Immigration museum CEO in Halifax accused of creating environment of fear

By Canadian Press on December 11, 2025.

HALIFAX — A federal investigation of the CEO leading the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax has found Marie Chapman bullied some staff and created an environment of fear that caused emotional harm to many employees.

A new report produced by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada says Chapman repeatedly breached the public sector code of conduct and the museum’s code of conduct.

As well, the report from commissioner Harriet Solloway alleges Chapman engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behaviour over an extended period of time.

Solloway’s report, tabled Wednesday in Parliament, says Chapman’s misconduct included using offensive language, yelling and intimidating employees.

In response to the report, Chapman submitted a statement denying the allegations against her, arguing that a lack of detail in the report creates a false impression of the frequency and scale of certain events.

Chapman insists she never fostered a climate of fear or threatened to fire anyone, and she argues that some decisions and comments were wrongly attributed to her or taken out of context.

The CEO concludes by noting that while working at the museum for almost 20 years, her conduct was never questioned by the board of directors, and she says she never received any warnings, negative evaluations or disciplinary actions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2025.

The Canadian Press