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OPV executive director John McCoy said he’s unaware of any other studies that identify and quantify extremist groups in Alberta.

“What our research (shows) is that there is a diversity of threats out there related to violent extremism, and there are many different ideologies that can create this problem,” said McCoy, a professor who teaches terrorism studies at the University of Alberta.

“There are a number of ideologies where Alberta is disproportionately represented, in terms of the numbers that we’re producing,” he said.

The report relied on interviews with more than 170 law enforcement members from the RCMP and every municipal police service in Alberta. Researchers also interviewed around 120 people whose communities are impacted by hate and extremism, 50 service providers specializing in violence and at-risk youth, and 21 “formers” — people previously involved with extremist movements or their loved ones.

McCoy said one major conclusion is that individuals on the edges of extremist groups — often radicalized on social media — are the biggest threat.

“The individuals that we’re seeing are really on the margins of extremist movements,” he said.

Al-Qaida, affiliates and splinter groups (AQAS)

The report found Alberta has been home to “both intimate and established networks” tied to al-Qaida and affiliated groups, and “highly isolated cases that are connected with AQAS networks wholly online.”

“Today, the trend is very much towards the latter,” the report says.