Alberta man convicted in deaths of Métis hunters has appeal dismissed by Supreme Court

Canada’s top court has declined to hear the appeal of one of two men found guilty in the deaths of two Métis hunters who were shot and killed in northeastern Alberta.

As is customary, the Supreme Court did not give reasons for its dismissal of Anthony Bilodeau’s leave to appeal. The decision to dismiss was issued Thursday. 

Bilodeau was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Maurice Cardinal, and of manslaughter in the death of Cardinal’s nephew, Jacob Sansom.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.

Sansom and Cardinal were shot and killed on a rural Alberta road on the night of March 27, 2020. 

Anthony Bilodeau fired the fatal shots after his father, Roger Bilodeau, chased down the hunters in his truck.

Roger Bilodeau was convicted of manslaughter in the two killings and handed a 10-year prison sentence, but was granted credit for nearly half that term for time already served. 

Roger and Anthony Bilodeau were both found guilty after a jury trial in 2022.

The court heard that on the night of the killings, Roger Bilodeau started a high-speed car chase, incorrectly assuming Sansom and Cardinal were thieves. In reality, they were returning from a moose-hunting trip.

As Roger Bilodeau pursued the hunters through a remote area near Glendon, Alta., he called his son and told him to bring a gun. Court heard that when Anthony Bilodeau arrived, he shot Sansom and Cardinal. 

The Bilodeaus fled the scene. Cardinal, 57, and Sansom, 39, succumbed to their injuries. Their bodies were found on the road the following morning.

Roger Bilodeau also appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court but his appeal with the top court remains outstanding.

Convictions for both men were previously upheld by the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

The elder Bilodeau, a 61-year-old farmer from Glendon, was recently granted extended day parole.