Hundreds show up to protest Widdowson’s presence at U of L, again
By Lethbridge Herald on February 6, 2026.
Herald FIle photo
Former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson takes part in a discussion on February 2023, while surrounded by some of the hundreds of students and community members who opposed her visit. A protest was held on Wednesday again at the U of L over her presence.By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
On Wednesday hundreds gathered at the University of Lethbridge atrium, to protest the presence of former Mount Royal University professor Francis Widdowson, who had previously been protested against in February 2023, also on a Wednesday afternoon.
This time around members of Lethbridge Police were present working alongside Campus Safety to keep all in attendance safe.
The University of Lethbridge shared a release about the incident stating that at approximately 11 a.m., an individual (Widdowson), who has recently caused significant disruption at other Canadian universities, began engaging members of the University of Lethbridge community in a public space on our Lethbridge campus.
“Throughout the day, the safety and well-being of those on our campus was our top priority. Campus Safety, in coordination with Lethbridge Police Service, implemented measures to keep all those in attendance safe throughout the afternoon.”
The University shared that the disruption utilized significant university and community resources and when it became clear the interactions had no defined end and that continuing to deploy resources in this manner was not sustainable, the University issued a trespass notice to the individual (Widdowson) at approximately 5:15 p.m.
“Universities are places where controversial ideas should be examined and critiqued through rigorous, evidence-based inquiry. In this instance, the University provided room for those in attendance to express their viewpoints and for those viewpoints to be contested.”
The University has communicated about this event directly with students, faculty and employees. And they will continue to do so in the days and weeks ahead.
In 2023, Widdowson was uninvited by the university for a public speaking engagement following outcry over her controversial views on the residential school system, but she decided to show up anyway.
When Widdowson entered the atrium, she was received by loud boos of disapproval. Many people were wearing orange shirts, holding signs and shouting.
In 2023, Chief Safety Officer Doug Mackie announced to those in attendance that Widdowson had agree to leave, as long as they made room for her to walk away, this year she was escorted out by Lethbridge Police.
As of the time of publication, charges have not been laid but the investigation was ongoing.
14-13
I would like to comment but it would not get approved/ posted until the article is removed from your website As I said before-your paper is pathetic and totally biased. It’s unfortunate in a democratic society that the vast majority of the MSM media has been taken over by the left. To them there is no free speech.. only their speech.
It’s too bad that the people working for these leftist wouldn’t learn to think for themselves and consider another viewpoint!
Food for thought.
https://open.substack.com/pub/blendrnews/p/the-seven-types-of-people-in-evil?r=55mgwz&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
caca poofoo.
Actually last summer the “ lie “ ended. No fanfare though. The federal government quietly closed down the investigation into the supposed mass murder of Indian kids at residential schools. No more funding .Many , open minded never believed the lie. That was not allowed though. There were attempts to make it criminally illegal to speak or think against the lie. Sadly the lie is still , obviously perpetrated and promoted at university level. A place of learning. Critical thinking. Factual discussion. Scientific facts. A place to debate. Discern fact from fiction. The residential schools were not always good. Many kids ,though , came from a much worse environment. The residential schools were there to teach and care for the kids. Much good happened there. Nobody wants to hear that or talk about that though. Too many mindless emotional actions. That’s exactly why Ms. Widdowson was prevented from participating in a rational discussion.
Not sure what program you are referring to, but the main initiative, the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund, is still in place. The application window for the 2025-2026 period is, however closed.
I’ve heard Dr. Wisdowson speak and have read a lot of what she’s written, and rational is not how I’d describe her ideas. But it’s your right to think that, and it’s my right to tell you I think you’re wrong.
National Reveiw ,feb 28 2025. States – very quietly (of course) the Canadian government has ended funding for a commitee of experts formed to help indignant communities find unmarked graves at former sites of residential schools. It marks the end of one of the most disgracefull moral panics in modern history.
I’m disappointed in the untruths stated. The commitee of self perceived experts is the actual truth. I realize there is still much tax dollars being wasted on related “ causes”.
