Surviving The Most Dangerous School in North America

Send us a text

The St. John’s Cathedral Boys’ School was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the late 1950s as an experiment in turning boys into men through relentless hardship, wilderness training, and strict religious discipline. For four decades, the St. John’s system operated under a Muscular Christian belief: that suffering, hard work, and obedience would reform “undisciplined” youth and bring them closer to God.

Created by teacher Frank Weins and conservative journalist Ted Byfield—neither formally trained in education—the schools became notorious for their harsh methods. In June 1978, St. John’s was thrust into the spotlight when 12 boys and a teacher died of hypothermia on Lake Timiskaming, one of Canada’s worst boating tragedies.

In this episode, Robert Young Pelton—who wrote about his time at St. John’s in The Adventurist—speaks with fellow alumnus Pierre Bédard, editor of Stephen Riley’s new book God’s Paddlers: Canada’s Most Dangerous School. Bédard shares his research into the school’s hidden history: lawsuits, abuse allegations, and the culture of silence that kept many stories buried.

St. John’s began in a former Indian hospital in Selkirk, later expanding to Alberta and Ontario. The program blended intensive academics with labor and extreme outdoor challenges. Boys studied full days, tended farm animals, cleaned, did laundry, and sold goods door to door. They endured “swats,” strict religious instruction, and wilderness expeditions sending boys as young as ten on 1,000-mile canoe trips or 30–50 mile snowshoe runs. Many students were sent there because parents saw no alternative—an inexpensive way to offload troubled boys to strict disciplinarians, some later accused of abuse.

The 1978 disaster exposed the school’s long pattern of ignoring safety warnings. After years of controversy, the schools closed.

Pelton and Bédard examine the dangers of blind loyalty to ideology, questioning whether enforced suffering has any place in education or spirituality. Pelton suggests St. John’s often crushed confidence through repetitive trauma, a fate he narrowly escaped. Before his death at 93, Byfield continued promoting far-right ideology in Alberta.

Referenced Works: The Adventurist (Pelton), Deep Waters (Raffan), The Toughest School in North America (De Candole), God

Robert Young Pelton is a Canadian-American author, journalist, filmmaker, and adventurer known for his conflict reporting and for venturing alone into some of the world's most dangerous and remote areas to chronicle history-shaping events. His work often involves interviewing military and political figures in war zones and spending time embedded with various groups, including the Taliban, Northern Alliance, CIA operatives, al Qaeda, and Blackwater .

He has been present at numerous conflicts, from Ukraine to the the Battle of Grozny and from Qali Jangi in Afghanistan to the rebel siege of Monrovia in Liberia.

Pelton is the author of several books, most notably the New York Times bestselling guide, "The World's Most Dangerous Places," which provides information for navigating high-risk zones. He has also written "Come Back Alive," a survival guide, and his autobiography, "The Adventurist: My Life in Dangerous Places". His work includes feature stories for National Geographic, Men’s Journal, Foreign Policy and Vice. He has worked as a contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure and has worked for major media networks like Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, CBS's 60 Minutes, ABC Investigative Division, and CNN.

Pelton is also the founder of DPx Gear, a company that designs rugged survival tools and knives based on his field experiences.