The federal government announced yesterday, Wednesday, funding of more than $300,000 to study how gaming communities can create environments conducive to extremism and violent extremism, which causes incidents of violence within the family and community.

Through gender-based analysis, the study aims to examine how identities of both individuals and player groups are shaped, and to investigate how misogyny links violent extremist ideologies across geography and culture, according to a press release from Public Safety Canada.

The funding will go to the Royal United Services Institute, described as "one of the UK's leading defense and security research centers." The press release stated that it will collaborate with an international initiative called the Extremism and Gaming Research Network, which aims to "address the misuse of video games by extremist groups."

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that supporting such initiatives is essential to keeping Canadians safe.

LeBlanc said in a statement: "The research conducted by the Royal United Services Institute and the Extremism and Gaming Research Network will help enhance Canada’s resilience and increase our ability to identify and prevent extremism leading to violence."

He added that the funding is provided through the Community Resilience Fund, led by the Canadian Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, part of Public Safety Canada, also known as the Canada Centre.

The press release stated that the Community Resilience Fund provides financial support to organizations working to enhance Canada's efforts to combat violent extremism.

Dr. Jessica White and Galen Lamfire Englund, who lead the project from the Royal United Services Institute, said they seek to "better protect games from exploitation by those who spread hatred-based discrimination and extremism."

White and Lamfire-Englund mentioned in the press release: "Our project partners look forward to enhancing Canada’s resilience by contributing to violence prevention strategies specifically designed for gaming spaces."