High-profile criminal cases that defined Canada’s courts in 2025

From a hockey sex assault trial to ostrich farm cull controversy, lawyer Nick Cake weighs in on court rulings that made headlines in 2025.

Several high-profile criminal court cases in 2025 drew national attention, touching on issues ranging from consent and public health to police conduct and sentencing.

Together, the rulings offered a snapshot of how Canada’s justice system handled some of the year’s most closely watched legal proceedings.

The World Junior Hockey case

The legal saga had five former hockey players at the centre of it. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillion Dube and Cal Foote were all charged with sexual assault over an alleged incident in June 2018 in a hotel room in London, Ont.

They all pleaded not guilty as the trial opened in April 2025, and the matter was heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

A mistrial was declared early on with proceedings paused for legal arguments, before the first witness testified.

The judge, Maria Carroccia, discharged the jury and continued the case as a judge-alone trial in May.

Criminal defence lawyer Nick Cake said the World Junior Hockey case offered the public a rare, unfiltered look at how criminal court decisions are made.

“The public got to witness firsthand what a criminal court judge does on a daily basis,” he said in an interview with CTV News Channel Monday. “This case, at its heart, was a case about consent, a case about the credibility and the reliability of the witnesses that were prevented.”

• READ MORE: Gasps and tears in courtroom as former junior hockey players found not guilty

In July 2025, after months of testimony and legal arguments, the judge delivered a verdict: all five former World Junior players were found not guilty of sexual assault, citing uncredible testimony from the complainant, only known as E.M., and the lack of onus of proof for the charges presented by prosecutors.

Cake said the judge’s ruling underscored the difference between legal findings and public opinion.

“It’s a perfect example of the court system working despite a potentially a different verdict existing within the court of public opinion,” he said. “And thankfully, it’s only the court of justice that counts.”

The B.C. ostrich cull case

The controversial dispute over a mass culling at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., became a major Canadian news story amid legal battles, protests and national debate earlier in 2025.

The saga unfolded after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the destruction of a flock of approximately 400 ostriches, following an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) at the farm.

The order was issued on Dec. 31, 2024, after tests confirmed the presence of the virus in some of the birds, triggering federal disease-control protocols.

Cake said the B.C. ostrich cull case drew widespread attention because it highlighted the tension between individual rights and government authority in matters of public health.

“We had farmers in B.C. who were raising their ostriches and doing what they needed to do to provide for their families and run their business,” he said, adding the government’s intervention resonated far beyond the province.

The farm’s owners and supporters resisted the order, arguing that most of the surviving ostriches were healthy and had developed immunity.

• READ MORE: ‘Deep burial’ for ostriches at B.C. landfill as CFIA completes cull and disposal work

They appealed to the courts to block the cull order and called for additional testing before the flock was killed.

Hundreds rallied at the farm in the rural community, with supporters camping out, while others showed their support from a far.

“And then you have the long arm of the government coming in and saying, in the eye of public health, that ‘we need to basically take all your stock and destroy it,’” Cake said.

“That’s why we had such international attention paid to this case, because of the fact that it was the government coming in and telling its citizens that they have no choice.”

After a long legal battle that included temporary stays of execution and escalating public engagement, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the farm’s final appeal in early November, clearing the way for the cull to proceed.

The CFIA carried out the depopulation under veterinary supervision, citing public and animal health risks and the need to protect Canada’s poultry industry.

The Freedom Convoy case

The legal aftermath of the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests continued to dominate headlines into 2025 as key organizers faced criminal trials and sentencing, amid a massive trucker-led demonstration that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks.

The protests, which originally erupted in opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers, grew into broader opposition to pandemic-era public health measures, saw hundreds of vehicles, and thousands of protestors block the streets around Parliament Hill in early 2022.

In April 2025, Ontario Court of Justice Heather Perkins-McVey found two prominent organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, guilty of mischief for their roles in the protest.

The judge determined that the pair had encouraged people to join and remain at the occupation, despite its disruptive effects on residents and businesses in Ottawa’s core. They were acquitted of several other charges, including intimidation and obstruction.

• READ MORE: Tamara Lich appeals mischief conviction arising from role in ‘Freedom Convoy’

Cake said the Freedom Convoy case demonstrated how digital evidence and online behaviour are increasingly central to criminal prosecutions.

“This case is a prime example of how to use social media to prosecute crimes,” he said. “The so-called leaders of the convoy set out on a social media campaign to get the horns honking, to get the trucks parked, and ultimately, they were convicted.”

Conservative MPs, including party leader Pierre Poilievre, publicly questioned the Crown’s approach ahead of sentencing, calling it disproportionate given that the protest was non-violent.

Cake said the convictions showed both, the risks of online self-documentation, and the flexibility judges have at sentencing.

“It shows that if you’re going to go out and… do something that’s against the law, the last thing you want to do is post it on social media, because everyone, even the police have access to that.”

In October 2025, the court delivered conditional, 18-month-long sentences to both Lich and Barber, including house arrest and curfews

Another organizer, Pat King, also was sentenced to three months of house arrest in an Ottawa court after being found guilty of mischief and related charges.

The Peter Nygard case

Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2024, after a Toronto court found him guilty of four counts of sexual assault, offences that took place at his company’s headquarters in Toronto, between the late 1980s and mid-2000s.

Nygard, founder of the former Nygard International clothing empire, repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including claiming at one point that people could not have been locked in his private suite where sexual assaults were alleged to have occurred – which was rejected by the jury.

• READ MORE: Investor Louis Bacon wins defamation case against ex-fashion mogul Peter Nygard

While serving that sentence, 84-year-old Nygard continued to face additional legal battles in Canada. In October 2025, a Winnipeg judge stayed charges of sexual assaults and unlawful confinement against him due to the loss or destruction of key policy interview records from an alleged 1993 assault, ruling that the loss of evidence had violated his Charter right to a fair trial.

Cake said the Peter Nygard ruling highlighted the consequences of police misconduct and the court’s obligation to protect the fairness of the justice process.

“Peter Nygaard is just an example of the fact that justice has to be seen to be done‚” he said. “And here we have the police who didn’t follow the proper rules and protocols when it came to saving evidence.”

He said the court’s response reflected the seriousness of those failures.

Nygard also faces further criminal proceedings in Quebec, with a trial date expected for sex-related charges, while he remains subject to extradition proceedings to the U.S. on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

• READ MORE: FBI sought interview with former prince Andrew during Peter Nygard investigation

“Ultimately, Mr. Nygard was not given the right to full answer and defence,” Cake said. “And so, the court stayed the charge, because, they have to separate themselves from that police conduct, and the only remedy available was a stay of proceedings. So, Mr. Nygard goes free on these particular allegations.”

In related legal matters, courts earlier denied Nygard bail while he appealed his Toronto sexual assault convictions.

With files from The Canadian Press

Resources for sexual assault survivors in Canada:

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling. 
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.

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