the Canada Centre, particularly when they are required to deliver on quick-moving files.

A key impact of the integrated approach is the ability to streamline Canada Centre products, advice, and recommendations to decision makers. External partners and stakeholders similarly described the centralized approach as supporting coordination, communication and collaboration which facilitates positive outcomes.

An international partner suggested the Canada Centre's integrated approach is the best model to deal with complex challenges because it provides the necessary levers to effectively maintain partnerships between multiple levels of government and international stakeholders simultaneously which adds value to these relationships.

The Canada Centre model is viewed as unique among various partners as it has enough flexibility and expertise to fund innovative projects, develop and share real-time information and intelligence, mobilize networks, strategically adopt different approaches and inform the decision-making of international allies and partners as new threats emerge. The rapid response from the Canada Centre following the 2026 mass casualty event in Tumbler Ridge, including analytical reporting and working with stakeholders to expand programming, was cited as an example of the Canada Centre's capacity to rapidly mobilize to provide response and support to communities and partners in the wake of such events.

According to the 2025 Stakeholder Survey, the Canada Centre is regarded as agile in adapting to and responding to changes in the threat environment. Respondents commended the Canada Centre for its ability to collaborate with other partners in government, civil society and academia and harness their combined expertise to inform the policy, research and programming functions in the service of preventing the multi-dimensional harms attributed to radicalization to violence.

Effectiveness

Knowledge Development and Mobilization

Knowledge mobilization, which involves the building, sharing, and use of knowledge, represents the first priority area of the National Strategy.

The Canada Centre has implemented this priority through four main activities: funding for research projects; direct research investments and international coordination; support or delivery of information and knowledge sharing events and, information produced primarily through the Canada Centre's data analytics team. The expansion of the knowledge mobilization role was seen as a significant advancement since the last evaluation in 2020.

The Canada Centre's efforts in this priority area have been generally positive. A strong majority of interviewees, as well as respondents to the 2025 Stakeholder Survey, viewed the Canada Centre as a key convener that brings partners together to advance prevention priorities and mobilize knowledge across sectors. Interviewees further noted that Canada Centre research is shared across its networks, is on the leading edge of CRV work being produced and is invaluable to partners and stakeholders in both domestic and international contexts.

Research funded through the CRF

Following the 2021-2022 CRF Call for Proposals process and additional project approvals between 2022-2023 and 2024-2025, the Canada Centre supported 21 domestic and international projects that included a research component. Recipients included academic institutions, law enforcement and police services, government agencies, youth-led organizations, professional associations, Non-Governmental Organizations working in the CRV space, and healthcare providers. Areas of focus for these projects included early prevention, the online space, networking, youth, and capacity building. Examples of funded research projects include:

• Community Trust and Strengthening Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) Interventions by Countering Misinformation – Digital Public Square (Ontario): This project aimed to better understand and address circumstances where disinformation and distrust towards communities and institutions can contribute to IMVE.
• Prep-Ex: Preparing Practitioners for the Rising Threat of Anti-Authority Extremism (Germany) and the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (Alberta): This project was a collaboration between German and Canadian subject matter experts to build an improved knowledge base about anti-authority forms of violent extremism, to help frontline practitioners and policymakers more effectively identify, categorize and respond to cases.
• The Canadian Network for Research on Security, Extremism and Society (CANSES) (BC): This national network advances research on radicalization to violence, cultivates a new generation of scholars, and strengthen collaboration among academic researchers, frontline practitioners, and policymakers across sectors. Additionally, they connect with international partners through initiatives such as the International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security.

Knowledge Sharing Events

From 2023 to 2025, the Canada Centre organized or co-organized, in collaboration with partner organizations, a number of knowledge sharing events for partners and stakeholders that included virtual webinar and 'work-in-progress' series, as well as training events and workshops offered both in-person and online.

