Mass bomb threat sent to Jewish institutions across Canada

The Toronto Police Service said it had searched buildings on Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West for a bomb threat.

A threatening email was sent early Wednesday morning to dozens of Jewish institutions across Canada, including several in Montreal, prompting investigations by police in multiple cities and the RCMP.

Cst. Sabrina Gauthier, a spokesperson for the Montreal police, said a 911 call came in at 7:10 a.m. from a synagogue in Hampstead about an email it had received saying bombs had been placed in the building.

The email was sent to more than 100 synagogues, Jewish community centres and other institutions across the country, said a spokesperson for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in an interview Wednesday morning.

Synagogues, Jewish community centres and hospitals in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa are among those which confirmed they have received the threat. Ottawa police say they are on site at several hospitals in the capital but indicated the RCMP is taking the lead on the investigation.

The Toronto Police Service said it had searched buildings on Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West for a bomb threat.

"The buildings were evacuated as a precaution and cleared," TPS spokesperson Laura Brabant said in an email to CBC News.