Introduction

This introduction outlines the context, purpose, and scope of Counter-Extremism and High Policing in Canada: Improvising Security . It begins with the “Maisonneuve affair” of 2015, a pivotal event that shaped public and political understandings of radicalization in Quebec. Drawing on ethnographic experience, it traces how the field of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) developed through collaboration between police, social workers, and community actors. The chapter introduces the book’s main argument that CVE represents a shift in national security practices—transforming what Jean-Paul Brodeur termed “high policing” into a more visible, hybrid form of security governance. Overall, the introduction positions the book as field-based account and a critical analysis of how CVE has redefined the boundaries between social intervention and national security in Canada.