CALGARY — Caylan Ford took the stand on Wednesday as the first witness in her $7.65 million defamation trial, testifying about her relationship with political activist and former Conservative candidate Karim Jivraj.Jivraj is accused of being one of the main individuals responsible for spreading allegations in 2019 which ruined Ford’s personal and professional life.Justice Lorena Harris heard that Ford and Jivraj communicated extensively on Facebook Messenger for roughly 13 months starting in 2017 when they first met at a party in Toronto.Questioned by her counsel Richard Harrison, Ford told the court she deleted the messages in March 2018 at Jivraj’s request but later recovered partial records from Meta — mostly messages from March 15–16, 2018.She recalled a March 2017 phone call in which he said he was worried that skeletons in his closet from a past venture might resurface.According to Ford, Jivraj had run a New York firm called Western Ivy Consulting that helped applicants apply to elite US law schools by assisting with essays and applications.Ford testified that after confiding this, Jivraj back pedalled, called her a “traitor,” and pressured her to share something personal in return.She reluctantly shared a “quasi-mystical experience” from her youth, but Jivraj dismissed it, saying he wanted “dirt.”.Former UCP candidate Caylan Ford’s defamation trial to begin in Calgary.The court also heard testimony about Jivraj’s frequently discussed plans to run for political office and that he had considered several locations before deciding to move to Calgary around May or June 2017, after which she helped him secure housing and a job opportunity at a law firm.Ford testified that by early 2018 she was considering running for the legislative assembly with the UCP and described attending political events where she met party leaders such as Jason Kenney, with whom she discussed a potential campaign.The court also heard that on March 1, 2018, Ford attended a UCP Calgary-Glenmore constituency fundraiser where she recalled interacting with several people, including Philip Schuman (then a UCP candidate) and Jivraj.Afterward, she attended an after-party hosted at the home of Conservative organizer Alan Hallman.Ford said Jivraj didn’t have a vehicle and asked her for a ride to the after-party.During the drive, she testified, the conversation became unusual.According to Ford, Jivraj was very drunk and told her several people she had been talking to at the fundraiser secretly disliked her.Once the after-party was finished, Ford said Jivraj had again been drinking heavily and tried to get a cab home but the taxi driver wouldn’t take him.She said she decided to take him home and again an odd conversation occurred which made her think Jivraj may have been recording her and trying to get “blackmail material."Several days later Ford told the court she met Schuman at his request for coffee at an establishment in Altadore, where he asked her how he may have caused her any offense.Schuman was said to have told her he had heard she was accusing him of sexual harassment, which shocked Ford.The source of this information had allegedly been Jivraj.She told Schuman she had never made such an accusation and offered to swear an affidavit confirming that fact.Ford testified that Schuman later showed her screenshots of messages sent by Jivraj to this effect. She also told the court she believed the rumour was actually intended to harm her, not Schuman.A couple of days later Ford said Jivraj called her asking for advice and by this point she was suspicious something was being done to damage her career so she decided to record the call, telling the court it was the “only time I’ve ever recorded someone without their knowledge.”.Opening statements heard in Caylan Ford defamation trial against CBC, Press Progress, Toronto Star, others.During the recording, which was heard by the court, Ford confronted the defendant over the accusations.Jivraj denied her claim and questioned why he would make such an allegation, arguing it would make little sense to do so.He also repeatedly asked Ford to identify who had told her these things, but she refused, saying she did not want him to go after other people.On March 15, 2018, Ford, Schuman and Jivraj met at a Marda Loop restaurant to discuss the situation where Jivraj allegedly showed up late and drunk and insisted everyone put their phones on the table so no one could record the conversation.The court heard Jivraj admitted to the sexual harassment accusations and blamed alcohol and jealousy, adding he would go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. Schuman was said to have offered his help but the defendant stated he needed to do it alone.After, in the early morning hours, Ford said Jivraj sent her a barrage of texts calling her a traitor and demanded she delete the messages, which Ford said she did.Shortly afterward, she said Jivraj asked her in an email to attend an AA meeting with him, which she initially agreed to.However, Ford said she talked to her then-husband who said Jivraj was “manipulating” her, which convinced her to change her mind about attending.She later emailed Jivraj saying she would not attend and that it was better for him to get a sponsor. He was said to have responded to the email on Facebook Messenger by referring to her as a terrible friend.“I generally don’t expect people to be involved in cunning or complicated schemes,” Ford said.“It’s not something that crosses my mind very much.”Ford is expected to continue her testimony on Thursday.
