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Research Note: Contemporary Radical Right-Wing Violence in Canada: A Quantitative Analysis

NCJ Number
159698
Journal
Terrorism and Political Violence Volume: 4 Issue: 3 Dated: (Autumn 1992) Pages: 72-101
Author(s)
J I Ross
Date Published
1992
Length
30 pages
Annotation
An events data methodology is used to analyze the dynamics of radical right-wing violence in Canada over the three decades from 1960-90, describe the characteristics of this type of violence, and specify some of its correlates.
Abstract
Data came from the newspaper clippings file in the intelligence branch of a police agency, published chronologies of events of violent political behavior in Canada, articles listed through manual and computer- accessible news indexes of Canadian newspapers and magazines, and other files. The research focused on 12 characteristics that included single variables and combinations of variables focusing on the incident characteristics, group responsibility, types of violence, casualties, victims, and fate of the initiators. Results revealed that the amount of right-wing violence is far lower than that in the United States. Only 159 acts of violence occurred during the study period. The right-wing violence was mainly an urban phenomenon. It is less frequent than similar activities in Western Europe. Roman Catholic and Asian communities have generally not been victims as they were in earlier Canadian history. The implications of these findings for the future in Canada are unclear. Further research using different information sources, new variables, and statistical testing is recommended. Tables, figure, and 58 reference notes