ETA Removed from Terrorist Entities List

Summary#

The final regulations SOR/2026-117, published July 1, 2026, remove Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) from the Regulations Establishing a List of Entities under the Criminal Code. The change ends the special listing and the related administrative requirements that applied to ETA.

What it does#

• Removes Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) from the federal list of listed entities.
• The regulations come into force on the day they were made (registered June 9, 2026).
• Notes from the government: ETA was first listed on June 4, 2003, ceased activity in 2011, disarmed in 2017, and dissolved in 2018.
• Federal security and enforcement departments (for example, Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)) reviewed and recommended the change; no external public consultation was done.

Who's affected#

• Banks and other financial institutions: the legal obligation to freeze or report assets tied to ETA will end for that entity.
• Federal security and law-enforcement agencies: they will update their lists and tracking systems.
• People or groups previously linked to ETA could be affected in how authorities treat them, depending on the facts of each case.
• Most Canadians and small businesses are unlikely to notice any practical change.

Why it matters#

• For banks and compliance teams, this removes an administrative requirement to freeze or report assets specifically tied to ETA.
• It aligns Canada with the positions of allies such as the United States, New Zealand, and the European Union, who have already removed ETA from their lists.
• It signals the government’s assessment that ETA no longer poses the same reconstitution risk it once did, based on the group’s cessation, disarmament and dissolution.