What are sleeper cells and why did Doug Ford suggest they are in Canada?

Ontario premier Doug Ford recently spoke about “sleeper cells” during a press conference about a series of shootings in Toronto targeting synagogues and the U.S. consulate.

Ford stressed this was his personal opinion and not based on police intelligence. Yet, he insisted authorities need “to weed these people out and hold them accountable,” by throwing them in jail for life.

Sleeper cells are defined as small groups of covert operatives or terrorists who infiltrate a target country and live ordinary lives — holding jobs, raising families, and blending into society — for months or years. They remain dormant (“asleep”) until they receive specific signals or orders from their handlers directing them to activate and carry out missions such as espionage, attacks or sabotage.

They often operate without direct contact with their sponsoring country or organization, for example Iran or al-Qaeda, and use secure technology to avoid detection.

Ford raised this possibility without evidence or confirmation from the RCMP , who stated they lack specific information on whether such cells exist. RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said: “I don’t have any information to provide at this time on any sleeper cells that may or may not exist in Canada.”

He added that CSIS and Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams are actively investigating related matters nationwide.

The RCMP did announce heightened security at embassies and consulates in Toronto and Ottawa. They continue monitoring potential threats.

Historically, sleeper cells in North America have been rare, with few confirmed cases of dormant agents activated for attacks. Most examples involve Soviet-era spies or post-9/11 terrorism suspects rather than classic terror cells lying low for years.

Rudolph Abel , a KGB spy, entered the U.S. in 1948, lived undercover as an artist and coordinated nuclear espionage networks. Among his activities was  coordinating Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, infamous for stealing American atom bomb plans and turning them over to the Russians. Abel was arrested in 1957 after a defector’s tip-off.

In 2020, FBI arrests targeted alleged Hezbollah Unit 910 members surveilling U.S. infrastructure.

Farhad Shakeri Network : An IRGC asset directed New York locals Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt to surveil and kill an Iranian-American critic, promising US$100,000. Shakeri was also tasked with plotting against Trump post-October 7, 2024.

Asif Merchant Case: A Pakistani national tied to Iran was convicted in March 2026 for plotting to assassinate U.S. politicians, including potentially President Trump. He tried recruiting hitmen (undercover FBI agents) in New York, offering US$5,000 upfront, as part of an IRGC-directed murder-for-hire scheme.

Recent Iranian assassination plots in North America have primarily targeted U.S. political figures, dissidents, and critics of the regime, often linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These schemes have been disrupted by U.S. and Canadian authorities. The U.S., U.K. and Canada have condemned Iranian intelligence for collaborating with criminals to carry out assassinations in North America.

However, there is little evidence of true sleeper cells operating in North America involving creating long-term covers and extended dormancy.

The Lackawanna Six is a more accurate example of undercover terrorism activity. In that case, Yemeni-Americans from Buffalo were trained by al-Qaeda, though they were arrested before following through on plotted attacks. Instead they highlight early fears about radicalization. 

Post-9/11 fears have often outpaced the evidence, says Dr. Shannon Nash, a manager with the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network and former post-doctoral fellow with Trent University in Ontario.

Al Qaeda did not use sleepers in any classic Russian espionage sense, she writes in a 2021 paper . “Instead, al Qaeda had an interest in deploying operatives, often to foreign countries, who had sufficient security awareness to avoid detection by authorities, and who were meant to be in place to execute missions.”

She says that the idea of sleeper cells has been “driven by fear and anxiety, particularly after 9/11 when homeland security concerns and exaggerations of the threat posed by al Qaeda helped prolong a fear of catastrophe, perceptions of the sleeper threat became so formidable that they often became vastly disproportionate to reality.”

• 'National security incident': Shots fired at U.S. Consulate in Toronto, suspect vehicle image released
• ‘Bullets are flying': Two more Toronto-area synagogues hit by gunfire

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