Frances Widdowson is a Canadian political scientist known for her critiques of Indigenous policy and her questioning of claims about unmarked graves and genocide at Canada's Indian residential schools. [1]
She was an associate professor in the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University (MRU) from 2008 until her termination in December 2021. [1] Widdowson was dismissed following investigations into her social media activity and internal workplace complaints amid widespread backlash over her public statements questioning the evidence for widespread unmarked graves and systemic genocide at residential schools. [2] She argued that 2021 ground-penetrating radar announcements lacked forensic confirmation of human remains and that anomalies were consistent with historical infrastructure such as septic fields and drainage systems—a view that later received wider attention in skeptical analyses and public opinion polling. [3] In October 2024 an arbitrator ruled the termination disproportionate to her conduct and ordered compensation (but not reinstatement). [4]
Widdowson received an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Victoria,[ citation needed ] then a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from York University in 2008. [5]
Widdowson is a critic of certain claims regarding the Indian residential school system, challenging assertions that First Nations children are buried at the Kamloops Residential School in the absence of forensic confirmation. [6] [7] She has questioned whether some survivor stories of abuse, rape and murder may involve false memories. [8] The Canadian House of Commons recognized the residential school system as an act of genocide in 2022 via a unanimous consent motion, a non-binding resolution criticized as symbolic politics lacking debate or forensic evidence. Pope Francis also apologized in 2022 for the Catholic Church's role in running many of Canada's residential schools, though many Indigenous leaders called it insufficient and lacking concrete actions. [7]
Kamloops Residential School
Widdowson has repeatedly questioned the conclusiveness of ground penetrating radar (GPR) used to identify potential graves at the former Kamloops Residential School. She claims "GPR is incredibly inaccurate and is completely inconclusive. You must excavate if you’re going to find what is beneath the soil." [8] Scientists note that GPR, when used with historical cemetery records and survivor testimonials, can be a highly accurate tool, though excavation remains the only definitive method. [8] Widdowson also questions why, despite receiving funding, the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation has not exhumed any human remains. The investigation remains ongoing, with multiple communities collaborating to determine the most appropriate path forward. [8] University of Manitoba Indigenous Studies professor Sean Carleton highlights how “some communities don’t want to pursue [excavation] for a variety of reasons – they don’t want to disturb the dead.” [8]
Campus events
Widdowson, along with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, has led multiple events at university campuses across Canada to discuss her view that the discovery of mass graves at a former Kamloops residential school lacks forensic confirmation. [9]
On December 2, 2025, Widdowson attempted to host an unsanctioned event at the University of Victoria. Supporters gathered without the university's authorization and contrary to explicit warnings from the institution. [10] [11] Event organizers called the Saanich Police Department due to aggressive counter-protesters. A university official informed members of OneBC they were trespassing, and police attempted to escort them off campus for their own safety. [11] Widdowson refused to leave, resulting in her arrest under the Trespass Act. [7] Widdowson and her supporters were met by hundreds of counter-protesters, sharing songs, poetry, and speeches. [7] [10]
On January 22, 2026, Widdowson aimed to hold a similar event at the University of British Columbia outside the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. When she arrived on campus she was vastly outnumbered by counter-protesters, resulting in a tense standoff. [6] Over the course of an hour the RCMP were forced to intervene between protesters who aggressively pushed or shoved one another. Event organizers called police due to escalating violence from the crowd. When it became clear that there were potential safety risks, Campus Security, with the support of the RCMP, directed the visitors to leave the campus for their own safety, stating: "Campus Security, with the support of the RCMP, directed the visitors to leave the campus for their own safety." [12] Widdowson refused to leave and was carried from the scene by an RCMP officer and placed in a police cruiser. She was later released without charges. [6] Dallas Brodie and her supporters were subsequently escorted off campus by RCMP, with authorities providing protection and transporting them by bus. [13]
Widdowson worked as a policy analyst for the government of the Northwest Territories. [14] While she worked in Yellowknife, she became interested in researching Canada's Aboriginal policy, directing her attention towards what she calls the "Aboriginal industry," which includes non-Indigenous lawyers and consultants acting as intermediaries between the government and Indigenous communities. She believes this industry prioritizes compensation and funding discussions over the quality of services provided and that they engage in lengthy legal battles, often lasting decades, during which government personnel change and the needs of the Indigenous communities are overlooked, while the intermediaries profit significantly from the settlements. [5] [15] In 2008, she published Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry with Albert Howard, which discussed these issues. [16]
Widdowson joined the faculty of MRU in 2008. She received tenure in 2011. [17]
While working at MRU, Widdowson criticized the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), [15] particularly regarding residential schooling. She has voiced disagreement with the TRC's conclusion that the schools were "genocidal", [18] as well as stating that the residential school system had educational benefits, [19] [20] despite their harms. [21]
She has claimed Black Lives Matter movement had caused harm to academia. [22]
Considered a "champion of free speech" by some, [18] Widdowson and a number of her colleagues took part in a "Twitter War" in 2020. This led to filings of a series of official complaints about harassment and bullying by Widdowson and also her colleagues. Several investigations determined that Widdowson had made some tweets which constituted harassment and that some of the complaints by Widdowson against her colleagues were substantiated. [17] In July 2021, Widdowson filed a complaint against a colleague regarding his tweets. An investigation concluded in November 2021 that the tweets did not amount to harassment and deemed Widdowson's complaint as "malicious, frivolous, vexatious, and made in bad faith." Widdowson was fired in December 2021. In July 2024, an arbitrator ruled that Mount Royal University's firing of Widdowson was disproportionate to her actions. [17]
In January 2023, the University of Lethbridge canceled a guest lecture by Widdowson titled “How Does Woke-ism Threaten Academic Freedom?” after complaints by students and faculty at the university. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] She returned to the town to give her lecture at the Lethbridge Public Library. [28] In July, Widdowson sued the University of Lethbridge for canceling her scheduled lecture. The lawsuit was filed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. [29]
Widdowson is working a manuscript entitled The Woke Academy: How Advocacy Studies Murder Academic Disciplines and Effective Policy Development. [30]
In May 2025, she co-produced a documentary about Canadian Indian residential school gravesites titled What Remains: Exposing the Kamloops Mass Grave Deception’s. [31]
Widdowson's book Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry was short-listed for the 2008 Donner Prize. [32]
Widdowson is married to Albert Howard. [33]