Convicted killer studying at McGill back in custody

Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has suspended the day parole of Jeffrey George Ewert, a convicted murderer who had been taking law classes at McGill University in Montreal, and returned him to custody.

CSC confirmed to CBC News on Saturday that a suspension warrant was issued. “The offender has returned to custody while a more thorough assessment of the situation is being conducted,” the agency said in a statement. CBC reported that two sources confirmed Ewert was picked up on Friday.

CSC said a conditional release can be suspended when there are reasonable grounds to believe an offender has breached a condition of release or that the risk they present can no longer be safely managed in the community. The case will go through the established post-release decision-making process, which could include further consideration by the Parole Board of Canada.

The agency said it can’t say what led to the suspension because the case is active and the Privacy Act applies.

Ewert was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder for attacks on two women in British Columbia in 1984 and is serving a life sentence. He was granted day parole in 2025 and began attending law classes and faculty events at McGill in August, according to CBC. His parole was extended for another six months in June 2026.

Parole documents cited by CBC said clinical assessments had ranked his risk of reoffending as moderate to high, and that with close supervision at a halfway house and clinical follow-up the risk “seems to fall more into the moderate risk category.” The parole board also raised concern about his interactions with and attitudes toward women, CBC reported.

His presence at the university divided students. One petition said students felt unsafe. Another argued that keeping him off campus undermines his access to education and rehabilitation as an Indigenous man and a survivor of the Sixties Scoop.

A McGill spokesperson told CBC on Friday that the “safety and security of our students is paramount,” and the university has promised to review its admissions processes. McGill’s provost said Ewert had not been on campus since early October.

Corrections oversight has been in the news elsewhere this month, including a jury’s recommendations after five deaths at Collins Bay Institution.

Source: Correctional Service Canada statement, as reported by CBC News, Oct. 24, 2026.

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