The Government of Canada recently designated Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a terrorist entity under its criminal code, Public Safety Canada announced on Dec. 2.
This designation makes it a criminal offense to financially interact with the Houthis, marking them as the 79th terrorist entity listed under the Canadian Criminal Code.
The “addition of Ansarallah as a listed terrorist entity contributes to our efforts in fighting terrorism globally and aligning Canada with our allies,” said Dominic LeBlanc, minister of public safety, democratic institutions and intergovernmental affairs.
The government decision comes six weeks after the United States and Canada similarly designated Samidoun. The United States designated the Houthis as a global terror group in January 2024.
Ansarallah is a militant group that has waged an insurgency in Yemen since the early 2000s, aiming to overthrow the internationally recognized Yemeni government. It currently controls large areas of North-Western Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.
The group has contributed to unrest in the Middle East since the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, through attacks on civilian and naval vessels in the Red Sea and other waterways.
“Acts of violent extremism and terrorism have no place in the world,” LeBlanc said. “And we will continue to take action to curtail the spread of these activities internationally and to counter threats to Canada, its citizens and its interests around the world.”
The Canadian government highlighted the Houthis’ close links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and Hezbollah, both already listed as terrorist entities in Canada.
The government emphasized that this listing targets the armed political movement Ansarallah, not the ethnic Houthi group in Yemen.
“Canada’s decision to list the Houthis brings it in step with its allies and demonstrates our commitment to upholding international law,” Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy, said.
He added that it is also important for the government’s action to be followed by domestic policy changes.
“Our government should not continue to tolerate mass rallies in support of listed terrorist entities such as the Houthis or Hamas,” Robertson said. “These gatherings, which glorify acts of terror and incite hate against the Jewish community, make a mockery of Canadian values.”
