2023 was another newsworthy year for Canadian campuses, which are reeling from the influence of woke far-left ideologies like “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI), Critical Race Theory and others. Universities and colleges have also seen a concerning rise in antisemitism this year.
True North has compiled the notable stories that took place on Canadian campuses this year – including many that were exclusively reported through the Campus Watch series.
- Unprecedented wave of campus antisemitism since Oct. 7
On Oct. 7, Hamas committed the worst massacre of Jews since the holocaust, killing 1200 people, including babies, raping women and taking people hostage. In response to the atrocities, several Canadian professors took to Twitter to voice support for what they saw as “anticolonial resistance.”
At York, three student unions issued a statement saying the events that took place in “so-called Israel” served as “a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary.” The unions also later shared calls for Intifada (armed rebellion). At McGill, a pro-Palestine student group described Hamas’ action as “heroic” and “monumental” in a Facebook post – cheering on the launching of rockets into Israeli territory and the taking of hostages.
At Western and McMaster, students were recorded ripping down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas, while at the University of Calgary, a public washroom was vandalized with violent antisemitic Islamist graffiti. At Concordia, an anti-Israel brawl saw three people get injured. At the brawl, one woman, who uses “they/them” pronouns, was accused of calling someone a “k*ke” (an antisemitic slur), and a University of Montreal professor told a student to “go back to Poland, sharmouta (wh*re in Arabic).”
Amid all of this, Jewish students told True North “it’s best not to be visibly Jewish” on campus.
- Racial discrimination and six-figure salaries in the name of DEI
Canadians were abhorred to see universities adopt racial segregation in the name of woke DEI practices this year. As exclusively reported by True North, several of Canada’s top universities held segregated graduation ceremonies and freshmen orientations for black students. Several other racially segregated campus events took place throughout the year, including at UBC, the University of Guelph, McMaster University and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) – while the legacy media celebrated the opening of segregated black student lounges.
Several universities hired professors based on race in 2023 – as part of DEI “Cluster Hiring” programs. Universities that publicly recruited professors based on race this year include the University of Calgary, NSCAD University, the University of Guelph, the University of Victoria and the University of Ottawa.
As for the people hired to run DEI programs, a June 2023 True North investigation into the Ontario Sunshine List found that several DEI officials make more than $100,000 per year at the province’s top universities – with the highest being a DEI official at Queen’s University took home $346,376.
- Merit, racial colorblindness cause “microaggressions” and “whiteness” must be “unlearned”
While caucasian students were not invited to several segregated DEI events, they were made to participate in DEI training. At Western University, students were mandated to take part in a training module on how to become “anti-racists,” while housing staff at the school were warned at a DEI workshop against supporting merit-based hiring and racial colour blindness, claiming the latter cause “microaggressions.”
Meanwhile, at Toronto’s Humber College, Caucasian employees were encouraged to join a DEI group designed to help them “unlearn” and “dismantle” their “whiteness.”
- Compelled “they/them” pronoun use… for dogs?
A True North investigation into the gender identity policies of Ontario universities found that several institutions mandate pronoun use with the threat of reprisal.
For example, Ottawa’s Carleton University said that refusing to use one’s preferred “they/them,” “ze/zir,” “xe/xir,” and “e/em” pronouns is a violation of its human rights policy, and established an online portal to report incidents of “misgendering.” McMaster University, Humber College and the University of Toronto also have gender identity policies that cover speech.
Meanwhile, a University of Guelph Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) style guide noted that “they/them” pronouns should be used when referring to animals because animals reportedly don’t have a gender.
- Let kids see adult genitalia and take part in “gender play”
UBC journalism professor Katja Thieme drew international criticism this year after she advocated for children to be exposed to adult genitalia to prepare them for the possibility of seeing naked transgender individuals in locker rooms. Thieme, who uses “she/they” pronouns, made the comments in response to American swimmer and women’s rights advocate Riley Gaines – whom Thieme labelled a “transphobe.”
In response to Thieme, Gaines wrote “You. Are. Deranged. And. Should. Be. In. Prison.”
True North also reported on “non-binary” University of Manitoba recreation professor Fenton Litwiller organizing drag and gender play workshops for “queer children” to help them affirm their “complex gender identities.” Among other things, Litwiller’s “explicitly queer space,” allows children to try on clothing of the opposite gender. “For trans youth, genderplay is an opportunity to be real.”
- Heterodox campus speakers aggressively shut down
Non-woke heterodox speakers continued to face censorship, despite provinces mandating that universities implement free speech policies.
In February, a scheduled talk by former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson about “how wokism threatens academic freedom” at the University of Lethbridge was cancelled by the university amid pressure from activists. Widdowson opted to do the Feb. 1 talk anyway, in the UofL Atrium but was met with a large group of left-wing protesters, who interfered with her ability to give the talk. Widdowson, the professor who organized the talk and a student are now suing the university.
At McGill University, Renowned King’s College London human rights law professor and gay rights advocate Robert Wintemute had a seminar violently shut down by trans activists due to his belief that the LGB should split from the TQ+. The University of New Brunswick philosophy department meanwhile cancelled a planned lecture featuring a conservative Christian.
- Crisis caused by utterance of “N-word” by white guest speaker
The debate over the use of the “N-word” in academic contexts continued in 2023.
In March, Markham deputy director of people services Janet Ashfield gave a human resources management presentation at George Brown College in which she offered a real-world case study of two firefighters losing their jobs over offensive social media posts. She quoted one of the offensive posts that contained the “N-word”, saying the word out loud, which triggered students in the class.
Ashfield apologized, but that didn’t stop the City of Markham from placing her on leave. The college meanwhile offered students trauma counselling and told them they could file a human rights complaint.
