‘Queen of Canada’ granted bail, ordered to stay in Regina

A Saskatchewan judge has granted the release of the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Canada' Romana Didulo. Sierra D'Souza Butts reports.

A Saskatchewan judge has granted the release of Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada,” at a bail hearing in Swift Current.

Judge Alan Jacobson granted Didulo bail with more than a dozen conditions, including no direct or indirect contact with Ricky Manz, the owner of the decommissioned school in Richmound where Didulo’s “Kingdom of Canada” group had been situated since 2023.

Additionally, Didulo cannot possess any weapons, she must stay at a residence in Regina around the clock unless granted permission to leave by a probation officer, and she must stay at least 50 kilometres away from both Richmound and individuals she’s been ordered to have no contact with.

Didulo has also been barred from communicating through the group’s “Kingdom of Canada” website.

The 50-year-old is charged with breaching a court order and attempting to intimidate a justice system participant.

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“We spent quite a bit of time going over those conditions. Certainly our concern was that she know what the conditions are and that she’d be willing to abide by those conditions,” Crown prosecutor Curtis Wiebe told reporters Monday morning.

“That was something that the court went through. We can never predict exactly what a person will do, but we trust that she will abide by those conditions.”

During the proceedings, the Crown requested that Didulo not be released from police custody, raising public safety and protection concerns.

“We are focused on the allegations before the court and the question we have to answer is ‘How can the safety of the public be protected? That’s where our focus is with respect to our position on release as well as on the conditions,” Wiebe said.

Didulo represented herself during Monday’s proceedings — as she refused to hire a lawyer despite a recommendation from the court.

When given the opportunity to speak after the Crown, Didulo told the court she has no criminal record and did not breach her undertaking conditions when first arrested by police on Sept. 3.

Following Didulo’s comments, a man in the courtroom stood up and said, “She should not be here,” along with, “She respected her conditions.”

Officers removed him shortly after.

She opted to have her case heard by a jury. She is due back in court on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Didulo was one of 16 people arrested last week at the former school-turned-compound in the village of Richmound, located nearly 450 kilometres west of Regina.

RCMP say they searched the site and seized 13 imitation semi-automatic handguns along with ammunition and electronic devices.

Health officials also declared parts of the building unfit for human habitation and are now prohibiting anyone from living there.

Tim McLeod, the minister of corrections, policing and public safety, provided a brief comment on the situation during an event in Regina.

“We’ve been watching that situation very carefully, very closely,” he told CTV News.

“I know the RCMP have been monitoring it very carefully and when there was cause for the RCMP to go in and do an investigation and make arrests, that happened. Now we will allow the process to unfold.”

Manz is set to appear in provincial court on Tuesday for his bail hearing.

-With files from The Canadian Press.