Oh, you mean the Expert Panel that submitted their final report in 2024? The ISBN for the PDF in English is: 978-0-7727-1150-2.
old school, my advice to you to be a man, admit defeat and live to rant another day. You are out matched and outgunned, to quote my second favourite movie after Unforgiven, Master and Commander.
I, like Mrs. Kids obviously, learned to consult primary sources, which you evidently did not.
My first thought was ‘one again the cancel culture cancels free speech’, even though I do not agree with what she stands for in some of her misguided beliefs and opinions . . . THEN I saw that she was not invited to speak there, she just came uninvited!!
BUT . . . then again, the pro-Palestinian protesters just showed up as well, uninvited and encamped at some universities, spewing hate, disinformation and even burning our flag . . . and were allowed to do so for weeks on some campuses. Where were all those protesters when Iran was gunning down protesters in Iran, with estimates of over 30,000 killed on the streets and thousands more while detained . .. over 350,000 were incarcerated in centers where they face torture . . . where are all those protesters for these people? Oh wait . . . Iran, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood were funding the protests in Canada and the US, so of course they are not going to fund the paid protesters to protest themselves slaughtering their own people!
One would think campuses who have educated people on them, who know how to separate facts from disinformation/propaganda . . . but it is evident that foreign influence on our campuses is very much alive!
Our colleges and universities have foreign influenced professors/educators filling our young minds with anti-West theories, which has caused division, anger and fueled protests, creating unrest . . . just what the foreign influencers want to weaken our country!
I just fail to understand why this person was ‘trespassed’ at the request of the U of L yet the pro-Palestinian protesters who called out ‘death to the Jews’, ‘death to Canada’, ‘we are Hamas’, and burned our flag were allowed to continue on campuses, encamped for several weeks across Canada !!! ???
I do believe we need to take time to reflect on free speech vs hate speech!
Pursuit makes good points. The allegation of “ spewing hatred “ is an absolute lie ,though. Starting a thoughtful discussion with difficult questions is not spewing hate. $216 million wasted on opportunist connected to the liberal government should cause hate, perhaps.
These so called “educated” students need to take a course in Logic.
Too many of them are totally irrational and have absolutely no common sense. These people are infiltrating into all levels of influence in society. They have very low if any moral standards. And if history teaches us anything, a society with no moral standards will eventually self destruct.
We are already on the road to self destruction! The woke, culturally Marxist’s educators teaching their ideals and creating armies of woke radicals in our universities, including this one, has been destroying this country from within for years.
This censorship of an academic who recognizes this, and wanted to express their own thoughts on the matter shows how powerful this radical group is that continues to destroy the very fabric of a once great country.
When Canada falls, and the Chinese are reigning over this country the First Nations, the LGBTQ+ and some of the other woke groups are going to realize they made a big mistake bring down a democracy with their Marxist brainwashing!
They should educate themselves on what China’s human rights abuses are, such as their ‘re-education camps’, their organ harvesting from live prisoners, their forced labour in the factories that make many of the clothes worn in Canada from there, or other cheap products from their slave labour camps!
Or what will happen if we end up the US 51st state! They academics don’t tell them that though! Almost like the LGBTQ+ groups protesting with the pro-Palestinian protesters, who fail to understand that if they tried that in Gaza they would be tortured and killed!
These Marxist educators should be deported even if they are Canadian! I hear Gaza is nice this time of year!
A load of hair-on-fire garbage as usual but at least you managed not to mention the SCS for the first time in one of your stupid rants.
i am disturbed by one that could make such a flippant comment – “I hear Gaza is nice this time of year!”. i ask, is one such an utter idiot, merely ignorant, or a heartless trump of a goon to make light of a holocaust, a genocide, and human rights and war crimes perpetrated by an israeli leadership that makes even trump look like mary poppins. indeed, i can only be left to consider that one’s heart is utterly full of racism and hatred toward a people, that one finds its acceptable that the object of one’s hatred should be subject to pain, torture and utter annihilation. i suppose we can add this to one’s already well displayed hatred of first nations in this forum over a very many ignorant comments shared.
might one have a good look at oneself, quietly and in as calm a demeanour as is possible…turn off your mind and try to talk with your god, through your heart. as you shed your ignorance you will also find some light, and you will further discover that hatred makes one appear as ugly as they do stupid.