Newly-freed Omar Khadr just wants Canadians to get to know him so they can make an informed decision about who he really is.

In his first interview since being released from custody, Khadr said he was "very happy" to be free and spoke about going for a "good lunch" and enjoying breathing "the fresh air" on a "nice" walk in the river valley.

Khadr and defence lawyer Dennis Edney ended up back at the courthouse several hours after a judge ordered him released on bail in order to get his recognizance signed.

Khadr said he wanted to prove to Canadians that he was better than how the authorities have portrayed him.

"I am better than what they thought of me and I will show them that I am a good person," he said, adding he wants people to "give me a chance" and to "see him as a person" before making a decision about him.

Khadr, 28, also spoke about Edmonton's recent snowfall.

"I know Edmonton is wild with the weather," he said, laughing. "I guess Edmonton wants to give me a taste of all three seasons in a few weeks."

Alberta's highest court released the former Guantanamo Bay detainee on bail Thursday pending the appeal of his convictions in the United States.

"Mr. Khadr, you are free to go," said Court of Appeal of Alberta Justice Myra Bielby, after she rejected an application by the federal government for a stay of Khadr's release until it can appeal his earlier bail decision.

Khadr, 28, gave a big smile as Bielby gave her ruling and many in the packed courtroom cheered and applauded.

Khadr was expected to be freed early Thursday afternoon and taken to defence lawyer Dennis Edney's Edmonton home, where he will remain under strict conditions including wearing an electronic tracking bracelet.

Outside court, Edney said Khadr - who has been behind bars for nearly 13 years - would be presented to the public to make a statement in the near future.

"Of course I am delighted, incredibly delighted," said Edney. "It has taken too many years."

He said he didn't speak to Khadr after the decision as he was quickly whisked away from the courtroom, but said he imagined Khadr was likely sitting down and wondering if it was "really true" that he was being freed.

"I look forward to Omar Khadr letting the Canadian public see who he is, to challenge the lies of this government who have not allowed him to be seen or to speak."

A neighbour just left a welcome card and flowers outside the west end #yeg home where Omar Khadr will stay pic.twitter.com/ihVeTGguLC — Edmonton Sun Photo (@EdmSunPhoto) May 7, 2015

Edney criticized the federal government for allowing a Canadian boy to be tortured in Guantanamo Bay and accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of being a "bigot," saying Harper "doesn't like Muslims."

"He wants to show he is tough on crime and who does he pick on?" said Edney. "A 15-year-old boy who was picked up and put in a hell hole in Guantanamo."

In her decision, Bielby said she accepted the Crown had shown that Khadr's release could have an effect on future international prisoner transfers and diplomatic relations between Canada and the U.S., but ruled the Crown had not proven there would be "irreparable harm."

Khadr was ordered released on bail by a lower court judge on April 24, however the federal government applied for a stay of the ruling until they can appeal it.

An appeal hearing is likely to be heard in the fall.

Khadr was serving an eight-year prison sentence in Bowden Institution as a result of a 2012 international transfer agreement with the United States, but was seeking release pending the determination of an appeal of his U.S. convictions by a military commission.

"It's becoming clearer and clearer that his convictions are invalid because the military commission did not have jurisdiction," said Nathan Whitling, adding that similar cases have already been successfully appealed in the U.S.

He explained the reason that rulings by the military commission have been declared invalid in other cases is that the commission did not exist at the time of the alleged offences and was created afterwards.

Khadr, originally from Toronto, pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2010 to murder and four counts related to terrorism and spying. The charges came as a result of the role Khadr played in the 2002 killing of a U.S. special forces medic during a firefight in Afghanistan when he was 15. He spent a decade at Guantanamo Bay before his trial.