Additionally, between 2021 and 2023, (the most current year data was available), the Canada Centre supported 32 knowledge mobilization activities through CRF project funding. The majority of these activities were workshops or symposiums (22) hosted by various organizations. All activities aligned with one of the three priorities that were identified in the 2021 CRF Call for Proposals: professionalizing the practice, expanding capacity for impact, and locating harm, vulnerabilities & needs.

The most significant knowledge mobilization activity organized by the Canada Centre is its international event series, "Megaweek". Under Canada Centre leadership, Megaweek brings together a number of diverse actors working in the CRV space including practitioners, CRF recipients, international counterparts, as well as representatives from provincial and municipal governments and federal partner organizations. The 2023 event, hosted in Ottawa, had 320 participants from 16 countries while the spring 2024 event, held in Montreal, attracted over 400 participants from 16 countries. In late 2025, Megaweek was held in Toronto with more than 300 participants attending from 10 countries.

Megaweek was identified in the 2025 Stakeholder Survey as the most valuable event offered by the Canada Centre, with 82% of participants rating it as extremely or very useful. Interviewees indicated that it provides opportunities for attendees to engage in open dialogue which supports the advancement of the overall approach to CRV. Moreover, interviewees noted that Megaweek, as well as the Canada Centre's other knowledge mobilization activities, provide networking opportunities, access to expertise, and practical knowledge that would not otherwise be available.

These activities were viewed as supporting an emerging community of practice and promoting shared understanding across sectors. Areas for improvement include permitting an open call to allow other potential partners the opportunity to identify themselves; expanding representation and lived experiences from broad sectors like education and youth services; creating thematic streams in large events in order to focus on specific topics; and improved communication about these events, including more advance notice and more advertising.

Data Analytics Team

Budget 2024 explicitly provided funding for the Canada Centre to establish a dedicated data analytics team.

In part, this decision was based on two recommendations from the previous evaluation of the Canada Centre in 2020 which concerned implementing measures to collect and report on the Canada Centre's outputs and outcomes, and expanding its knowledge development role, including the production and distribution of research products.

This funding allowed the Canada Centre to enhance its research function through the hiring of national and internationally recognized subject matter experts with a diverse range of expertise. The Canada Centre organized the research activities of the Data Analytics Team into two units. The Impact Assessment Unit (IAU) gathers information from and about prevention programs to help strengthen evidence of CRV activities and best practices. Their work informs prevention policies and programs across Canada and current research efforts are focused on strengthening the CRV field nationally. The Open Source Unit (OSU) produces knowledge products using open-source data on violent extremism, terrorism, hate, and online harms including emerging forms of extremist violence such as nihilism and spaces where this is occurring, such as gaming and social media platforms.

Since the inception of the Data Analytics Team in mid-2024 until June 2026, the Canada Centre reported a total of 48 data products had been published (40), or were in progress (8). In particular, interviewees frequently referenced the OSU's:

• Nihilistic Violent Extremism Guidebook whose purpose is to support prevention and intervention efforts by identifying emerging risks and trends in this area.
• Digital Platform Reference Guides which provide information on youth radicalization and online harms information on various groups and platforms; and
• Analytical Briefs, which are mobilization guides for practitioners and communities on trends and threats.

While the value of these reports was highlighted, partners and stakeholders shared that it would be advantageous to make information products more accessible to wider audiences including correctional officers, communities, educators, and parents, where appropriate. Suggestions included creating 'for-public' versions of information products that are written in plain language and summarized to highlight key risks or findings to increase public and community awareness. While the Canada Centre has a broad distribution list for disseminating its research products to its partners and stakeholders, a number of interviewees also expressed a desire for greater access to these products through a repository system, such as an online web portal.

Policy Development and Influence

The Canada Centre is engaged, through its policy team, in a number of activities, including working with PCH to develop legislation to address online harms, providing policy support and guidance to decision makers on CRV-related issues, and involvement in interdepartmental and intergovernmental working groups and international forums. The Canada Centre is the lead for the Government of Canada on the issue of terrorist and violent extremist content online. Partners and stakeholders expressed positive perceptions of the policy team's contributions in general and over half of the respondents (56%) of the 2025 Stakeholder Survey reported actively consulting research or policy documents produced or supported by the Canada Centre.

