The Hockey Canada trial

Aug 2

In this miniseries, we take a deep dive into the Hockey Canada trial of 2025. What began as a major sporting scandal resulted in one of the most complicated sexual assault trials the country has ever seen, with all five accused players found not guilty of all charges at trial.

Drawing on the judge’s written decision, trial reporting, survivor perspectives and more, we trace the impossible timeline, conflicting testimony and how the young woman at the centre of it all was treated throughout.

While the judge’s verdicts are not in dispute, the way the evidence was reflected in the written decision raises deeper questions about how our courts handle sexual assault — and how the impact will extend far beyond this trial.

Content Warning: Graphic details of sexual acts.

Part 1: Surviving the Hockey Canada trial

As the country reacted to the Hockey Canada trial verdicts, sexual assault survivors J.B. and Kelly Favro join Kristi to reflect on what they saw unfolding in the trial.

How the trial mirrored their own experiences at trial
The reality of what victim-complainant E.M. might have been going through
Eye-opening details about shocking courtroom tactics they've endured

A challenge to rethink what justice really means.

Additional content warning: While not the focus of this episode, there is brief mention of suicidal thoughts. Please take care when listening.

Part 2: Analyzing the Hockey Canada trial

The flaws in the first police investigation - and why it didn't result in charges
Michael McLeod's instagram exchange with EM the day after the hotel room incident
The "group chat" six days later that appears to show the hockey players trying to get their stories straight
The series of debacles that resulted in this jury trial switching to judge-alone
Survivors JB and Kelly Favro return to share their perspectives on the public comments about EM, and what it feels like to watch this case unfold not only as survivors — but also as massive hockey fans.

Part 3: Analyzing the Hockey Canada trial

What the “Junior Hockey Bible” tell us about the dark underbelly of hockey culture, and other sexual assault allegations in Canadian junior hockey
The various evidence related to Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart
EM’s version of events - and why she reacted the way she did

Part 4: Analyzing the Hockey Canada trial

The various evidence related to Dillion Dube and Callan Foote
The Alleged Slap and The Splits
Brett Howden's highly controversial testimony
Why - despite saying rape myths and stereotypes would be avoided, the judge’s written decision reads like the opposite
Why the word “trauma” only appears once in the entire 90-page written decision

Part 5: Analyzing the Hockey Canada trial

Why the court zeroed in on E.M.’s level of intoxication at Jack’s Bar
EM’s supposed motive to fabricate evidence
The judge’s legal conclusion about what happened in Room 209
Kristi’s personal opinion about what happened
Public speculation about why this case went to trial at all
The damaging impact of this trial

More information and resources:

Listen to our series:
Kelly Favro’s Story
The Trial of Jacob Hoggard (JB)
Read J.B.’s Op-Ed:
When aggressive tactics are praised as legal strategy, it’s survivors like me who pay the price - The Globe and Mail.
OR No paywall
Learn about Beyond The Verdict
A new Canadian survivor-led advocacy group co-founded by Kelly Favro and J.B. with support from Kristi Lee.
Resources for Sexual Violence and Abuse:
If you or anyone you know is experiencing sexual violence and abuse, help is available at REES Community or Ending Violence Canada - Sexual Assault Centres, Crisis Lines and Support Services

Cruelty in the courtroom is not justice. Learn more at www.beyondtheverdict.ca.

SOURCES:

COURT DOCUMENT - Written and oral decision
2025 ONSC 4319 (CanLII) | R. v. McLeod, et al. | CanLII

NEWS ARCHIVES AND OTHER MEDIA:

Collection of articles by Rick Westhead for TSN

Collection of articles from CBC

Collection of articles from The Globe and Mail

Collection of articles from The Toronto Star

The Hockey Canada trial could have been a reckoning. It was something else - by Dan Robson and Katie Strang, The Athletic, July 24 2025.

Young men need to be taught what consent looks like by Elizabeth Renzetti, Toronto Star

Hockey Canada trial outcome a 'crushing day' for sexual assault survivors, says prof featuring Daphne Gilbert, by Sheena Goodyear, CBC Radio

What Was Left Unsaid in the Hockey Canada Trial | The Walrus, by Garmaise, Sept 10 2025

Ford: Hockey Canada trial should put spotlight on morality of society by Catherine Ford for Calgary Herald

Megan Savard for the Defence: Meet the lawyer representing a player at the centre of the Hockey Canada trial by Kathrine Laidlaw, Toronto life

Steve Dangle Show on Youtube, July 29 2025: Team Canada World Junior Trial Verdict w/ Katie Strang | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Hockey Parents - A profile of Mitch Marner and Michael McLeod's parents from 2009, by Peter Wall for CBC via YouTube

NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS AND TRAUMA - STUDIES AND RESEARCH:

Haskell, Lori and Randall, Melanie, Impact of Trauma on Adult Sexual Assault Victims: What the Criminal Justice System Needs to Know (January 1, 2019).

Hopper, J. Sexual Assault and Neuroscience: Alarmist Claims vs. Facts. Psychology Today, Jan, 22, 2018

Tiller, J. & Baker, L. (January 2014). The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault. Learning Network Brief (14). London, Ontario: Learning Network, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children.

Arnsten AF. Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Jun;10(6):410-22. doi: 10.1038/nrn2648. PMID: 19455173; PMCID: PMC2907136.

Jennifer Koshan, “Myths, Stereotypes, and Substantive Equality” (29 November 2024), online: ABlawg

Hoggard decision is a step backward for sexual-assault trials by Melanie Randall, Policy Options, Oct 9 2024

Kozlowska, Kasia MBBS, FRANZCP, PhD; Walker, Peter BSc Psych, MPsychol; McLean, Loyola MBBS, FRANZCP, PhD; Carrive, Pascal PhD. Fear and the Defense Cascade: Clinical Implications and Management. Harvard Review of Psychiatry 23(4):p 263-287, July/August 2015.

Peterson, Z. D., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (2011). A Match-and Motivation Model of How Women Label Their Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(4), 558-570.

Why We Need a Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice System, Government of Canada, Justice, Research and Data

Judicial training on the traumatic impact of sexual assault to increase access to justice in sexual assault cases, Linda Christina Redgrave, Founder, Coming Forward and Helgi Maki, lawyer

CASE LAW RELATING TO RAPE MYTHS AND STEREOTYPES AND THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF TRAUMA:
R. v. Hoggard, 2024 ONCA 613 (CanLII) from para 14
R. v. Kruk, 2024 SCC 7 (CanLII), paras 42-43
R. v. Varghese, 2024 ONCA 555 (CanLII)
R. v. J.J., 2022 SCC 28, [CanLII] 2 S.C.R. 3, paras 1-2
R. v. A.G., 2000 SCC 17 (CanLII), [2000] 1 SCR 439, para 2-3
R. v. Ewanchuk, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 330, para [95]
R. v. Seaboyer, 1991 CanLII 76 (SCC)