”A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian," Trudeau said. "And you devalue the citizenship of every Canadian in this place and in this country when you break down and make it conditional for anybody."

No lives were lost in the plot, thanks to an extensive RCMP investigation that culminated in the group’s dismantling in 2006. A police agent managed to infiltrate the group and was integral in the arrests.

“There is no dispute that what would have occurred was multiple death and injuries,” said Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno, one of the sentencing judges. “The results would have been catastrophic. What this case revealed was spine-chilling. The potential for loss of life existed on a scale never before seen in Canada.”

The first chapter of the now-notorious terror cell started right here in Mississauga, at a Meadowvale gas station.

It was there that Jordan-born Amara worked as a gas attendant in the spring of 2006 to support his wife and baby girl.

When the 20-year-old wasn’t ringing up purchases for customers, he was planning his deadly scheme, vowing to settle the score for what he called ‘the suffering of Muslims worldwide.’

Amara’s plan was to strike the Toronto Exchange Tower and the Toronto offices of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s spy agency, with truck bombs.

A third one-tonne bomb was earmarked for a military base along Highway 401, likely CFB Trenton.

Amara and the other ringleader, Fahim Ahmad, had met as youngsters at Edenwood Middle School.

The pair later attended Meadowvale Secondary School, where they met Khalid, another key player.

After Ahmad moved to Scarborough in his late teens, the three remained close and began the recruitment process to prepare for the largest terrorist attack in Canadian history.

The large group planned to detonate truck bombs at several locations and open fire in a crowded area.

Members of the group also ordered fertilizer to build the truck bombs, constructed a remote-control detonator, and scouted a safe house to store weapons, practise military drills and harbour terrorists.

They were also accused of planning to storm the parliamentary Peace Tower in Ottawa, take hostages and behead the Prime Minister and other leaders.

In total, 18 people were arrested. Four were convicted and seven others, pleaded guilty.