Terror suspect entered Canada with student visa in June 2023, immigration minister confirms

A Pakistani citizen who was arrested last week in Quebec and charged with plotting an alleged terrorist attack in New York City came to Canada on a student visa in June 2023, Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed Tuesday.

“This is all that I’ll be commenting on this individual,” Miller told reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, BC. “Obviously there are criminal charges pending. As politicians, as elected officials, in order to make sure the judicial process is not compromised, although we share the goals of the prosecutors in question, it’s very important that we don’t comment.”

Miller later clarified that the suspect entered Canada through the Pearson airport in Toronto on June 24, 2023 after a student visa was granted in May 2023.

The U.S. Department of Justice claims Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, resided in Canada and attempted to enter the U.S. to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

On Sept. 4, Canadian police arrested Khan near the border in Quebec and U.S. authorities have charged him with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Khan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

A complaint filed with a New York federal court alleges that Khan began showing his support for ISIS on social media around November 2023. He subsequently started communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers, who were told that “New York is perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population in America.” 

Khan allegedly intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting on or around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. He allegedly discussed specific plans with the undercover officers, urged them to secure firearms and claimed he was paying a human smuggler to enter the U.S.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Miller said Canadians “can be confident that our security systems and apparatuses have actually worked.”

“We are constantly looking internally at what we can do to make sure Canadians continue to be safe. But again, no one can pretend and stand honestly in front of you and say that a well-determined actor can’t come to this country, and that’s why we have the security apparatuses that we have in this country,” Miller said. 

Khan is scheduled to appear at a Montreal court on Sept. 13.

With files from CTV News’ Daniel Otis