Legislative Activities

The policy team's legislative activities largely focused on work with other federal government departments, including PCH, Justice, RCMP, and CSIS, to develop a comprehensive legislative framework that identifies and addresses harmful content online. The Canada Centre coordination of PS and Portfolio partners supported the development of the Safe Social Media Act, which was tabled in June 2026, and reflects significant advances to address terrorist and violent extremist content online.

Policy Support

The Canada Centre provides policy advice and guidance to decision makers as well as partners and stakeholders. The policy team supports the Canada Centre's involvement in a number of multilateral and international forums. For example, Budget 2024 provided additional support to bolster the Canada Centre's capacity to advance Canada's commitments to the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, which was created in response to terror attacks in New Zealand in 2019. This included the Canada Centre support for the Minister of Public Safety, who hosted a session at the G7 Interior Ministers Meeting in 2025 focused on online radicalization. The CEO of the Christchurch Call Foundation participated in this session as an expert. In October 2025, the Canada Centre announced CRF funding to support the Christchurch Call Foundation's Elevate project to expand access for smaller platforms to AI-enabled safety tools, aimed at improving detection and response capabilities for addressing terrorist and violent extremist online.

In 2025, as part of its activities supported by the 2024 Budget investment, the Canada Centre policy team launched a new Interdepartmental Working Group (WG) on the Response to Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content (TVEC). Led by the Canada Centre, the TVEC WG convenes several federal departments to discuss emerging issues in the online space. Its specific work focuses on coordinating the Government of Canada's engagement with the tech industry on issues related to online harms, notably TVEC, and identifying gaps and opportunities in the federal government's fulfilment of the Christchurch Call commitments, including ways in which civil society organizations and the tech industry can be engaged to prevent online radicalization to violence. Interviewees suggested that this working group is the most effective body that is directly addressing current trends and demonstrates the Canada Centre's and PS' leadership on the issue of TVEC online.

The policy team supports the Canada Centre Executive Director as the federal government's representative to the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), a consortium of over 40 tech companies with the objective of addressing terrorist and violent extremist content online. Canada was a founding member country in this group, established in 2018, and is one of six international governments that sits on its independent advisory committee. In 2025, the Canada Centre co-hosted, with GIFCT and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), a roundtable to foster discussion and an exchange of experiences among more than 50 frontline practitioners, industry, and government representatives working on addressing, preventing, and countering terrorist and violent extremist content online. Canada's GIFCT participation is a key tool for engaging with industry about terrorist content online; for example, at Canada's request, GIFCT activated its protocols with its 41 member companies to remove online extremist content following the attacks in Tumbler Ridge in February 2026 and Montreal in June 2026.

Canada's participation in the Five Country Ministerial Countering Violent Extremism Working Group (FCM CVE WG) is also actively supported by the policy team. This WG serves as a venue for sharing information, best practices, policy discussions and prevention of violent extremism and targeted violence across any of the members of the Five Country Ministerial. Canada (represented by the Canada Centre) chaired this working group in 2025 and 2026. The Canada Centre is seen as a valuable collaborator in these groups and well-regarded for its knowledge and networks in the CRV space.

Capacity Building through the CRF

The Canada Centre has advanced its efforts to build capacity in four principal ways: by supporting prevention and intervention projects through the CRF; by providing 'hands on' support to CRF recipients to support project delivery; by supporting practitioner networks and professionalization within the CRV field; and, by taking actions to identify and address gaps and build capacity in underserved regions. Prevention projects include the development or delivery of training, tools and services designed to prevent individuals from becoming radicalized to violence, while intervention projects are more targeted on providing support for individuals with a high-risk of becoming involved or who are directly involved with radicalized violence or violent extremism.

