OTTAWA — Former Conservative senator Don Meredith has been found not guilty of sexual assault and criminal harassment.
Meredith expressed relief Wednesday following the Ontario Superior Court verdict in a case that stretches back several years.
Meredith, an ordained minister, was appointed to the Senate in 2010 by Stephen Harper, prime minister at the time.
He resigned in 2017 after the Senate’s ethics officer reported he had violated the chamber’s code of ethics by engaging in a relationship with a girl when she was 16 years old.
In 2022, Meredith was charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of criminal harassment following a complaint from a woman who worked in his office in late 2013 and early 2014.
The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, alleged that Meredith hugged and kissed her, and touched her buttocks and breasts, at the Senate office.
She also claimed Meredith touched her under her clothing during a work trip to Toronto, asked her to remove her top during a virtual meeting and exposed himself to her at an Ottawa hotel.
Meredith denied all of the allegations.
The woman also claimed that remarks by Meredith made her fearful and feel like her job was at risk.
The Crown argued the alleged sexual misconduct, coupled with the inappropriate remarks, caused the woman to fear for her psychological safety, amounting to criminal harassment.
Meredith denied ever threatening the woman’s physical or psychological safety.
The complainant provided detailed testimony during 10 days in court.
In her reasons Wednesday for acquitting Meredith on all counts, Justice Narissa Somji said she found the woman’s evidence “to be unreliable.”
The judge said aspects of her evidence were contradicted by Crown witnesses and testimony from Meredith’s wife.
Somji said that with respect to the allegations of sexual touching and inappropriate conduct at the office, Meredith’s evidence “was not seriously challenged, and I find there is no reasonable basis to reject it. And even if not fully accepted in its entirety, I find it raises a reasonable doubt.”
After his acquittal, Meredith thanked his family and lawyer, saying a cloud had been lifted.
“It’s been several years of testing of me and my family, and I’m glad that this day is finally over,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.
The Canadian Press
