Warning: Graphic content Experts are warning of the dangers of the manosphere and how it can target and radicalize young men and boys online following the Montreal shooting last month, which left a Montreal police officer, a bystander and the gunman dead. Their concerns follow the discovery of the gunman’s 104-page manifesto by police in his hotel room, which police said outlined a range of beliefs, including views that experts say align with the ideology of the “incel,” or “involuntarily celibate,” movement. CTV News has made the editorial decision not to quote directly from, publish or link to the manifesto. Incels are part of the manosphere, an umbrella term for a network of online communities, forums and influencers that promote misogynistic beliefs and extremist ideas of masculinity. Marc Lafrance is a professor of sociology at Concordia University who specializes in men’s health and well-being and identity politics in relation to ideological extremism and political polarization for two decades. He has studied the manosphere for about a decade and said experts have warned for years that it has the potential to fuel violence. “People have been sounding the alarm about the manosphere for a long time now, and it’s a real shame that it takes a catastrophe of this nature to get people to pay attention to the phenomenon,” Lafrance told CTV News. Manosphere fuelled by anger towards women According to Lafrance, the manosphere can be traced back to the 1990s, when online communities focused on issues such as divorce, fatherhood, men’s rights and dating. Those communities grew increasingly interconnected as social media expanded in the 2010s. Together, they became known as the manosphere, which includes Pick-Up Artists, Men’s Rights Activists and the Men Going Their Own Way movement. “They are fuelled by anger towards women and the perception that women’s rights have ‘gone too far,’ and that men are now systematically disadvantaged and basically have no hope of getting anywhere in life,” Lafrance said. READ MORE: Alleged police shooter identified as 25-year-old from Lethbridge, Alta. READ MORE: Pornhub has been the target of online threats before Montreal fatal shooting The manosphere often targets young, vulnerable boys and men online under the guise of teaching personal responsibility and self-improvement. However, it often promotes harmful beliefs about masculinity, and frames men as victims of society and encourages resentment towards women, Lafrance said. Young boys and men may encounter this content while searching for tips on fitness, dating or cryptocurrency. “If boys or men are already feeling adrift, and then they find themselves frequenting these communities that fill them with hatred, anger, frustration, grievance, resentment, that’s not good for anybody’s health or well-being,” he said. Extreme misogyny can fuel mass violence Misogynistic beliefs often extend beyond online spaces, Lafrance said. The promotion of extreme misogyny online often encourages violence and, in some cases, has fuelled real-world attacks. Before the Montreal shooting, Canada had seen other recent mass attacks motivated by incel ideology. In 2018, a 25-year-old man deliberately ran down pedestrians with his van in Toronto, killing 11 and injuring 15. Two years later, a 17-year-old boy stabbed a woman to death and injured another at a Toronto massage parlour. He was charged with terrorism offences under the Criminal Code because of his connection to the incel movement, marking the first time a terrorism charge had been laid against an Ideologically Motivated Violent (IMV) extremist motivated by incel ideology. The federal government classifies IMV extremism into four subcategories: xenophobic violence, anti-authority violence, gender-driven violence and other grievance-driven and ideologically motivated violence. Since 2014, individuals motivated fully or in part by incel ideology have killed or injured more than 110 people in Canada and the U.S. The Montreal shooting in June has also prompted a national security investigation into possible ideological motivations. “An act of violence was carried out in the name of an ideology, that’s how significant the politics of the manosphere are,” Lafrance said. “This isn’t ‘boys being boys,’ or ‘a few bad apples,’ or a few ‘men behaving badly.’ It is not. We are way past the point of that at this point (…) This is an urgent public health problem.” Manosphere linked to gender-based violence The federal government has also recognized links between the manosphere, online radicalization and gender-based violence. Myrna Dawson, a professor of sociology at the University of Guelph, has spent three decades studying femicide, violence against women and girls, violence prevention, criminal justice and public policy. She is the founder and director of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, which documents all women and girls killed in Canada. Dawson says research has shown that perpetrators of mass violence often have histories of violence against women, including sexual violence, intimate partner violence or femicides, which can serve as a precursor to mass violence. Canada’s deadliest mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 began with a 51-year-old man assaulting his female partner before he killed 22 people and set fires at 16 locations. The 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, in which 14 women were killed and 14 other people were injured, was also motivated by anti-women ideology and was previously Canada’s deadliest mass shooting. “There is a significant connection between violence against women, radicalization, and misogyny, and it’s probably much stronger than we realize,” Dawson told CTV News. “It is crushing to see these events happen, but we can’t separate these mass killings from the everyday male violence.” In Canada, 63 women and girls have been killed so far this year. In Quebec, 11 women and girls have been killed. The preliminary data was provided to CTV News by the observatory. The killings, known as femicides, are most often committed by a current or former intimate partner of the victim, with the accused most often being male. As investigations into suspicious deaths continue, the numbers may change. “There are many other forms of non-lethal violence and aggressions occurring that will never come to light,” said Dawson, “but may be the result of radicalization as well.” Addressing harmful beliefs in the classroom In Quebec, the Montreal-based Centre for Research and Action on Social Polarization is working with schools to help stop radicalization before it turns violent. According to the federal government, 80 per cent of educators say they have witnessed misogynistic behaviours in classrooms in 2025, including disrespect toward women and harmful gender stereotypes. The same data found that over 40 per cent of young men trust online influencers who spread hateful messages, while nearly half of parents are unaware that hateful and sexist content is intentionally targeting their kids. Cécile Rousseau, a professor of social and cultural psychiatry at McGill University and the centre’s scientific director, also holds a Canada Research Chair in the prevention of violent radicalization. For the 2025-2026 school year, the centre developed classroom resources for some elementary and high schools aimed at addressing extremist gender-related ideologies. The program encourages students to express their thoughts and feelings through guided discussions and creative verbal and non-verbal activities in a safe environment. “This approach gives young people an occasion to express grievances, feelings of unfairness and their dreams. You can subsequently surf on what is positive and legitimate to propose alternatives to misogyny,” Rousseau told CTV News. The centre is currently studying the program’s efficacy. Rousseau said researchers are also seeing growing interest in extremist ideologies related to religion, ethnicity, race, gender identity and orientation among at-risk youth. She said the surge in all extremist ideologies, and the way they intersect and reinforce one another, must be addressed through a coordinated, systemic approach. “The solution is not a moral one, and it’s not a prescriptive one of saying ‘this is not true,’ and we will oppose that. This is not working,” she said. “We need to address the underlying grievances; we need to address inclusion and marginalization in our society if we want to mitigate this phenomenon.” Promoting positive masculinity Lafrance’s recent work focuses on countering the manosphere by promoting positive models of masculinity to young boys and men. He believes many figures in the manosphere exploit legitimate struggles boys and men are facing, but frame those issues through resentment towards women. Instead, he highlights men who make positive contributions to their families, friendships and communities, and who embody qualities such as generosity, empathy, kindness, self-development, and self-actualization. “Positive masculinity is oriented around being a force for good,” he said — “a masculinity built on strength not to dominate, but strength to achieve (...) strength to be able to support others through difficult times, but it’s also a masculinity that allows itself to be helped through difficult times.” “What we are seeing in the manosphere is dangerous, disturbing, heartbreaking and terrifying, but there are good men out there doing good work with other men, and I think the need to spotlight good male role models has never been as important as it is right now.” If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
