Explicitly named after al Qaeda, the Base essentially fell apart after having been infiltrated by Winnipeg Free Press journalist Ryan Thorpe in 2019. The group made the most basic mistake that gangs involved in clandestine activity can make: it recruited outside its immediate social network. Intrigued by leaflets, Thorpe simply got in touch with the group via its phone number, which quickly led him to the core of the organization -- and eventually to an FBI investigation.

— The Great Right North by Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Aurélie Campana, Samuel Tanner (Page 57)