John Carpay is a Netherlands-born Canadian lawyer, the president of the

Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is a Canadian legal advocacy organization specializing in a social conservative approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The organization describes itself as non-partisan, b ...

, and a newspaper columnist. In 2021, Carpay made Canadian news and took a leave of absence from the JCCF after he hired a private investigator to follow the Manitoba chief justice who was presiding over a COVID-19 related court case in which Carpay was legal council in.

Early life and education

Carpay was born in the Netherlands, before moving to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. He has a bachelor of arts in political science from Université Laval and an

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Career and advocacy

He was called to the bar in 1999. He worked in civil litigation with

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

legal firm Rooney Prentice before working for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation conservative advocacy organization and as the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation. As of 2023, Carpay was the president of

, which he founded in 2010. The organisation describes its mission to defend "the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through litigation and education." Carpay has written columns for ''The National Post'', '' The Calgary Herald'', and '' Huffington Post.'' 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 Glenn D. Joyal is a Canadian judge, who has been the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba since his appointment on February 4, 2011. He replaced Marc M. Monnin, upon his elevation to the Court of Appeal of Manitoba. Joyal pursued ...

. Those actions prompted a misconduct complaint from human rights lawyer

Richard Warman Richard Warman is an Ottawa-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) from July 2002 until March 2004. He is best known as the primary instigator of actions related to Internet ...

and critique from

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

's vice dean of law Eric Adams, who described the action as a "tremendous, tremendous lapse of judgment." Carpay took indefinite leave from the JCCF in July 2021, before being reinstated as president in August 2021. Six of the nine members of the board of directors resigned following his reinstatement. An arrest warrant for was issued by

Winnipeg Police The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and aldermen. Those appointed decided to hire city o ...

in December 2022, prompting Carpay to present himself to

Calgary Police Service Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mont ...

, where he was arrested on December 30 before being released the next day. Carpay has been charged with "intimidation of a justice system participant and attempting to obstruct justice." The

Law Society of Manitoba The Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) is the self-governing regulatory body of the legal profession in Manitoba, Canada. Membership in the LSM is required in order to practice law in the province. , the LSM had 2072 members with active practising s ...

will bring professional misconduct against Carpay at a February 2023 hearing in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Politics

In 2018, Carpay drew criticism from Jason Kenny for comparing the

LGBT flag The rainbow flag, also known as the (gay) pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community and the spectrum of human sexuality ...

to a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

in a discussion on

Rebel Media ''Rebel News'' (also known as ''The Rebel Media'' and ''The Rebel'') is a Canadian right-wing to far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the a ...

, for which he later apologised. Carpay ran for the Reform Party in 1993 and the

Wildrose Party The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Albe ...

in 2012. Carpay is a member of the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. ...

of Alberta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpay, John 21st-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century Canadian lawyers Dutch emigrants to Canada Université Laval alumni University of Calgary Faculty of Law alumni Organization founders Reform Party of Canada candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Wildrose Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections Canadian columnists National Post people Year of birth missing (living people) Living people