UWOFA Solidarity Statement in Response to Trump Administration Threats

April 3rd, 2025

The University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA), representing 1,700 faculty members, librarians, and archivists at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada stands united in condemning the actions of the Trump administration to target marginalized people, interfere in university affairs, research, and teaching in the United States, and undermine the integrity and independence of academic research in Canada.

We call on each other and academics across Canada to reconsider attending professional events in the United States and reconsider academic activity with organizations and researchers in the U.S. This is not only a form of protest in the withholding of our bodies, ideas and our research dollars; it is an act of solidarity with those for whom travel to the United States is not a political choice, but a question of personal safety and well-being. It is also a gesture of support for those whose academic livelihoods are at risk due to the marginalization and defunding of their research.

We encourage each other to reflect not only on our own participation in U.S. based events, but also on the increasing vulnerability of other members of our research teams – including students and post-doctoral fellows – who face escalating repressive conditions in the United States.

For those of us who are adjusting or cancelling research and knowledge mobilization plans that involve U.S. travel, we call on our Employer to negotiate a Performance Evaluation process, similar to the COVID-19 “checklist”, that acknowledges how the hostile scholarly climate in the United States has impacted research production and academic work, both now and in the future.

On behalf of our Members and of all University community members who may face interrogation and possible detention at the United States border, we call on our governments and our Employer to publicly support the rights of faculty, librarians and archivists, students, and staff to travel freely and return to their homes without harassment or barriers. For those researchers who may need to flee U.S. institutions due to persecution, we urge the Western administration to resume and reinforce our joint work through Scholars At Risk, and to establish fast-track enrollment processes for vulnerable students seeking refuge.