Former Calgary mayoral candidate arrested at U.S. border after skipping Canadian jail appearance
After failing to show up for the final weekend of an intermittent jail sentence, former Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston was arrested Tuesday morning by US Border Patrol agents while attempting to cross from Saskatchewan to Montana on foot.
Johnston is being held in the town on Plentywood, Mon. as officials work to return him to Canada.
Calgary Police Service officials confirmed earlier in the day that warrants had been issued for Johnston for being unlawfully at large after he failed to appear at the Calgary Remand Centre for the final weekend of his sentence.
Johnston, who was unsuccessful in his attempt to become Calgary's mayor in 2021, received an intermittent 40-day sentence in September 2021 after being convicted of breaching court orders related to non-compliance with Alberta's public health measures. He was also ordered to pay Alberta Health Services $20,000.
The following month, he received a separate 18-month jail sentence in Ontario after being found guilty of six counts of contempt of court over defamatory comments regarding the CEO of Paramount Fine Foods. Johnston had referred to Mohamad Fakih as both a "terrorist" and a "baby killer."
The Ontario sentence was to begin Tuesday following the completion of his time served on weekends in Alberta that began in September 2021 and was to end Jan. 2.
Johnston is also scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 19 in Dawson Creek, B.C. on an assault charge in connection with his actions at a local grocery store. Johnston was charged after he attempted to make a purchase without a face covering and then allegedly confronted the store's manager in the parking lot, which was captured on video.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
Second Australian teen dies in tainted alcohol case in Laos that has killed 6 tourists
A second Australian teenager who fell critically ill after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos has died in a hospital in Bangkok, her family said Friday, bringing the death toll in the mass poisoning of foreign tourists to six.
Canoeist is paddling the 9,650-kilometre Great Loop out of gratitude for life
Peter Frank has paddled from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in June to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland this month in his 1982 Sawyer Loon decked canoe, but he’s still got a long way to go.
No evidence linking Modi to criminal activity in Canada: national security adviser
A senior official says the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alleged criminal activity perpetrated by Indian agents on Canadian soil.
'Not good for the economy': MPs call on federal government to regulate resale concert tickets
Ticket fraud and sky-high prices for Taylor Swift concerts have some politicians calling for changes to the way tickets are sold in Canada.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
opinion Trump's cabinet picks: Useful pawns meant to be sacrificed to achieve his endgame
In his column for CTVNews.ca, Washington political analyst Eric Ham argues U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's controversial cabinet nominees are useful pawns meant to be sacrificed for a more bountiful reward down the line.