Jonny Wakefield
@jonnywakefield.bsky.social
Edmonton Journal/Sun reporter on the justice beat, covering courts, crime, policing and corrections. American who moved to Canada, stray cat re-homer and (hopefully not totally insufferable) distance runner.
Pinned
Jeff Kent is a serial conman who defrauds women. Does he deserve the harshest punishment in Canadian criminal law?
Jeff Kent is a romance fraudster who bilks women out of their life savings. An Alberta judge just deemed him a dangerous offender.
edmontonjournal.com
My latest long read: Jeff Kent is a serial conman who bilks vulnerable women out of their money. He’s the first fraudster in Canadian history to be deemed a dangerous offender and locked up indefinitely.
He’s also someone who used to regularly call me from jail
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
He’s also someone who used to regularly call me from jail
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
Took Mr. Crazy Guy (aka Hal aka Mr. Game 7) to animal care :( he’s gonna have a great life but still tough to say bye
November 10, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Took Mr. Crazy Guy (aka Hal aka Mr. Game 7) to animal care :( he’s gonna have a great life but still tough to say bye
New from me: UCP members will vote on a raft of policy proposals at the party's AGM, including resolutions
• requiring temporary residents to pay more for healthcare
• banning the display of flags on gov property representing “special interest groups"
• buying the Alberta operations of the RCMP.
• requiring temporary residents to pay more for healthcare
• banning the display of flags on gov property representing “special interest groups"
• buying the Alberta operations of the RCMP.
Flags, vaccines and buying the RCMP: 35 resolutions proposed for upcoming UCP AGM
Members of Alberta's governing United Conservative Party will vote on a raft of policy proposals this month.
edmontonjournal.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:15 PM
New from me: UCP members will vote on a raft of policy proposals at the party's AGM, including resolutions
• requiring temporary residents to pay more for healthcare
• banning the display of flags on gov property representing “special interest groups"
• buying the Alberta operations of the RCMP.
• requiring temporary residents to pay more for healthcare
• banning the display of flags on gov property representing “special interest groups"
• buying the Alberta operations of the RCMP.
New from me: a man who committed a mass shooting at an Edmonton nightclub left a trail of clothing behind as he fled police, including ditching his distinctive boots.
He managed to evade police almost two years, but the discarded garments proved his undoing. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/e...
He managed to evade police almost two years, but the discarded garments proved his undoing. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/e...
How a trail of discarded clothing revealed an Edmonton mass shooter
As the sirens wailed and the police helicopter buzzed, Samatar Mohiadin opened the rear passenger door of the Ford Focus and jumped.
edmontonjournal.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
New from me: a man who committed a mass shooting at an Edmonton nightclub left a trail of clothing behind as he fled police, including ditching his distinctive boots.
He managed to evade police almost two years, but the discarded garments proved his undoing. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/e...
He managed to evade police almost two years, but the discarded garments proved his undoing. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/e...
Has bluesky had a proper “here come the oilers” night yet
November 9, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Has bluesky had a proper “here come the oilers” night yet
On our op-ed page: researchers make the argument that Edmonton might be the frostbite capital of the world, largely due to street homelessness. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...
Opinion: Edmonton doesn't have to be the frostbite capital of the world
Severe frostbite injuries are entirely preventable - together, let’s work towards a city where no one gets left out in the cold.
edmontonjournal.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:36 PM
On our op-ed page: researchers make the argument that Edmonton might be the frostbite capital of the world, largely due to street homelessness. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...
The owner of the old BMO site in downtown Edmonton, which has sat empty (or, perhaps more accurately, rubble strewn) since the old bank was demolished in 2018, is upset that the city has branded it a problem property. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
'Irresponsible': Downtown developer feels unfairly targeted by city's 'problem property' survey
Site of the old Bank of Montreal building is the subject of a "problem properties" survey issued by the City of Edmonton
edmontonjournal.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The owner of the old BMO site in downtown Edmonton, which has sat empty (or, perhaps more accurately, rubble strewn) since the old bank was demolished in 2018, is upset that the city has branded it a problem property. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
Danielle Smith has repeatedly invoked the idea of Alberta independence, but documents show it is not an economic scenario the province is seriously considering..
zurl.co/ATsA2
#abpoli #Alberta
zurl.co/ATsA2
#abpoli #Alberta
November 7, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Danielle Smith has repeatedly invoked the idea of Alberta independence, but documents show it is not an economic scenario the province is seriously considering..
zurl.co/ATsA2
#abpoli #Alberta
zurl.co/ATsA2
#abpoli #Alberta
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
Breaking: Alberta's police watchdog has cleared two RCMP officers who shot and killed a 15-year-old Indigenous boy in Wetaskiwin last year. ASIRT says Hoss Lightning was pointing a backpack at the officers, which they believed to contain a gun. It did not. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...
