Former Alberta doctor again ordered to stop ‘cancer coaching’ as appeal bid rejected

Alberta’s highest margaret court has barred a former Edmonton physician from launch an invoke against court-ordered sanctions that prohibit him from practising medical specialty or implying he’s licensed to give care for any patient in the province.

In an Alberta Court of Appeal decision, issued June 17, Justice Kevin Feth ruled against William Makis, an outspoken former physician involved in a legal battle with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), the province’s medical regulator. 

Makis has not held a permit to practise medicine in Alberta since 2019 but — according to court documents — has since been engaged in what he calls “cancer coaching,” promoting alternative treatments including the off-label use of antiparasitic drugs such as ivermectin.

His permit has not been active since 2019. It was cancelled by the CPSA that year after he failed to renew the permit, pay his annual fees, as well as pay hearing costs he had been ordered to pay as a result of a disciplinary proceeding against him in 2018. 

Makis has been fighting to overturn a permanent court injunction from the Court of King’s Bench which was sought by the CPSA and granted in March 2026.

It prevents him from using the titles of doctor or oncologist and bars him from providing health services or giving medical advice and cancer treatment plans to Alberta patients.

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The order was granted after a special chambers judge found Makis in contempt for continuing to offer patients medical advice without a CPSA licence, despite a previous court order to stop. 

Under Alberta’s Health Professions Act, the title of physician is protected and unlicensed individuals are prohibited from presenting themselves as doctors or providing patient care.

According to the appeal court decision filed this month, Makis told the court he has provided his services — via his website and social media accounts — to more than 8,500 people internationally.

In ruling against Makis’ application for an appeal, Feth described the proposed case as one with little hope of success.

He ruled that the previous court ruling was "reasonable" and contained no legal errors, noting courts have the jurisdiction to grant permanent injunctions to protect the public from the risks of unauthorized medical treatment.

Because courts previously declared Makis a vexatious litigant, someone who abuses the judicial process by repeatedly filing meritless claims, he had to apply for permission to appeal rather than simply filing it.

“Even if I were to accept that this application is not an abuse of process and that reasonable grounds to proceed are presented, which I have not found, Mr. Makis has not established that this application raises an important question of law or precedent, or another important question that engages the interests of justice,” Feth wrote.

He ruled the court had clear evidence, including Makis' own statements, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he intentionally breached court sanctions.  

“Mr. Makis has raised several specific grounds alleging errors by the special chambers judge but has not pointed to anything in the record to substantiate his claims,” Feth wrote.

The permanent ban stands, and Makis faces potential jail time if he continues to defy it, Feth ruled.

Makis argued that his work does not constitute practising medicine, telling the court that he uses disclaimers on published materials, asks his clients to sign waivers and requires those who seek his services to be under the care of licensed physicians. 

Makis, who worked as an oncologist, promotes views that have been rejected by mainstream medical and scientific communities. He’s promoted unproven theories about what he says is a link between COVID-19 vaccines and what he describes as “turbo cancers” and has made unsubstantiated claims that shots were responsible for the sudden deaths of 80 doctors during the peak of the pandemic.

The CPSA said its legal action against him was not connected to medications or therapies he was promoting, but about protecting the public from his unauthorized medical care. 

Makis’ time in Alberta began in August 2013 when he was hired as a nuclear medicine oncologist at the Cross Cancer Institute. But his time with the treatment facility in Edmonton was short-lived.  

Following complaints of professional misconduct, he was placed on administrative leave, and in 2016, his contract was not renewed. At the time, Makis testified he was the victim of a conspiracy to silence him.

In February 2019, his CPSA practice permit was cancelled. Since then, the regulator has issued repeated warnings about his ongoing practice, characterizing his conduct as a danger to public health.

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In 2025, the CPSA secured a temporary injunction ordering him to stop calling himself a doctor and giving cancer advice. 

In March 2026, the case returned to court and Makis was found to be in contempt for failing to abide by the previous court order.

During that hearing, Justice Douglas Mah of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta ruled that Makis’ actions — reviewing patient records, analyzing test results and giving out specific treatment protocols — is the practice of medicine.

In his March 2026 decision, Mah ordered Makis to “purge” his contempt, stop giving advice and to strip all titles like "doctor" from his internet profiles or face potential jail time.

Mah also altered the temporary injunction, making the order and its sanctions permanent. 

Having found “clear evidence” of Makis’ intention to continue breaching the existing order, Mah concluded that indefinite sanctions were necessary.

The judge highlighted a video included in the court submissions where Makis called the courts and medical regulator “evil people” and “villains” for trying to stop him from helping patients.

According to the latest court decision issued this month, Makis blames the sanctions on his practice for pushing him out of the province.

In his bid for an appeal, Makis argued that because he plans to move to Florida where he has a conditional licence to practise, the Alberta public is safe.  As of March 25, his name did not appear in the official state search portal for licensed physicians in Florida.

But Makis told the court that the CPSA has deliberately destroyed his ability to practise in Alberta or maintain a meaningful livelihood in Canada and that he plans to sell his Edmonton home.

The judge ruled, however, that moving away does negate the fact that Makis broke a court order while he was living in Alberta.

In a public statement issued last month, the CPSA said it has continued to pursue legal action against Makis to protect the public.

“As Alberta’s medical regulator, our responsibility is to ensure that anyone practising medicine in the province is properly licensed, qualified and accountable for protecting their patients from harm.”

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