VANCOUVER — Conservative MP Jamil Jivani's "Restore the North" campus tour, reminiscent of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA events, was disrupted Friday at the University of British Columbia by a small but vocal group of largely masked protesters..The event, held at UBC's Nest building, featured Jivani, fellow Conservative MP Aaron Gunn and Conservative Party of BC MLA and party leadership hopeful Harman Banghu, discussing ideas on Canada's future, youth empowerment, and free speech, amongst other cultural and political issues.Similar to Kirk's often-protested campus appearances in the United States, Jivani's tour has faced frequent opposition from activists. During the UBC event on Friday, protesters outside chanted "no fascists on campus" and "no illegals on stolen land," while at least one protestor inside the event interrupted speakers repeatedly. Among the protestor signs was one reading "Jamil Jivani loves American sex traffickers.".Campus security and RCMP were present and, at one point, the protestors began allegedly banging on the doors in an apparent attempt at intimidating event organizers and attendees. Multiple attendees reported being "sheltered in place" until police could arrive to dispel the activists. One attendee said of the disruption, "We are being told not to leave the room until the police come.".The disruptions suggests a resurgence of radical protest culture at UBC in recent months. In January, author and Mount Royal university professor Frances Widdowson, known for challenging narratives around residential schools and the unfounded claim of "mass graves" at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, was arrested during a OneBC party event on UBC campus. Widdowson, carried away by RCMP after refusing to leave amid clashes with hundreds of counter-protesters, faced no charges..Conservative MLA Banghu, who both attended and spoke at the event, responded to the disruption late Friday evening with an X post: "The woke mind virus crowd tried to shut down our event at UBC tonight. They showed up shouting and trying to intimidate people. But the event went ahead anyway. We stayed, we spoke, and we had the conversation" — with Banghu adding "that’s what free speech looks like."
