Police remain skittish on what led them to arrest at least three alleged terror suspects in Ontario earlier this week, and the public details of their lives are no less confusing.

They are Canadian citizens and all lead model middle-to-upper class lives. All three are married with children, and friends and neighbours say they never suspected anything.

There is little in their background to indicate radical religious or political views and why they may have wanted to hurt their fellow citizens. Their background leaves more questions than answers.

Hiva Alizadeh, 30

The alleged ringleader the terror plot according to police, he immigrated to Winnipeg from Iran, to join his uncle, a local cab driver.

He enrolled in an electrical engineering program at Red River College in 2008-2009.

A teacher there said Alizadeh was respectful and hard-working but dropped out in the first term. Previously he attended the same school to study English as an additional language.

In Winnipeg, he worked in a halal meat shop where his employer said he was a hard worker, the Globe and Mail reported.

He married a local girl in Winnipeg, who converted to Islam, and the couple have two young children.

Alizadeh moved to Ottawa about a year-and-a-half ago.

Khurram Syed Sher, 28

Sher was born in Montreal and earned a medical degree at McGill University by the age of 23. He recently took a job as a pathologist at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital in St. Thomas, Ont., just south of London. His employers say he came "highly recommended."

Infamously, he appeared on Canadian Idol wearing traditional Pakistani clothing, sporting a fake Pakistani accent, saying he just moved to Canada in 2005. He performed an off-key rendition of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" and moonwalked. "Have you ever thought of being a comedian?" a judge asked.

Friends said he put on the performance as a joke.

Sher travelled to Pakistan in 2006, to assist with in relief efforts after an earthquake and was praised in the House of Commons for his humanitarian work.

Sher was also an avid hockey fan, participating in a number of ball hockey tournaments in Montreal.

He is also listed as the director of the RS Foundation, a registered non-profit for children in South Asia.

Sher is married with three children. His marriage was arranged, and his wife lives in Windsor, Ont. with her parents, where she is battling health problems.

Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26

Ahmed was an X-ray technician and worked at The Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus. Four months ago, his employers were informed CSIS was investigating him.

For years he played in a Muslim charity ball hockey tournament in Montreal, where Sher also played. One year, they were on the same team.

He is married with a seven-month-old daughter.

Ahmed moved from Montreal to Ottawa two years ago. He was raised in Canada, his friends say.