During the time period covered by the evaluation, the CRF approved new funding for 27 project proposals from the 2021-2022 Open Call for Applications process and 10 other project proposals which received funding in the period from 2022-2023 to 2025-2026. Of those projects, 14 had an early prevention focus and six had a focus on intervention programming, although most of those projects include prevention elements as well. The remaining projects had other areas of focus (e.g., primarily research-focused). Many of these projects also had additional activity areas that included research, capacity building, networking and youth components. Successful applications were assessed against priorities established by the Canada Centre. These three priorities were: locating harm, vulnerabilities and needs; professionalizing the practice; and expanding capacity for impact.

Examples of CRF-funded prevention projects include:

• Professionalizing the Practice: An Incel Radicalization Prevention: Canadian Centre for Safer Communities - This project focused on equipping frontline practitioners with training, tools, and collaboration to provide early prevention to incel violence. In partnership with six organizations, it developed the resources to intervene when there are risk factors and warning signs of incel activity, and support male youth to prevent involvement with or to disengage from the incel movement.
• Strengthening Resilience to Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism Narratives Through Evidence-Based Digital Interventions – Digital Public Square - This project addresses the growing issue of polarization in Canada and its connection to ideologically motivated violent extremism. Activities include deploying evidence-based digital interventions to build resilience against hateful narratives and tactics among both general and vulnerable audiences. The work focuses on countering the normalization of hate and violence in Canada and on supporting communities targeted by anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and antisemitic hate.
• BGC Clubs and a Move Towards Countering Youth Radicalization in Canada – Boys and Girls Club Canada - This project developed training and resources for Club staff to strengthen their ability to support youth aged 15-24 who are vulnerable to, or at-risk of, radicalization to violence. The training and resources also show how to support youth in building protective factors against vulnerabilities to violent radicalization, and where to access further help and services when needed.

It should be noted that performance and outcome data were limited or were still being developed during the evaluation period, which reduced the ability to assess longer-term results of CRF-funded prevention projects.

To support the delivery of direct, frontline intervention programs, a key element of Canada Centre work was to identify and support the capacity of seven frontline service organizations in Canada working to address the risk of violent extremism across six provinces - Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Descriptions of the CRF-supported intervention services can be found in Annex A. In late 2024, the Canada Centre's IAU began to collect and analyze baseline data from these organizations. Documents and interviews suggest that frontline prevention and intervention programs have experienced significant increases in demand for their services in recent years. A total of 362 clients received services from the organizations financially supported by the CRF in 2024-2025, with the majority of these clients being under the age of 25 years old.

Canada Centre Support for Project Delivery and Building Professional Capacity Through Networks

In addition to the financial support it provides recipients through CRF funding, the Canada Centre also works actively with recipients, practitioners and partner organizations to ensure continued progress in building capacity in the CRV space. One recipient suggested that the Canada Centre demonstrates a certain level of accountability in ensuring the success of the projects it funds and highlighted as well the Canada Centre's efforts to facilitate new partnerships and connections to advance the work being done in the field. Comments provided by respondents to the 2025 Stakeholder Survey highlighted the Canada Centre's professionalism, responsiveness, collaborative nature, open communication, regular check-ins, and meaningful engagement throughout the duration of funded projects.

One of the principal organizations that the Canada Centre has helped initiate and build capacity is the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV).

The CPN-PREV is a professional network, financially supported by the CRF, which is focused on connecting practitioners across the country and building evidence-based practices to train and develop their capacity to address violent extremism. For example, the seven frontline service programs are connected through CPN-PREV's Virtual Partners in Practice (VPiP) network, which offers a space for practitioners to support each other, learn from their respective practices and experiences, and access training and resources. With ongoing engagement from the Canada Centre, these programs and CPN-PREV actively share expertise and collectively have become an internationally recognized model for frontline prevention.

Interviewees recognized the work of the Canada Centre in supporting the development of professional networks to build capacity in the CRV space. In addition to its support for CPN-PREV, interviewees also referenced the Canada Centre's support for a recent CRF-funded project with the Canadian Association of Social Workers which supports professional opportunities for social workers across Canada to build knowledge, capacity, and expand networks to better prevent and address violent extremism.

Identifying and Addressing Gaps in Capacity

Although it has made positive progress in building domestic CRV capacity, the Canada Centre has recognized that geographic gaps exist, and some areas are underserved with respect to the availability of CRV services and practitioners. Responding to a recommendation made in the previous evaluation that the Canada Centre expand its national leadership role, including outreach to stakeholders and communities, in 2023, the Canada Centre developed a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy to determine a path forward that would address identified gaps and ensure various stakeholder needs were being met. Expanding upon this strategy and recognizing the need to address geographical gaps in prevention and intervention, in 2025, the Canada Centre developed and implemented a model for building the capacity of stakeholders in underserved areas, including active engagement in Atlantic Canada which began in 2025-2026. As of March 31, 2026, capacity building activities have reached over 800 professionals across justice, health, education, and social services through in-person trainings in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as well as webinars and targeted workshops on the threat landscape.

Additionally, the Canada Centre has one team member based in Halifax to support these capacity-building activities with a regional presence. Impacts of the efforts in Atlantic Canada include improved knowledge, collaboration and coordination with a wide range of stakeholders and the onboarding of over 40 practitioners into the existing national community of practice, led by CPN-PREV. This has equipped those professionals to support active cases and strengthen cross-sector coordination around emerging threats.

Another reported impact is that after one training session by the Canada Centre with Halifax police and teachers about identifying warning signs of youth radicalization, a school board employee applied the training and identified a student's online manifesto about carrying out a mass school shooting, leading to police intervention and an arrest.

While these efforts are set to continue to make positive progress, interviewees noted that rural, isolated, Northern and Indigenous communities remain underserved. The 2026 mass casualty event in the remote community of Tumbler Ridge highlights the need to address capacity gaps in these spaces.

National CRV Leadership

The Canada Centre's core mandate is to provide national leadership on the federal government's CRV efforts. This involves two key areas of responsibility.

The first is the Canada Centre's work to advance the three priority areas of the National Strategy, namely, through its knowledge mobilization efforts, policy work and management of the CRF to develop and strengthen capacity in the CRV field.

The second aspect of its national leadership role, is the central hub function, where the Canada Centre facilitates coordination, engagement, collaboration and dialogue among diverse partners and stakeholders, operating in multiple sectors, both inside and outside of government.

Within the federal government, the Canada Centre leads or participates in numerous interdepartmental and intergovernmental working groups, steering committees and horizontal federal initiatives. Although interviewees observed that some activities to address CRV and CVE within the federal government remain siloed, the Canada Centre plays a valuable role in facilitating information sharing among partners and fostering inter-agency dialogue. The Canada Centre's leadership of the Interdepartmental TVEC WG is one example of these efforts.

In the international CRV space, the Canada Centre represents Canada on various forums where it engages with partner governments, as well as leaders in civil society and the tech industry. International partners interviewed for the evaluation spoke extremely highly of the Canada Centre's contributions in this space suggesting it is a valuable collaborator and strong, dependable ally, citing Canada Centre personnel as well-connected and knowledgeable in the fields of CVE and CRV.

The Canada Centre's integrated centre of excellence model was found to support its objectives. In particular, having dedicated research, policy, engagement and programming teams staffed by subject matter experts contributed to the advancement of National Strategy priorities.

However, while the integrated model provides a strong structural foundation for delivering the Canada Centre's mandate, it is not sufficient on its own. The Canada Centre's effectiveness in exercising national leadership is also dependent upon the credibility and expertise of its personnel as well as its efforts to build and maintain strong relationships. Through the combination of its structural and reputational strengths, the Canada Centre has been able to engage in CRV work both domestically and internationally. This was reflected in the Canada Centre's 2025 Stakeholder Survey where 92% of respondents indicated they would recommend working with the Canada Centre; 85% reported satisfaction with the Canada Centre's work; and 70% of respondents stated that the Canada Centre had played a direct role in strengthening their partnerships. Evidence from interviews also supports these findings. In particular, interviewees observed the high concentration of subject matter experts within the Canada Centre and their accessibility.

