Protecting Open Inquiry in Canada

All of us want our colleges and universities to be places of vibrant exploration, intellectual safe havens where minds can be free. Faculty and students across Canada should be able to research fearlessly and learn in environments that foster open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.

But those ideals are sometimes thwarted by the reality of constraints—constraints imposed by well-intended regulators, earnest advocates, and understandably nervous administrators. In many places, faculty report feeling overwhelmed by pressures to adhere to groupthink in their units and their disciplines. A majority of over 1,500 Canadian students surveyed by HxA in 2024 report being afraid to broach controversial topics and to express their ideas in class.

So, how do we make things better?

At HxA, we are working with our members and partners in Canada to reach for improvement, to fix problematic policies that stifle inquiry and expression, to free minds up to do the work they need to do. We are teaming up to start critical conversations about the problems and to foster solutions.

Canadian faculty have been taking the lead in this work, creating HxA Campus Communities at Simon Fraser University, McGill University, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, Laval University, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Toronto, and McMaster University. On these schools’ campuses, HxA members are working together to support each other in efforts to tackle the undue constraints on inquiry and dialogue.

With over 500 HxA members across Canadian institutions of higher education, Canada is our second most member populated country behind the United States.

Do Canadian college and university students feel comfortable discussing controversial issues with peers? Do they feel free to disagree with their instructors during class discussions of political issues? To find out this and more, HxA partnered with College Pulse to administer our Campus Expression Survey to 1,548 undergraduate students across Canada. 

Canadian students are reluctant to engage in discussions about sensitive issues. Over 54% reported reluctance to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 51% shy away from transgender issues, and 45% avoid political conversations altogether. 

Our results suggest that there is a culture of fear about speaking up: 63% of respondents reported fearing at least one formal consequence if they expressed their honest thoughts and opinions in class. But, at the same time, a majority said they were in favor of limits on free expression as a means to protect people.

The results from the 2024 Canadian Campus Expression Survey raise important questions about how the climate of higher education institutions can foster environments that promote open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement for all students across Canada.

Our Campus Community Network brings HxA members on a single campus together to promote the values of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve research and higher education. These Campus Communities provide opportunities to work with peers to foster positive cultural change at the local level.

Campus Communities range in size, with each being led by 2-4 HxA member co-chairs. Some receive financial aid and other types of assistance from HxA. Experience tells us that, over time, these campus-based communities grow and develop in different ways, depending on the unique opportunities and challenges of each institution.

But in all cases, members work together to support each other in the work of showcasing and modeling the values of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement. Many find this networking provides a critical basis for the work of improving institutional policies, practices, and culture.

What does the work of an HxA Campus Community typically look like? Co-chairs connect and convene HxA members of a campus, hosting monthly gatherings to plan, socialize, and share experiences and advice. Campus Communities also often host academic activities and practical workshops that align with the values of academic freedom and free expression. They work with institutional leaders to develop and improve the policies and practices that shape the intellectual culture of institutions. And they recruit peers to the cause.

HxA Campus Communities in Canada include:

• Simon Fraser University

• McGill University

• University of Toronto

• McMaster University

• University of British Columbia - Okanagan

• Laval University

• Wilfrid Laurier University

If you are faculty or an administrator at a Canadian institution of higher education or are enrolled in graduate studies at a Canadian university, we encourage you to join HxA and then join your HxA Campus Community. Don’t see your institution on the list? Consider partnering with other HxA members on your campus to form a new Campus Community.

Note: Campus Communities are not necessarily officially sanctioned by their university.

HxA hosts nearly 30 HxCommunities that facilitate connection among HxA members who advance our principles and values within a shared discipline or academic setting.

The purpose of the Heterodox Canada peer community is to bring together people in a variety of educational institutions and positions, and in a broad range of disciplines, who are proponents of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.

Heterodox Canada hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including their annual conference in collaboration with the McGill Campus Community. The two-day April 2024 conference about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Canadian universities drew nearly 200 attendees.

Participants in the Heterodox Canada community must be affiliated with a college, university, or library in Canada as a graduate student or through current employment. Interested in joining? Fill out this form.