CAUT alarmed by Conservative Party platform on research funding

/EIN News/ -- OTTAWA, Ontario, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is expressing alarm over the Conservative Party of Canada’s pledge to interfere in the allocation of federal research funding.

At a campaign event in Quebec City last week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre released his party’s platform for the province, which included a promise to “end to the imposition of woke ideology in the federal civil service and in the allocation of federal funds for university research.”

“It’s worrying that a leader of a political party in Canada would try to dictate how research funds will be granted,” said David Robinson, CAUT executive director. “We’ve seen the impact of this political meddling south of the border where the Trump administration has launched a full-scale assault on universities and the scientific community. This kind of American-style culture war has no place in Canada.”

Robinson says research best serves the interests of Canadians when academics are free from political interference.

“At a time when we should be strengthening our research capacity to resist the threats of the Trump administration, it is disappointing to see the Conservatives wanting to set us back by mimicking the agenda of the White House.”

Robinson adds that so-called “anti-woke” initiatives in the United States have led not just to restrictions on research but also to the banning of subjects that can be taught in the classroom.

CAUT revealed earlier this month that researchers in Canada receiving funding from U.S. federal agencies were sent a questionnaire asking them to confirm their projects do not contain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) elements.

“This attack on equity is a smokescreen for politicians who want to impose a partisan agenda on universities and colleges and the work we do,” said Robinson. “It is an attack on academic freedom and basic human rights.”

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is the national voice of 72,000 academic and professional staff at over 125 universities and colleges.

Media Inquiries:
Mafoya Dossoumon
Canadian Association of University Teachers
media@caut.ca
613-614-5334