Efficiency

CRF Administration

CRF Governance and Processes

The CRF has a shared governance model with the Programs Directorate (PD) responsible for Grants & Contributions (Gs&Cs) administration and the Canada Centre leading on policy direction, including setting priorities for calls for proposals (CFP) and partner outreach and engagement. This shared governance model is supported by a working group (CRF WG) to facilitate the coordination of the CRF.

The CRF's processes to review and approve funding proposals were found to have appropriate oversight and governance. The Canada Centre leads the Inter-Departmental Working Group on CRV (IDM) comprised of working-level members from a number of federal partner departments and agencies. The purpose of the IDM is to review and provide input and recommendations on CRF project proposals. There is also a CRF Steering Committee (the Steering Committee), co-chaired by the Executive Director of the Canada Centre and the DG of the Programs Directorate and comprised of executive-level personnel from the same organizations as the IDM. The Steering Committee reviews IDM recommendations and makes funding recommendations for CRF proposals.

The CRF has employed two different approaches to allocate CRF funding. The first was an open call for applications in 2021-2022, which enabled broad community participation to identify prevention solutions. During this process, the CRF received 130 applications seeking over $170M in funding. Ultimately, 27 projects were selected totaling $32M in funding.

As most projects are multi-year, the CRF used a direct solicitation/targeted approach, whereby PD and the Canada Centre strategically selected and prioritized eight high-impact projects, representing a total investment of $8M. In 2024-2025, supplemental funds from an initiative to combat antisemitism were reallocated within PS to the CRF and were subsequently applied to support projects across four organizations – two through amendments to existing agreements and two as new projects – totaling $7M in additional project funding. In each of the past three fiscal years, PS has allocated unused funds from other departmental programs to the CRF to address high demand from partners as shown in Table 1. In some cases, key initiatives, such as the CANSES research network project, were established through these late supplemental allocations.

While the majority of interviewees supported open calls as a means of fostering transparency, accessibility, diversity, innovation and capacity building within the community, the consensus was that given the limited funding available for CRF projects, targeted or solicited calls were the most practical approach to address existing gaps and needs in the CRV field. Amounts exceeding planned CRF allocations were often confirmed late in the fiscal year. While this demonstrates strong demand for the program, and the Canada Centre's ability to deploy funds quickly, it also creates challenges for partners and does not represent a fully strategic approach to funding.

It was also noted that, given the limited funding envelope and minimal chances for approval, it would be unfair to make organizations go through the onerous process of preparing a funding application. Interviewees suggested that finding a balance between holding open and solicited/targeted calls would be the optimal approach moving forward.

Coordination Challenges

Although sufficient governance was found to be in place to support the CRF's review and approval processes, significant challenges were encountered regarding coordination between the Canada Centre and PD. Some interviewees observed that the Canada Centre often engages directly with recipients without PD involvement and recipients often reach out to the Canada Centre with administrative questions or requests. This can contribute to inconsistencies in messaging and increase administrative challenges.

It was also noted that program officers were often not apprised of proposed amendments to existing agreements in a timely manner to allow for the approval process. Suggestions for improvement included clearer communication and earlier engagement between the Canada Centre and PD on urgent files and ensuring Canada Centre personnel have an increased awareness of the CRF's Terms & Conditions and PS' Gs&Cs processes.

