Nearly a year behind its American allies, the Canadian government has added Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis in Yemen, to its list of banned terrorist entities.
Public Safety Canada announced Monday that the Yemen-based militant rebel group, which enjoys financial and military support from other terror groups, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, is now banned in Canada.
“We have listed Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. Since the early 2000s, Ansarallah has waged an insurgency in Yemen, seeking to unseat the country’s internationally recognized government,” Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in Ottawa Monday.
“We stand with the United States in using every tool at our disposal to hold this group and its backers to account.
According to a Public Safety news release, Ansarallah has been involved in numerous attacks against civilian and naval vessels on the Red Sea and other waterways and against Israel.
The U.S. Secretary of State designated Ansarallah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group on Jan. 17, 2024, for its attacks against vessels in an attempt to disrupt global trade.
“The listing of Ansarallah as a terrorist entity has immediate legal and financial consequences,” LeBlanc said. “It’s now a criminal offence to provide material support to this group, and persons seeking to enter Canada affiliated with this group will obviously be inadmissible.”
The listing will now grant Canadian security, intelligence and law enforcement extra leeway and resources to combat terrorism, including cutting off funding to the terror group.
This comes after LeBlanc joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend to discuss Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on Canada if it does not secure its shared border with the U.S.
“Today’s addition of Ansarallah as a listed terrorist entity contributes to our efforts in fighting terrorism globally and aligning Canada with our allies,” LeBlanc said in a statement.
“Acts of violent extremism and terrorism have no place in the world, and we will continue to take action to curtail the spread of these activities internationally and to counter threats to Canada, its citizens and its interests around the world.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre renewed calls to have the Houthis listed as a terror group as it operates as a proxy for the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity, last month.
The IRGC was only listed as a terrorist entity in June despite calls for the militant wing of the Islamic regime in Iran in the House of Commons six years ago and a unanimous vote in Parliament months prior.
In January, Poilievre called on the Liberals to ban the group along with Canada’s allies to the South.
“Common sense Conservatives demanded Trudeau ban Houthi terrorists from operating in Canada in January 2024. Nearly a year later they finally did what we asked,” Poilievre said in response to the news. “Trudeau’s late failure to act on matters like this put Canadians in danger and at risk of violence. Not worth the cost of the crime.”
B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy group, also applauded the decision to add Ansarallah to the list of banned terrorist entities in Canada.
“This landmark decision is a triumph for justice and security, one that B’nai Brith Canada has fought tirelessly for over many years,” B’nai Brith said on X. “This is a victory for all Canadians who stand against terrorism and uphold the values of peace and justice.”
