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John Carpay

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Carpay
Born
The Netherlands
CitizenshipCanada
Education
Occupations

John Carpay is a Netherlands-born Canadian disbarred lawyer and newspaper columnist, currently acting as the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. He has been disbarred by The Law Society of Manitoba[1] and the Law Society of Alberta.[2]

Early life and education

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Carpay was born in the Netherlands, before moving to British Columbia, Canada.[3]

He has a bachelor of arts in political science from Université Laval and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary.[3][4]

Career and advocacy

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He was called to the bar in 1999.[3][4] He worked in civil litigation with Calgary legal firm Rooney Prentice[4] before working for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation conservative advocacy organization[3][5] and as the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation.[6]

Carpay is the president of Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms,[7] which he founded in 2010.[8] The organisation describes its mission to defend "the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through litigation and education."[9]

Carpay has written columns for The National Post, The Calgary Herald, and Huffington Post.[5]

In 2021, Carpay supported seven churches in their legal bid to fight COVID-19 public health regulations, and during that time, he hired a private investigator to follow Manitoba chief justice Glenn Joyal.[9][10] Those actions prompted a misconduct complaint from human rights lawyer Richard Warman and critique from University of Alberta's vice dean of law Eric Adams, who described the action as a "tremendous, tremendous lapse of judgment."[9] Carpay took indefinite leave from the JCCF in July 2021, before being reinstated as president in August 2021.[9] Six of the nine members of the board of directors resigned following his reinstatement.[6] An arrest warrant for him was issued by Winnipeg Police in December 2022, prompting Carpay to turn himself in to Calgary Police Service, whereupon he was arrested on December 30[11][12] before being released the next day.[13] Carpay was charged with "intimidation of a justice system participant and attempting to obstruct justice."[7] The Law Society of Manitoba announced that it would bring professional misconduct against Carpay at a February 2023 hearing in Winnipeg.[7]

On August 21, 2023, The Law Society of Manitoba barred Carpay from practising law in the province and ordered him to pay $5,000. In his statement Carpay said, "I fully acknowledge that my instructing surveillance of Chief Justice (Glenn) Joyal was in violation of my professional obligations as a lawyer to the court and to society."[1] On September 2, 2025, Carpay was disbarred by the Law Society of Alberta for the same reasons as in Manitoba.[14][15]

Politics

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In 2018, Carpay drew criticism from Jason Kenney for comparing the LGBT flag to a swastika[16] in a discussion on Rebel Media, for which he later apologised.[17]

Carpay ran for the Reform Party in 1993[18] and the Wildrose Party in 2012.[5] Carpay is a member of the United Conservative Party of Alberta.[16][19]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba after surveilling Winnipeg judge | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  2. ↑ "Calgary lawyer John Carpay tells disciplinary hearing his decision to spy on Manitoba judge was 'grave error'". calgaryherald. Archived from the original on 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "John Carpay - President". Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. Archived from the original on 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  4. 1 2 3 "John Carpay | Montreal Economic Institute". www.iedm.org. 6 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  5. 1 2 3 "Inside the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms". The Varsity. 2017-02-13. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  6. 1 2 "Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms president John Carpay is reinstated". www.canadianlawyermag.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  7. 1 2 3 Climenhaga, David (2023-01-04). "The 'Freedoms' Lawyer Charged with Obstruction of Justice". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  8. ↑ von Scheel, Elise (10 Nov 2021). "Justice Centre, president sued by former employee who says organization caused him moral distress". CBC. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Bergen, Rachel (13 Jul 2021). "Lawyer files misconduct complaint after private investigator hired to follow Manitoba chief justice". CBC. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Bureau, Brigitte (31 May 2022). "Code of conduct complaint filed against convoy lawyer". CBC. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Gowriluk, Caitlyn (2 Jan 2023). "Lawyer faces 2 criminal charges after having Manitoba judge followed during churches' COVID-19 court challenge". CBC. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Head of group fighting COVID restrictions charged with attempting to obstruct justice". SaskToday.ca. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  13. ↑ Hunter, Justine (2023-01-02). "Lawyer who hired PI to spy on Manitoba judge shocked to be arrested". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  14. ↑ on, Posted (2023-08-28). "John Carpay Banned From Practicing Law In Manitoba After Hiring Private Investigator To Follow Judge". Canadian Anti-Hate Network. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  15. ↑ "Calgary lawyer John Carpay tells disciplinary hearing his decision to spy on Manitoba judge was 'grave error'". calgaryherald. Archived from the original on 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  16. 1 2 "Premier says Kenney must act after UCP member compared LGBTQ flag to swastika | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  17. ↑ "Rebel Media speaker says pride flag and swastikas comparison 'unintentional,' apologizes | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  18. ↑ "History of Federal Ridings Since 1867: Burnaby—Kingsway, British Columbia (1987 - 1996)". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  19. ↑ Rieger, Sarah (11 November 2018). "Calgary Lawyer Challenging Gay–Straight Alliance Bill Compares Pride Flags to Swastikas". CBC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
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