The terrorist group Hamas tends to exploit Canadian hospitality, as Canada currently moves with poorly regulated financial & immigration systems.
During mid-November 2025, a Global News investigation uncovered that roughly 450 Canadian individuals, who hold various roles within Hamas, have ties in Canada. Among these shortlisted suspects are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and others moving with relatives or associates already residing in Canada. CSIS were hesitant in confirming whether these individuals are currently under scrutiny. Global reported that the agency was investigating Canadians within Middle East terror groups, although it fell short of further elaboration.
Among them is a dual Canadian-Lebanese national, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usama_Ali. Ali has allegedly sat on Hamas’s powerful Shura Council for the last six years, since 2019. This Council is the body that selects the terror group’s leadership and shapes its strategy. Ali is sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury and is reported as the head of Hamas’s Turkey-based Investment Office. This office manages an estimated USD 365 million in assets through real estate and construction companies.
Omar Alkassab is yet another individual who capitalised on Canadian hospitality by arriving in Winnipeg as a refugee nearly a decade ago (in 2016). This was then part of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resettlement programme. That Canadian inclusivity programme was extended to over 100,000 Syrians escaping civil war in their homeland. Guided by intelligence, Alkassab has long been associated with Hamas’s money-moving operations. This includes many cryptocurrency accounts suspected of having been used to channel funds to Gaza.
This exposé yet again confirms a long-running trend. As such, Canada remains one of the most vulnerable Western jurisdictions for infiltration by suspected Hamas-linked operatives. The aftermath of 7 October 2024 has deeply deepened the country’s exposure.
For decades on end, Hamas has been exploiting Canada’s poorly regulated financial & immigration systems to achieve its own agendas. This is with almost astonishing ease to launder money and move it across borders. Canadian nationals and underground currency exchanges are believed to have laundered funds for this group. Hamas also tends to channel donations from sympathetic charities through cash couriers. This is besides front organisations, bank transfers, and hawala networks, besides mainstream money transfer services.
