Winston Blackmore is the leader of a polygamousLatter-Day Saint group in Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada. He is described as "Canada's best-known avowed polygamist". He is thought to have 149 children with his 27 "spiritual" wives, some of whom he has admitted were underage.
Leadership and excommunication
The polygamous community at Bountiful was founded by Blackmore's father, Ray Blackmore, and his great-uncle, Harold Blackmore. Ray later removed Harold and took full control of Bountiful. Winston Blackmore was born to Ray and Anna Mae Blackmore on August 25, 1956. He was the ninth of her thirteen children. Anne Mae was the first of Ray's six wives, and the only wife he was legally married to. For two decades, Blackmore was the bishop of the Bountiful, British Columbia, group of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamist community in the Creston Valley. Upon the death of Rulon Jeffs, Winston Blackmore was considered to be one of two potential successors for the role of the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the other potential successor being Warren Jeffs. Winston had support that was equal or on-par to Jeffs. Warren Jeffs ultimately succeeded his father Rulon, largely due to having played an increasingly significant role in the church during the period up to Rulon's death. In September 2002, FLDS Church president Warren Jeffs excommunicated him. However, Winston Blackmore asserts that he left the church on his own accord. The community of Bountiful was split nearly in half—about 400 people followed Blackmore, with the rest following Jeffs. Blackmore would go on to found the Church of Jesus Christ Inc.
Canadian polygamy case
Blackmore and another community leader, James Oler, were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in January 2009 and charged with polygamy. The charges were thrown out later, owing to questions about how the Crown selected its prosecutors. The case was reopened by the provincial government in 2014, with the B.C. Supreme Court confirming that polygamy is against the law in a constitutional case. Blackmore's lawyers attempted to appeal the case, which was overruled in May 2016. Blackmore's trial began on April 18, 2017. On July 24, 2017, Winston Blackmore was found guilty of polygamy in the British Columbia Supreme Court. He, along with James Oler, face up to five years in prison for violation of Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada. On May 15, 2018, in Cranbrook, British Columbia, special prosecutor Peter Wilson recommended a jail sentence of between 90 days and six months for Blackmore and a term of one month to 90 days for Oler. On 27 June 2018 Justice Sheri Ann Donegan sentenced Blackmore to six months' house arrest. Oler was sentences to three months' house arrest.
Family
As of August 31, 2019, Blackmore has married 27 times and has 149 children. He is the nephew of former Social Credit Party of Canada leader John Horne Blackmore who, though not a polygamist himself, was excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1947 for "teaching and advocating the doctrine of plural marriage". As an MP, the elder Blackmore urged Parliament to repeal the anti-polygamy law and succeeded in removing specific references to Mormons that had been in the law. Blackmore is also related to anti-polygamy activists Carolyn Jessop, a former FLDS member and author, and Ruby Jessop. His family operates J R Blackmore & Sons Ltd, a timber milling business.
