Brian Anderson

The Case

On July 22, 1973, while visiting his parents, Brian was unexpectedly arrested by the RCMP. He and his mother assumed it was for an unpaid traffic fine. He had no prior criminal record. He was not told the reason for his arrest until he was taken to Winnipeg’s Public Safety Building. There, Winnipeg police officers accused him of being involved in the murder of Ting Fong Chan, a man Brian had never met.

Despite his repeated claims of innocence, the police interrogated him for hours using threats and brutality. With limited English, he primarily spoke Sauteaux/Ojibwe, and Brian struggled to understand their questions. Brian was coerced into signing a false confession. At trial, the Crown prosecutor was the late and now disgraced George Dangerfield, who gained a reputation for doing anything in his power to exact a conviction.

Brian was charged and convicted along with three co-accused: Allan (A.J.) Woodhouse, Clarence Woodhouse (Brian’s cousin), and Russell Woodhouse (Clarence’s brother). On March 5, 1974, an all-white male jury convicted Brian, A.J. and Clarence of murder. Russell was convicted of manslaughter. Brian was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. Brian had only just turned 19 when he was convicted of a crime he did not commit.

The Fight for Justice

Brian and his co-accused appealed their convictions, but on November 8, 1974, they learned their appeals had been dismissed.

During his 12 years of incarceration, Brian steadfastly maintained his innocence, even though at the time receiving parole required prisoners to admit to their index offence. In 1975, while serving his sentence at Saskatchewan Penitentiary, he met a prison school teacher (Dick Skelding). Mr. Skelding became convinced of Brian’s innocence and was determined to help him clear his name. He wrote to members of the Parole Board, the Chief Justice of Manitoba, the Attorney General of Manitoba and the Solicitor General of Canada, challenging the wrongful conviction. Mr. Skelding pursued every possible avenue to fight for Brian’s release, even paying for a polygraph test that Brian passed.

In 1978, Mr. Skelding convinced CTV’s W5 to cover Brian’s case, which helped to shed light on the systemic racism that exists in Canada’s criminal justice system. When introducing the story, news anchor Lloyd Robertson said, “Is there one law for the rich, another for the poor? One for the white man, another for the Indian?”.

The road to clearing his name took Brian nearly 50 long, gruelling and challenging years. Sadly, Mr. Skelding passed away many years before that memorable day, but his tireless advocacy remains a powerful part of Brian’s story.

In 2006, Brian sought help from AIDWYC, now Innocence Canada. On January 26, 2019, Innocence Canada submitted a Ministerial Review (s.696.1) application based on fresh evidence to the Minister of Justice. Around the same time, W5 aired a follow-up episode on Brian’s case, further amplifying the call for justice.

The Exoneration

On June 22, 2023, the Honourable David Lametti, then Justice Minister of Canada, advised the Chief Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench of Manitoba that he believed there was a reasonable basis to conclude a miscarriage of justice had likely occurred in the Brian Anderson and A.J. Woodhouse cases. He further stated that an appropriate remedy was to quash their convictions and direct a new trial pursuant to s. 696.3(3)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code.

Their new trial took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 18, 2023, with the Honourable Chief Justice Glenn Joyal presiding over the proceedings. The courtroom was so crowded that the trial had to be moved to a larger courtroom. In a precedent-setting and historic ruling, Chief Justice Joyal not only acquitted Brian and A.J. but went further and declared that they were innocent and heroes.

They faced the media, supporters, friends, onlookers and Mr. Chan’s family with the same courage and resolve as they have shown throughout their 50-year battle to clear their names.

After Exoneration

Even before his exoneration, Brian was actively involved in raising awareness about wrongful convictions, and he continues that work today. He has attended the Freedom Retreat, International Wrongful Conviction Day (IWCD), and other Innocence Canada events. In 2019, he participated in an IWCD event in Winnipeg alongside other Manitoba men who had been wrongly convicted. In July 2024, Brian testified before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the importance of Bill C-40 (David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law). He has also participated in numerous interviews and speaking engagements.

Beyond his advocacy, Brian Anderson is first and foremost a proud and loving father and grandfather. His daughter Whitney has been a constant source of strength, standing by his side and always supporting him.