Toronto Police Deputy Chief Mark Saunders said there is, thus far, nothing suspicious about the tunnel, except that it exists.
"I wasn't overly concerned that 'Oh my goodness this is going to be something horrific.' We've got steps and measures in place. If someone is going to be nefarious in this type of way, we'll be on top of it," Saunders said.
The tunnel contained an electricity-supplying generator, a sump pump to remove water and a pulley system to remove dirt. A Catholic rosary and a plastic Remembrance Day poppy, typically worn by Canadians on Veterans Day, were found nailed to a wall within the tunnel.
The discovery comes at a time of heightened awareness in Canada of terrorist activity. In October a soldier was shot to death in Ottawa by a gunman who police said adhered to a radical ideology, two days after another soldier was struck by a car and killed in Quebec by a man police described as "radicalized." "There is no criminal offense for digging a hole," Saunders said.