Delays with processes and the procedures required to approve agreements and/or amendments and disburse funding to recipients in a timely manner were seen as having adverse impacts on both the recipient and PS' reputation. For three of the last four fiscal years, the CRF fell well below departmental targets and departmental averages for service standards for communicating a funding decision within 30 weeks of receiving a completed application. In 2021-2022, the departmental target was 95% and average was 75%, the CRF reported 33%. In 2022-2023, the departmental target was 95% and the average dropped to 43%, the CRF reported 1%. In 2023-2024, the departmental target was 80% and the average 88%, the CRF reported 13%. In 2024-2025, the CRF met the departmental target of 80% reporting 83% with the departmental average reporting 69%.

These delays affect the timeliness of funding and can impact the recipients' ability to plan and implement their projects. These findings point to the need for stronger coordination mechanisms, particularly in situations where urgent community needs require closer alignment between budget authority and policy expertise.

It was also suggested that, while funding was allocated for six dedicated FTEs to PD for administration of the CRF, none of these positions have been staffed with a dedicated CRF program officer.

An internal interviewee suggested that it could be beneficial to have dedicated program officers housed within the Canada Centre to streamline administrative processes and address some of the identified issues.

Although there is a working group dedicated to managing the administration of the CRF (CRF WG), internal interviewees remarked that the CRF WG has fallen short of its potential to be a useful mechanism to promote information exchange and address issues and concerns, and is instead used to discuss technical items and urgent needs as they arise.

Recipient perspectives on the CRF's administrative processes were mixed with some experiencing no issues and others reporting encountering unreasonable amounts of administration and delays which created adverse challenges for project planning and delivery. However, the majority of recipients agreed that their relationships with program officers and Canada Centre staff were positive, supportive and helpful.

Current or Potential Gaps and Barriers

Interviewees described a number of current and potential gaps or barriers impacting the ability to deliver program objectives. A key concern is that the CRF is oversubscribed and is unable to meet current demands. This has also had an impact on the ability to expand the field because the limited funds allocated for the CRF budget have prevented an open call for proposals which would provide opportunities for the Canada Centre to support different organizations and approaches.

On the recipient side, it was noted that current funding levels and five-year agreements were insufficient to support strategic planning for, in particular, frontline prevention services, which have seen an increase in demand in recent years. Increased funding and 10 year agreements were suggested to support frontline services in meeting this demand. In April 2026, Treasury Board approved revised CRF Terms & Conditions to allow for 10-year agreements.

Geographic gaps remain with rural and isolated communities still underserved and the need to continue outreach and capacity building activities in regions like Atlantic Canada remains. It was noted that these gaps prevent the realization of a truly national prevention infrastructure.

Conclusions

The priorities and objectives of the National Strategy, including the Canada Centre's mandate to provide national leadership in the federal government's approach to countering radicalization to violence, were found to continue to be relevant. The Canada Centre model, in which its core functions are integrated in a centre of excellence, support the implementation of both the Canada Centre's national leadership mandate and its advancement of the priority areas identified in the National Strategy.

The Canada Centre has enhanced CRV knowledge through the establishment of dedicated internal research units and by funding external research and knowledge mobilization activities under the CRF. Additional research and knowledge mobilization efforts have been directly or indirectly supported by the Canada Centre through stakeholder events, workshops, training and information sharing sessions. The annual Megaweek event was seen as very valuable. While the CRV research and reports produced or funded by the Canada Centre have been found useful, increasing their accessibility and availability was seen as a possible area for advancement.

The Canada Centre's policy team has enhanced policy work in CRV by providing policy guidance and support to partners and stakeholders as well as leading and participating in various working groups and committees, including at the level of senior management. The Canada Centre represents Canada in the international space by participating in and supporting various international or multilateral bodies, and advancing the Government of Canada's objectives related to CRV.

The Canada Centre is advancing capacity-building in the CRV space by supporting the delivery of direct or indirect prevention and intervention projects. This has included CRF funding and support for practitioner networks and professionalization within the CRV field.

