Grande Prairie school threatened following student protest days before

St. John Paul II Catholic School activated its hold and secure protocol when they received a threatening email on Oct. 16, just three days after the school’s students organized a walkout in protest over a social studies teacher’s controversial comments online.

The safety protocol was lifted by early afternoon, after police determined there was no credible threat, said the Grande Prairie Catholic School District (GPCSD) in a statement.

“We are extremely grateful to the Grande Prairie Police Service (GPPS) for its prompt, diligent, and professional response.”

Grande Prairie Police Service, working with the RCMP, investigated the email’s origin through its IP address and the sender, before the hold and secure was lifted.

Neither the RCMP nor the school district have answered questions about the cause of the incident, whether it was related to the Oct. 13 student protest or if the individual was known to the school.

One-hundred-and-twenty students and supporters staged a walkout on an Arbour Hills walking trail, more than half a kilometre away from St. John Paul II on Oct. 13. after teacher Amy Davidson disputed whether graves were found at Kamloops Indian Residential School

The social studies teacher shared a social media post from Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada and a cabinet minister under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“Let’s tell the truth: no bodies were found in Kamloops. The residential-school ‘genocide’ claim is a hoax,” Bernier wrote on his X account.

Davidson defended her beliefs when people questioned her, reinforcing her conviction in Bernier’s post, and that it was relevant that it be posted on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“…The Kamloops ‘mass grave’ is false, and beyond that, there is no evidence that there was a genocide of Canadian indigenous people, or a plan for a genocide. Facts matter,” she wrote online.

In response, protesting students carried large cardboard signs saying “Don’t let the uneducated educate us”, others carried letter-sized paper with messages such as “The Kamloops mass graves are real”.

“I just feel like it’s not appropriate for someone who needs to teach the youth about our history. Actively denying it. And it’s not fair or right that she can be saying these things and actively harming these people and to have no consequences,” said senior high school student Isobel Knopf.

Grande Prairie RCMP, police of jurisdiction until Oct. 21, didn’t provide any further information related to the St. John Paul II Oct. 16 threats.

Grande Prairie and area schools have been seeing an uptick in school-based threats. It’s a trend that’s been monitored across the province following the Tumbler Ridge school shooting by RCMP.

RCMP public information officer Mathew Howell provided numbers, evidence of the growing threats.

From Jan. 1 to June 30 of 2026, 58 school-based threats were received in the Western Alberta District. That number was only three less than all of 2025 incidents. In the Grande Prairie area, Howell said.

In Grande Prairie and Sexsmith, there were at six incidents since the beginning of June, as reported by the impacted school divisions and police.

• June 4 – Clairmont RCMP investigated reports of a 13-year-old male threatening to bring a firearm to Sexsmith Secondary School. Police later reported they seized a firearm and charged the youth.
• Sept. 11 – St. Joseph Catholic High School and Charles Spencer High School experienced a hold and secure. The Eastlink Centre was included in the protocol following a potential threat posted to Snapchat.
• Sept. 28 – St. Joseph Catholic High School received a threat of something that would happen later in the day. They initially issued a hold and secure and later closed the school for the day.
• Oct. 16 – St. John Paul II Catholic School responded to emailed threats that originated outside Canada.
• Oct. 16 – Sexsmith Secondary School initiated a lockdown due to an incident at the main office. It was lifted several minutes later.
• Oct. 20 – Peace Wapiti Public School Division notified the public through its social media that Sexsmith Secondary School was under a hold and secure due to a situation involving students.

Studies and reports across Canada are discussing school-based threats and violence as growing concerns.

A report published by Children First Canada titled Raising Canada 2026, listed the School Crisis, which includes school violence, as an emerging threat.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)
discusses the changing school dynamics and the escalating threat environment. Grande Prairie and area incidents reflect trends described by senior research manager Steven Rai.

In a recent article the research manager noted that threats often originate or escalate online, they cross borders, are often opportunistic and lack a guiding principle.

While each incident isn’t identical and they require different responses, ignoring the commonalities could be dangerous, Raie added.

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