A former B.C. teacher has been banned from the profession for life by the provincial Commissioner for Teacher Regulation after admitting he began a sexual relationship with a former student about five months after the student’s graduation. Theodore Donald Ewald admitted his misconduct and accepted the ban in a consent resolution agreement with the commissioner, a summary of which was published online Tuesday. The document refers to the student as “Student A” throughout and does not include any references to the student’s age or gender. Also redacted from the summary is information about where in the province Ewald was employed and when the misconduct occurred. According to the document, Ewald first received a B.C. teaching certificate in 2008, and his certificate was cancelled in November 2025 due to non-payment of fees. The school district that employed him made a report about his misconduct to the commissioner in March 2025, the summary indicates. According to the summary, Ewald was Student A’s teacher, and Student A “was Indigenous and a vulnerable student.” “Ewald’s role with the district included providing land-based education,” the summary reads. “Student A was interested in land-based education, including because it was connected to their Indigenous culture.” Ewald remained in contact with the student after they graduated. After about five months, he took the student on an overnight trip, during which they had sexual intercourse, according to the consent agreement summary. The teacher and his former student remained in a sexual relationship for about six months, the summary indicates. “Approximately two months after the sexual relationship ended, Ewald told Student A that their relationship was over and that he was going to delete and block them from his phone and that they should do the same,” the document reads. In the consent agreement, Ewald admitted that his behaviour amounted to “conduct unbecoming a teacher,” according to the summary. The lifetime ban prevents Ewald from ever reapplying for certification as a teacher in B.C. Even before his certificate was cancelled, he had made an undertaking not to teach in the province, according to the summary. The document lists two factors that led the commissioner to determine that a lifetime ban was necessary. “Ewald violated his privileged position of power and trust arising from his role as Student A’s teacher, including in learning associated with their Indigenous identity,” the summary reads, adding that he had also “harmed Student A’s emotional safety and well-being.”