While these capacity-building efforts were viewed as vital in terms of their role in building capacity in the field, gaps were identified in terms of the CRF's ability to ensure long-term sustainability to frontline service providers and the reach of those services to certain regions in Canada as well as isolated, remote and Indigenous communities. The Canada Centre has worked to address some of these gaps by developing an engagement strategy for Atlantic Canada and conducting outreach and capacity-building events in 2025-2026.

Despite having processes and governance structures in place to support CRF oversight, significant challenges were encountered in terms of the level of coordination between the Canada Centre and PD. This was mainly attributed to a lack of clear lines of communication and coordination between the Canada Centre and PD program officers which adversely impacted the approval and funding of CRF agreements and implementation of CRV projects. In addition, current CRF funding levels and the need for increased outreach to underserved regions were identified as current and future potential gaps and barriers impacting the implementation of the Canada Centre's mandate and the CRF.

Overall, the Canada Centre has demonstrated strong effectiveness in advancing the objectives of the National Strategy and supporting the development of the CRV field in Canada. Its integrated model, emphasis on collaboration and engagement, and strong stakeholder relationships have enabled it to deliver meaningful results across its core functions.

At the same time, the Canada Centre operates within a complex environment that presents ongoing challenges related to coordination, resource constraints, and uneven capacity across regions. Addressing these challenges, while preserving the strengths of the current model, will be critical to sustaining and enhancing the Canada Centre's impact over time.

Recommendations

1. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National and Cyber Security Branch should: Expand outreach activities to build capacity to counter radicalization to violence in rural, remote and underserved regions across Canada.
2. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National and Cyber Security Branch, along with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Crime Prevention Branch should: Examine opportunities to improve communication and coordination between the Canada Centre and PD in support of the Community Resilience Fund.
3. On a broader level, as the Department modernizes its grants and contributions programs, it should consider approaches that support more strategic and flexible allocation of funding to emerging and priority public safety issues, particularly in areas where demonstrated demand exceeds available resources.

Management Action Plan

Recommendation 1

Assess regional needs and opportunities for expanded prevention programming in rural, remote and underserved regions.
Planned Completion Date: September 30, 2027

Develop and implement a revised multiyear stakeholder engagement plan to address rural, remote and underserved regions.
Planned Completion Date: September 30, 2028

Recommendation 2

Examine opportunities to improve communication and coordination between the Canada Centre and CSPD in support of the Community Resilience Fund.
Planned Completion Date: September 30, 2027

Annex A

CRF-supported intervention services

Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization leading to Violence (CPRLV) (Quebec) - The CPRLV engages in prevention at all levels, with education, research and intervention as its main activities.

Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux du centre-ouest de l'Île de Montréal: The Polarization Clinic (Quebec) - The Polarization Clinic's focus is on clients with extremist ideological commitments or attraction to violence, alongside underlying mental health issues that can be addressed in a clinical setting.

John Howard Society of Ottawa (JHSO): Project ReSet (Ontario) - Project ReSet supports individuals at risk of, or involved in, targeted violence influenced by hate, bias, or extremist ideology. The program delivers high-intensity, individualized case management to participants in the community, in custody, or transitioning back into society. It is offered across Eastern Ontario.

Yorktown Family Services: The Estimated Time of Arrival program (ETA) (Ontario) - The ETA program is a multidisciplinary, rapid access service within the City of Toronto, and much of Ontario, that provides online and offline interventions and supports to those at risk of or who have already engaged with violent extremism.

Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV): The Evolve program (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) - The Evolve program combines mental health and psychosocial supports with mentorship to reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors among individuals who are at-risk or have engaged in targeted violence.

Calgary Police Service: The Calgary ReDirect program (Alberta) - The ReDirect team consists of a police officer, a social worker, and a clinician from Recovery Alberta, and has a maximum capacity of 10 clients per year. They also work with families and other prevention actors connected to at-risk youth.

Shift BC (British Columbia) - Shift BC is a civilian-led program that builds community hubs to engage vulnerable individuals and deliver tailored interventions in partnership with municipalities, community organizations, and law enforcement.

Date modified:

2026-08-21