The Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind a foiled coup attempt in Türkiye on July 15, 2016, increasingly turned to Canada, where they reinforced their presence in recent years. The country is now hosting a sizable number of group members, either those on the run from Turkish justice or those who arrived in the country from the United States. As a matter of fact, Canada now has the largest FETÖ network after its southern neighbor, where Fetullah Gülen, leader of the group, resides without restrictions in Pennsylvania.

An unsuccessful coup attempt in Türkiye sped up the arrival of FETÖ members to Canada as Türkiye took more steps to crack down on the terrorist group.

Canada is home to a large number of associations affiliated with the group, while CentreCanada, is the most prominent among them. The association's website, whose full name is CentreCanada Newcomer Services Society, says it helps newcomers start their new life in Canada. It also hosts a string of "events" in the vein of "sohbet" (gathering of FETÖ members).

Thriving FETÖ-linked associations are apparently encouraged by Canada's refusal of extradition of wanted members of the terrorist group by Türkiye.

CentreCanada is founded by Anatolian Heritage Federation, a Toronto-based civic society with links to FETÖ, which promotes the terrorist group's anti-Türkiye campaign. It offers services from housing aid to education and employment for "newcomers."

The North American country where FETÖ already had a presence before the 2016 coup attempt welcomed senior figures of the terrorist group fleeing countries in Africa and Asia after the attempt. Most arrived with legal paperwork and by air before Turkish courts issued arrest warrants for them. In recent years, other wanted group members secretly traveled to Canada via the U.S., where they infiltrated through the Mexican border. The lack of action by the Justin Trudeau government made Canada a popular destination for FETÖ members braving perilous journeys from Mexico to the country.

Among those calling Canada their new home is Osman Özsoy, an academic who is on the Turkish Interior Ministry's most wanted terrorist list. Özsoy was a presenter in a now-defunct TV station of the group in Türkiye. Before the coup attempt, he gained notoriety for his remarks on his TV show, where he promoted a coup against the government.

Cemal Karaata, wanted by Türkiye for his role in killing the Russian Ambassador in Ankara Andrei Karlov, is another FETÖ fugitive residing in Canada. Karlov was murdered while attending an event in the Turkish capital in 2016 by an off-duty police officer loyal to FETÖ. A subsequent investigation revealed that the assassination was a plot by the terrorist group. Temel Alsancak, another suspect in the assassination plot, was spotted in Texas, U.S., in June.

Said Sefa, another fugitive FETÖ member known for his online propaganda for the terrorist group, also lives in Canada.

The terrorist group is known for its global network of schools and associations it founded while it disguised itself as an international nonprofit organization with religious undertones long before the coup attempt. Anatolian Heritage Federation spearheads FETÖ's "public relations" efforts in Canada. It operates branches or organizes events in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Kitchener. It is an umbrella organization for 19 more similar but smaller associations, including Canadian Turkish Friendship Community (CTFC), Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI), Embrace Islamic Society, Northern Light Relief Foundation and Northern Lights Education Services.

Outside Anatolian Heritage Foundation, Canada hosts other FETÖ-affiliated organizations, including the Canadian Turkish Heritage Foundation in Ottawa, Centre Culturel Anatolie in Montreal, Burç Intercultural Centre in Calgary, Nebula Academy and Mosaic Education Centre in Edmonton. FETÖ is also known for ties to an unknown number of companies and social media websites in the country. Ankara has repeatedly warned Canada to take action against such organizations, to no avail.

Türkiye often complains of failures in international cooperation against terrorism and the extradition issue stands out among those failures. The country, which fights against threats from multiple terrorist groups, expects the same stance from the international community, particularly its allies. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said last month that few countries approve extradition requests. Tunç told Demirören News Agency (DHA) that extradition requests for members of FETÖ were coupled with international arrest warrants. "As of July, we have a total of 2,100 extradition requests (sent to the ministry by courts). We have filed requests to 112 countries in 1,387 cases. We made 28 requests to Sweden and 22 of them were rejected. As for Red Notices (for international arrest warrants), none were approved," he said.

Fetullah Gülen, who lives in a compound operated by FETÖ in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, has praised the Western countries assisting group members in 2018. Addressing fellow FETÖ members in a video entitled "Foreign lands, emigration, shahada and service," Gülen said that many countries, including Germany, Canada, the U.S. and "partially" France, had helped them. "They said rent a house and we will pay for it ... Germany has done this, so has Canada and France (partially) and the U.S. and other places," Gülen, who rarely made appearances following the coup attempt, said in the video.

An unknown number of FETÖ members, mostly high-ranking figures, fled Türkiye when the coup attempt was thwarted. Many of the group's members had already left the country before the coup attempt after Turkish prosecutors launched investigations into other crimes of the terrorist group.

The U.S., where FETÖ's fugitive head Gülen resides, is the subject of most extradition requests. Türkiye has sent several extradition requests for Gülen to Washington so far but, unfortunately, has seen little progress on this subject. Ankara formally requested Gülen's extradition on July 19, 2016, and has been pressing the U.S. ever since, sending hundreds of folders full of evidence implicating Gülen and FETÖ in the coup attempt. The issue has been raised in bilateral meetings between Turkish and American officials in phone calls, letters and other exchanges.