Young person invites finding of guilt in Ottawa terror case

The Ottawa courthouse. April 16, 2026. (Katie Griffin/CTV News Ottawa)

An Ottawa youth is inviting a judge to find him guilty of terrorism charges stemming from an alleged plan to attack Jewish people.

The development came in an Ontario court Wednesday before a trial for the young person and a co-accused was set to begin.

The youth, who cannot be identified due to his age, pleaded not guilty to four charges, but he admits to a statement of facts and invites the court to find him guilty.

The unusual move preserves his appeal rights concerning the pretrial exclusion of certain evidence in the case.

The four charges are:

• conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group;
• facilitating terrorist activity by making available and exchanging instructional material and propaganda;
• instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity against Jewish persons; and
• facilitating terrorist activity by possessing explosive substances, specifically acetone, an oxidizer and metal ball bearings.

The approximately 50-page statement of facts in the case has been given to Superior Court Justice Ian Carter to review.

Neither the young person nor his co-accused can be named due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The youth inviting the court to find him guilty was arrested in December 2023. At the time, the RCMP recognized the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Ottawa police, the Ontario Provincial Police anti-terrorism section and others for their help.

The second young person was arrested in February 2024.

He is charged with conspiracy to commit murder through involvement with a terrorist group, as well as facilitating terrorist activity by making available instructional material and propaganda and by seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press