Crown Drops U of Victoria Trespass Charge Against Pro-Free Speech Academic Frances Widdowson

Frances Widdowson, a former associate professor in the department of economics, justice, and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, in an undated photo. Courtesy of Frances Widdowson

A trespass prosecution against former Mount Royal professor and free speech advocate Frances Widdowson has been stayed following her arrest last December at the University of Victoria campus.

Widdowson was arrested and received a trespassing citation after being on university property on Dec. 2, 2025, while wearing a billboard referencing the allegations of unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C., which included the phrase “What remains?”

The former university professor was later released and issued a $115 fine for trespassing.

Widdowson told The Epoch Times after her release that she and OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie went to the campus to speak with students about there being no evidence of bodies at the former Kamloops residential school, following the 2021 claim by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation that ground-penetrating radar had detected potential remains of 215 children at the site.

A statement released by the university at the time said the individuals arrived on campus with the “intention of speaking publicly” without asking for the school’s permission.

The university told the Epoch Times in the emailed statement the individuals “were informed that their event was not sanctioned to proceed” and confirmed they were escorted off school grounds by Saanich police officers.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, who has been assisting Widdowson in the case, said the academic and political scientist was held by police for approximately two hours, and charged under British Columbia’s Trespass Act.

“The stay concludes the prosecution but leaves unresolved broader questions that had been expected to arise through the litigation,” constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury said in a June 24 press release.

A stay of proceedings in British Columbia for trespassing typically means the Crown prosecutor has determined there is either no longer a substantial likelihood of conviction or that proceeding is no longer in the public interest.

“The stay relates only to the legal proceeding arising from the trespass allegation prosecuted by the Saanich Police Department,” Fleury added. “It does not determine whether Dr. Widdowson is permitted to return to the UVic campus.”

Widdowson has previously received a written warning under provincial trespass regulations, which states that she could be subject to further enforcement actions if she returns to the campus.

“In the view of Dr. Widdowson’s legal team, one of the most significant unanswered questions was whether the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to universities in British Columbia,” said the JCCF release.

“Because the prosecution is being stayed, that question will not be decided in this case.”

The Epoch Times contacted Widdowson for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Previous Arrests

Widdowson has previously been arrested at other university campuses during her efforts to challenge claims that mass graves had been found at former residential schools in Canada.

She was part of a OneBC event at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in January to engage in discussions with students on the allegations of mass graves. The group was met with protesters, and a social media video showed Widdowson being lifted and carried away by three RCMP officers after she refused to leave the campus. She was arrested and later released without charges.

She was arrested again at the University of Lethbridge in April after she violated a legal order prohibiting her from going on campus grounds. She was subsequently ticketed and released.

The formerly tenured professor was fired by Mount Royal University in Calgary in 2021 after she had publicly criticized “wokeism” and identity politics on her website and social media.

Mount Royal University alleged she had been involved in fostering a “harassing and toxic workplace environment” and that she had violated the school’s code of conduct and personal harassment policy.

An arbitration ruling determined that her termination was excessive, but the arbitrator recommended financial compensation instead of reinstatement.

Widdowson has continued to pursue reinstatement through labour arbitration and appeals processes.