Springs Church leader Pastor Leon Fontaine has died.
An associate pastor with Springs Inner City in Winnipeg confirmed in a Facebook post that the pastor died on Saturday.
On Friday, Springs Church officially confirmed the death of Fontaine occurred Nov. 19. The statement said Fontaine was unexpectedly diagnosed with "aggressive late-stage cancer," and his health took a turn for the worse while he was pursuing treatment.
"There is a deep void in the hearts and minds of all those who knew him," the statement reads. "If you ever had the chance to speak with him, you know he had an incredible ability to make you feel like you were the most important person in the room. He was one man yet could foster what felt like thousands of relationships while simultaneously running multiple organizations. He set the standard of what a true leader is."
Fontaine, along with his wife Sally was the lead pastor at Springs. The church has two locations in Winnipeg and one Calgary.
He was involved with various organizations associated with the church, including president of Springs Christian Academy, CEO of Miracle Channel, a Christian television station in Lethbridge, Alberta. Fontaine was also an author, spoke at conferences, and hosted two shows, The Spirit Contemporary Life and The Leon Show, according to his online biography.
Fontaine was a well-known Christian speaker across the country, but controversies during the COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to the church.
A public graduation ceremony for Springs College in May 2021 drew criticism after images were shared online of the unmasked ceremony. The church was ticketed, and at the time, Fontaine released a statement defending the ceremony, saying it was following health orders.
At the height of COVID-19 restrictions on Manitoba in December 2020, Fontaine and Springs took the Province to court, calling for drive-in services to be allowed. The request was denied, but a short while later, health orders were amended to allow drive-in services.
Fontaine had five children, and five grandchildren according to his biography.
Nicholas Greco, Provost of Providence University College, says Fontaine’s prominence in the church’s identity could affect congregation attendance moving forward.
“We can’t really tell what will happen with Springs in the future with this transition in leadership but you can imagine that some of the things that would compel people to come to a church is leadership,” Greco said.
In instances like Springs, Greco says leadership roles could be transferred to family. Fontaine’s wife Sally is currently also a senior pastor with the church, and his children are involved with the church.
“With this sort of singular identity that is the head of that church, without them being there, do they still find a particular definition?” Greco asks. “That’s really the question that we can ask at this point.”
The church's statement said his family, including his wife, five children, their spouses and nine grandchildren, will "continue to passionately serve and lead the ministries he established."
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024. Justice Minister David Lametti introduced a bill seeking the extension in the House of Commons on Thursday.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Will we see six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Here’s what some of the groundhogs (and one human) have predicted so far, from coast-to-coast.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
The United States has answered President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea for rockets that can strike deep behind the front lines of the nearly year-long conflict with Russia. Now Russian forces will need to adapt or face potentially catastrophic losses.
Australia is removing the monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall theft.
Paramedic logs from 2022 are highlighting some of the pressures Regina EMS workers have been facing for months including one instance where a patient died following offload delays at the hospital, the documents indicate.
Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome was packed to the rafters with fans eager to take a look at Canadian phenom Connor Bedard and the 17-year-old did not fail to impress.
The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is investigating after a handwritten note containing a violent threat at an Attawapiskat arena was found during a hockey tournament prompting an armed response by officers.
Highway 11 in northern Ontario is closed Thursday morning from Highway 66 near Kenogami Lake to Matheson after a collision involving several vehicles, police say.
Athabasca University's board of governors has replaced the president who resisted the government's demand to double the distance-learning school's number of employees who live in Athabasca.
Ontario has released a new 'connected' and 'convenient' health-care plan aimed at shortening wait times and localizing access to care across the province.
Three Richmond Hill residents have been arrested after police seized $500,000 in fake gift cards from a “sophisticated forgery lab” while searching multiple local properties last month.
A polar vortex is descending over Ontario this week and some of the coldest weather is still to come. Wind chills will also reach dangerous levels, increasing the risk of frostbite.
The next few nights are expected to be frigid in Montreal, with wind chill factors dropping to -30. In order to prevent anyone experiencing homelessness from ending up outdoors, the City of Montreal is announcing the opening of two emergency shelters.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall theft.
Ottawa ranks 45th out of 62 cities across Canada and the United States in a study on downtown recovery, with activity levels at 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are warnings and statements cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
Ontario has released a new 'connected' and 'convenient' health-care plan aimed at shortening wait times and localizing access to care across the province.
Wiarton Willie made his prediction his spring prediction Thursday morning at 8:07 a.m. The groundhog did not see his shadow, meaning we could get an early spring.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
A pair of provincial parks are being considered in the B.C. government's treaty negotiations with the T’Sou-ke and Songhees nations on Vancouver Island.
A homicide investigation is underway on Quadra Island, B.C., after a 39-year old woman was found dead in what investigators believe was a targeted killing.
