Canada on Thursday expressed concern about the Muslim Brotherhood, the target of a relentless crackdown by Egypt's military-installed authorities since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July.

 

"Canada has taken an aggressive stand when it comes to listings (of terror groups)... but there is a certain process," Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said at a news conference in Cairo.

 

"We are tremendously concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood... but the listings are made on the basis of facts and intel."

 

Egypt's authorities in December declared the Brotherhood a "terrorist organization", and Saudi Arabia followed suit last month.

 

Ottawa's stand comes just weeks after Britain ordered a probe into the Islamist movement over concerns that it was linked to violent extremism.

 

On April 1, London ordered an investigation into the Islamist movement, to which Morsi belongs.

 

Since Morsi's removal, Egypt has cracked down brutally on the movement, with more than 1,400 people killed and thousands imprisoned, including the Brotherhood's top leadership.

 

The Brotherhood had swept all elections in the country since the fall of veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.