ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Canadian foreign ministry on Friday announced removing Syria from its list of states that support “terrorism”, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its terror list, welcoming the “positive steps” taken by Syria’s new rulers since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian rebel groups, spearheaded by the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led HTS, launched operation “Deterrence of Aggression” on November 27, 2024, seizing the capital Damascus after a 12-day blitz offensive, and ending Assad’s 24-year reign.

In the wake of Assad’s fall, HTS and affiliated groups dissolved and its membership took up the reins of governance in Syria, forming a transitional government led by Sharaa as the country’s interim president.

In a statement on Friday, the Canadian foreign ministry said that the government has removed Syria from the List of Foreign State Supporters of Terrorism under the State Immunity Act, and HTS from the List of Terrorist Entities under the Canadian Criminal Code.

“Canada welcomes the positive steps taken by the Syrian transitional government since the end of the Assad regime towards a peaceful Syrian-led political transition. Canada stands steadfast with the people of Syria in their quest for an inclusive, stable and prosperous future,” the statement cited Foreign Minister Anita Anand as saying.

The ministry stated that the government’s decision follows similar measures recently made by its allies, including the US and the UK, praising the Syrian government’s efforts to advance the country’s stability, “build an inclusive and secure future for its citizens, and work alongside global partners to reinforce regional stability and counter terrorism.”

Canada will continue its work with the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) to counter global security threats, the statement noted.

Last month Sharaa visited Washington, where he met top US officials, including President Donald Trump. During the visit, Syria officially joined the US-led global coalition against ISIS, and Washington temporarily suspended the crippling Caesar sanctions on the country for 180 days.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump said that the US is “very satisfied” with progress in Syria. “We are doing everything within our power to make sure that the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended, which is substantial, in order to build a true and prosperous Country.” 

In October, the UK Foreign Office announced that the government has decided to remove the HTS from its list of proscribed terrorist organizations, opening the path for greater cooperation with the current Syrian establishment.

In June, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of HTS in a signed memo. 

Sharaa’s government has been widely criticized for its handling of anti-government movements in Druze and Alawite majority parts of the country, and its security forces have routinely clashed with Kurdish forces in the country’s northeast. State-affiliated armed groups are accused of carrying out dozens of violent campaigns against anti-government groups, killing hundreds of civilians.

Up until December 2024, Sharaa, then going by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani was on the US’ “most wanted” list with a $10 million bounty for his arrest. 

Sharaa joined al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2003 just weeks before the American invasion and quickly rose through the group’s ranks. He was arrested by US forces in Iraq in 2006 and imprisoned for over five years.

His release in 2011 coincided with the start of the Syrian civil war, and he would go on to form Jabhat al-Nusra, a Jihadist front affiliated to al-Qaeda fighting against the Assad government during the Syrian civil war. The HTS was formed in 2017 as a result of a merger of several opposition factions.