Alberta police watchdog clears officers who fatally shot 15-year-old Indigenous boy
Alberta's police watchdog has found the pair of RCMP officers who fatally shot an Indigenous teenager in Wetaskiwin did not commit a criminal offence.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Breaking: Alberta's police watchdog has cleared two RCMP officers who shot and killed a 15-year-old Indigenous boy in Wetaskiwin last year. ASIRT says Hoss Lightning was pointing a backpack at the officers, which they believed to contain a gun. It did not. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
NEWS: An Edmonton police officer has been charged for allegedly entering a woman's home while on duty and sexually assaulting her. He and the service are also facing a $1.5 million lawsuit. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
On-duty Edmonton police officer charged with unlawfully entering woman's home, sexually assaulting her
An Edmonton police officer accused of following a woman into her home and groping her while on duty is facing sexual assault charges.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
NEWS: An Edmonton police officer has been charged for allegedly entering a woman's home while on duty and sexually assaulting her. He and the service are also facing a $1.5 million lawsuit. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
ICYMI
NEWS: An Edmonton police officer has been charged for allegedly entering a woman's home while on duty and sexually assaulting her. He and the service are also facing a $1.5 million lawsuit. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
On-duty Edmonton police officer charged with unlawfully entering woman's home, sexually assaulting her
An Edmonton police officer accused of following a woman into her home and groping her while on duty is facing sexual assault charges.
edmontonjournal.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:52 AM
ICYMI
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
Conservative Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux says he will resign his seat in the House of Commons after days of intense speculation that he would cross the floor to the governing Liberals.
edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...
edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...
Edmonton Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux resigns from Parliament
Conservative Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux will resign his seat in the House of Commons.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Conservative Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux says he will resign his seat in the House of Commons after days of intense speculation that he would cross the floor to the governing Liberals.
edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...
edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...
NEWS: An Edmonton police officer has been charged for allegedly entering a woman's home while on duty and sexually assaulting her. He and the service are also facing a $1.5 million lawsuit. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
On-duty Edmonton police officer charged with unlawfully entering woman's home, sexually assaulting her
An Edmonton police officer accused of following a woman into her home and groping her while on duty is facing sexual assault charges.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
NEWS: An Edmonton police officer has been charged for allegedly entering a woman's home while on duty and sexually assaulting her. He and the service are also facing a $1.5 million lawsuit. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Breaking: Alberta's police watchdog has cleared two RCMP officers who shot and killed a 15-year-old Indigenous boy in Wetaskiwin last year. ASIRT says Hoss Lightning was pointing a backpack at the officers, which they believed to contain a gun. It did not. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...
Alberta police watchdog clears officers who fatally shot 15-year-old Indigenous boy
Alberta's police watchdog has found the pair of RCMP officers who fatally shot an Indigenous teenager in Wetaskiwin did not commit a criminal offence.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Breaking: Alberta's police watchdog has cleared two RCMP officers who shot and killed a 15-year-old Indigenous boy in Wetaskiwin last year. ASIRT says Hoss Lightning was pointing a backpack at the officers, which they believed to contain a gun. It did not. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
A 34-year-old as a politician: My god he's like a baby. It's like they just elected an infant to be their mayor.
A 34-year-old as an athlete: You have to admire the bravery of him attempting that dunk, knowing full well the grim reaper is right behind him.
A 34-year-old as an athlete: You have to admire the bravery of him attempting that dunk, knowing full well the grim reaper is right behind him.
November 5, 2025 at 5:45 AM
A 34-year-old as a politician: My god he's like a baby. It's like they just elected an infant to be their mayor.
A 34-year-old as an athlete: You have to admire the bravery of him attempting that dunk, knowing full well the grim reaper is right behind him.
A 34-year-old as an athlete: You have to admire the bravery of him attempting that dunk, knowing full well the grim reaper is right behind him.
May regret wading into this, but I'm struck by how much coverage there's been of the Supreme Court's decision re: mandatory minimums for child porn, vs. the court's 2020 Friesen decision, which said emphatically that sentences for child sex offenders must go up. decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
R. v. Friesen - SCC Cases
decisions.scc-csc.ca
November 6, 2025 at 5:26 PM
May regret wading into this, but I'm struck by how much coverage there's been of the Supreme Court's decision re: mandatory minimums for child porn, vs. the court's 2020 Friesen decision, which said emphatically that sentences for child sex offenders must go up. decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...
New from me: Alberta’s superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail after rejecting his bid to serve his sentence in the community. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
Court upholds jail sentence for Edmonton man who abused dog
Alberta's superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail.
edmontonjournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:14 PM
New from me: Alberta’s superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail after rejecting his bid to serve his sentence in the community. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
Latest from @jonnywakefield.bsky.social — Alberta’s superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail after rejecting his bid to serve his sentence in the community. #yeg
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
Court upholds jail sentence for Edmonton man who abused dog
Alberta's superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail.
edmontonjournal.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Latest from @jonnywakefield.bsky.social — Alberta’s superior court has ordered an Edmonton man who punched, kicked and painfully restrained his dog to report to jail after rejecting his bid to serve his sentence in the community. #yeg
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/c...
"The fact all those chances broke the way they did will start to feel much more inevitable than it was; a World Series whose outcome still doesn't quite scan will be made rational, & then just, & then meaningful. It will be worth remembering what it was actually like" defector.com/the-dodgers-...
The Dodgers Never Had It Made | Defector
This World Series ended the only way it could, which was frenzied and late. The clocks turned back just a few hours after that; the next day was in another season, shorter and darker. The day after th...
defector.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:07 PM
"The fact all those chances broke the way they did will start to feel much more inevitable than it was; a World Series whose outcome still doesn't quite scan will be made rational, & then just, & then meaningful. It will be worth remembering what it was actually like" defector.com/the-dodgers-...
Today on Facebook dot com: an account using AI to make fake Holocaust content for clicks (I can find no other instances of this image). Nauseating.
November 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Today on Facebook dot com: an account using AI to make fake Holocaust content for clicks (I can find no other instances of this image). Nauseating.
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
Union representing 16,000 Alberta nurses and healthcare staff vote 98 per cent in favour of striking
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Union representing 16,000 Alberta nurses and healthcare staff vote 98 per cent in favour of striking
Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) representing nurses and health care staff say 98 per cent of members have voted to strike.
edmontonjournal.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Union representing 16,000 Alberta nurses and healthcare staff vote 98 per cent in favour of striking
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
New from me: Federal oil and gas agency faces potential class action from Indigenous employees alleging toxic workplace edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/i...
Federal oil and gas agency faces potential class action from Indigenous employees alleging toxic workplace
Two former employees allege they were subjected to a "toxic" workplace and faced harassment and discrimination linked to their identity.
edmontonjournal.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM
New from me: Federal oil and gas agency faces potential class action from Indigenous employees alleging toxic workplace edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/i...
Glad to hear Edmonton's new mayor is pro-Landmark City Centre, if this theatre closes I will be crushed edmonton.taproot.news/news/2025/11...
A night at the movies inside downtown's failing mall
It's Halloween, and five 7pm-ish screenings at Landmark Cinemas inside Edmonton City Centre have mostly sold a quantity of tickets that can be counted on two hands. The only proper horror movie on thi...
edmonton.taproot.news
November 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Glad to hear Edmonton's new mayor is pro-Landmark City Centre, if this theatre closes I will be crushed edmonton.taproot.news/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
🚨Scoop: Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont says he is considering crossing the floor to join the Liberal Party.
He tells me he'll make a decision “in the next few days” after reviewing the federal budget. Other Conservatives are also being courted.
He tells me he'll make a decision “in the next few days” after reviewing the federal budget. Other Conservatives are also being courted.
Conservative MP says he’s considering joining Canada’s Liberal government
The stunning twist moves Mark Carney one step closer to a secure hold on the prime minister’s office until 2029.
www.politico.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🚨Scoop: Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont says he is considering crossing the floor to join the Liberal Party.
He tells me he'll make a decision “in the next few days” after reviewing the federal budget. Other Conservatives are also being courted.
He tells me he'll make a decision “in the next few days” after reviewing the federal budget. Other Conservatives are also being courted.
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
“If we felt we were being meaningfully consulted with, you wouldn’t see members of our bar giving donations to a party trying to put the hundreds of Albertans we employ out of a job.” - injury lawyer on why so many made corp donations to UCP. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
UCP made corporate donations legal in Alberta again. Then, businesses gave them $471K in first period. | CBC Accessibility
Injury lawyers opened their wallets to support the United Conservative Party, while their fight against auto insurance reforms continues.
www.cbc.ca
November 4, 2025 at 7:29 PM
“If we felt we were being meaningfully consulted with, you wouldn’t see members of our bar giving donations to a party trying to put the hundreds of Albertans we employ out of a job.” - injury lawyer on why so many made corp donations to UCP. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
ICYMI
New from me: a man who sold an assault rifle to an undercover police officer investigating his ties to an Edmonton-area right wing extremist group has been sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...
Alberta man linked to right-wing extremist group gets 4-1/2 years for selling automatic rifle
A man who was part of an Edmonton-area extremist group has been sentenced to 4-1/2 years behind bars after pleading guilty to 10 charges.
edmontonjournal.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
ICYMI