Winnipeg lawyers Johnston, Monnin appointed to King’s Bench

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This article was published 07/03/2025 (249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Winnipeg lawyers have been appointed judges of the Court of King’s Bench in Manitoba.

Douglas E. Johnston, a partner at Myers LLP, and Christian L. Monnin, a partner at MLT Aikins LLP, were appointed as judges by Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

They replace judges William R. Johnston and Chris W. Martin, long-serving jurists who’ve elected to take on a reduced workload and fewer hours on the bench.

Douglas Johnston will oversee the family division.

“I wish Justices Johnston and Monnin every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Manitobans well as members of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba,” Virani said in a news release.

Johnston grew up in Alberta and moved to Winnipeg in 1976. He was called to the bar in 1986.

Before being appointed, Johnston practiced in the fields of civil litigation and family law, before eventually narrowing his focus to family law.

Monnin was born and raised in Winnipeg. He was called to the Manitoba bar in 2002 and the Ontario bar in 2006.

During his legal practice Monnin served as a part-time commissioner of the Worker’s Compensation Appeal Commission of Manitoba between 2012 and 2022. He had been a sessional lecturer at the University of Manitoba’s Robson Hall and a bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba since 2018.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca