A newly released report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute warns that Canada’s post-secondary education system is in crisis.The report, titled, Crisis of Conformity: The Urgent Need to Restore Open Inquiry and Free Expression in Canada’s Universities, argues that without sweeping reforms, Canada’s universities — once known as champions of open inquiry and free expression — will continue to drift away from their founding principles of intellectual diversity and free, open debate.The 41-page report, authored by free speech advocate and columnist Lindsay Shepherd, argues that without sweeping reforms, Canadian academia risks further erosion of intellectual diversity and open debate.The report calls for a fearless approach to restore the principles of open inquiry and free expression to Canada’s universities, urging immediate action to prevent further decline.Shepherd criticizes the growing dominance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which she claims are being used as tools to enforce ideological control rather than social progress. .MORGAN: DEI still dominates hiring in Carney's government.She notes that DEI is deeply embedded in universities, often integrated into their mission statements, as seen at Ontario Tech University, and given dedicated spaces like DEI bureaus, such as at Western University. The report argues that these initiatives enforce compelled speech, promote hiring discrimination, and suppress dissenting views, prioritizing activism over academic inquiry.Data from the report highlights that 73% of social science and humanities faculty identify as left-wing, compared to just 4% identifying as right-wing. Additionally, 88% of professors overall vote for left-wing parties.Among right-wing faculty, nearly six-in-ten allege they face a hostile climate in their department because of their beliefs. This imbalance, the report says, fosters a hostile environment for those with differing views, with nearly 60% of right-wing faculty reporting a hostile departmental climate due to their beliefs, compared to only 9% of professors with orthodox “progressive” views..WATCH: Poilievre to demolish DEI in universities.Shepherd goes on to highlight specific examples of ideological conformity, including hiring practices that favour candidates identifying as “queer and two-spirited Indigenous” and policies allegedly excluding white men from prestigious Canada Research Chair positions.The report also criticizes the allocation of public research funds, such as a $446,000 grant for “Queering Leadership, Indigenizing Governance,” which it says prioritizes ideological compliance over academic merit.To address these issues, Shepherd proposes a five-part plan:Enforceable free speech laws modelled on the UK’s Office for Students.Removal of DEI requirements from federal research funding.Creation of alternative educational institutions.Establishment of civics and humanities centers within universities.Government intervention to reform failing institutions.She believes that if Canadians want their universities to welcome free expression and open inquiry, then government action, particularly at the provincial level, is critical to implementing these reforms, as provinces hold legislative authority over education. .USDA ends Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Agriculture Canada stays committed to DEI.She cites past efforts, such as Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s 2018 mandate for the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario to oversee free expression violations and Alberta’s 2019 legislation requiring university-authored free speech policies. However, critics, including University of Calgary political science professor Ian Brodie, PhD., argue that such measures often result in superficial compliance without addressing the root causes of speech suppression. In a 2021 paper, Brodie noted that top-down edicts underestimate the entrenched cultures of universities, which resist meaningful change.“Believing that a government can force any post-secondary institution to change its ways by top-down edict underestimates the durability of university and college cultures in the 21st century,” Brodie said. While Shepherd acknowledges that her proposed solutions are “reasonable” and “attainable,” she admits the challenge is “immense” and change will be incremental. She warns that academia, particularly in the social sciences and humanities, increasingly views free expression as a threat to its “inflexible and unquestionable orthodoxy.”“If we don’t act now,” Shepherd concludes, “even the kinds of moderate reforms we see in the United States will remain distant for Canadians.”
