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TORONTO—Religious extremism has become the top motive for Canadian terrorism, replacing environmentalism, according to an academic study prepared for Public Safety Canada.

While environmentalist causes were the main driver of Canadian terrorist incidents in the 1990s and 2000s, religious motives have taken over the lead since 2010, the study found.

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Between 2010 and 2015, 29 per cent of terrorist incidents were religiously motivated while 7 per cent were categorized as “anarchist,” and 3 per cent were “supremacist.” The motives for 61% were unknown.

All “religious” terrorism dating back to 2001 was “motivated by jihadist beliefs,” said the March 2016 study, obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act.

The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society conducted the study for the government for officials preparing the 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada.