The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered a new sentencing hearing for Pat King, a prominent organizer of the 2022 'Freedom Convoy' protests in Ottawa. The decision, released on July 17, 2026, sided with Crown prosecutors who argued that the original sentence imposed by a trial judge was too lenient.
King was convicted in November 2023 on five charges, including mischief, intimidation, and counseling others to commit mischief, related to his role in the three-week occupation of downtown Ottawa. In February 2024, he was sentenced to three months of house arrest, followed by 12 months of probation, a sentence the Crown appealed as insufficient given the scale and impact of the protests.
The appeal court found that the trial judge made errors in principle by failing to adequately consider the seriousness of the offenses and the need for deterrence and denunciation. The court set aside the original sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing before a different judge. King remains subject to existing bail conditions pending the new hearing.
The 'Freedom Convoy' protests, which began in late January 2022, saw thousands of demonstrators block streets around Parliament Hill for weeks, protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government restrictions. The protests led to the federal government's unprecedented invocation of the Emergencies Act. King was one of several key figures charged in connection with the protest.
