Trump is demanding universities change policies or face defunding. Would Poilievre do the same?

Mark Gollom · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening to cancel backing for immoderate universities unless they accede to his demands to alteration ideological policy, akin to a pledge Pierre Poilievre has made for Canadian post-secondary schools.

But truthful far, the Conservative leader has been sparse connected details of exactly what benignant of enactment helium mightiness take.

Trump's demands, which have sparked condemnation about interference in academic freedom, made headlines this week aft the White House said it's freezing much than $2.2 cardinal US successful grants and $60 cardinal successful contracts to Harvard University.

This came after Harvard president Alan Gerber refused to comply with the White House demands, saying successful a missive that the assemblage "will not surrender its independency oregon relinquish its law rights."

Poilievre, meanwhile, has besides threatened to defund universities implicit what helium perceives arsenic their ideological slant. In a Christmas Eve tweet connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, Poilievre said helium would "defund wokism and combat antisemitism."

'Put an extremity to woke ideology'

That tweet was linked to a telephone interview helium gave WinnipegJewishReview.com in which helium was quoted arsenic saying helium won't tolerate and volition defund "all of those with a woke anti-Semitic agenda" including universities that receive national funding, arsenic good arsenic each federally funded museums. 

He reiterated a akin pledge connected March 26 erstwhile the party released its Quebec platform, saying a Conservative authorities would "put an extremity to the imposition of woke ideology successful the national civilian work and successful the allocation of national funds for assemblage research."

The pledge prompted the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to merchandise a connection "expressing alarm" implicit Poilievre's promise to interfere successful the allocation of national probe funding.

"It's worrying that a person of a governmental enactment successful Canada would effort to dictate however probe funds volition beryllium granted," said David Robinson, CAUT's enforcement director. "We've seen the interaction of this governmental meddling southbound of the borderline wherever the Trump medication has launched a full-scale battle connected universities and the technological community. This benignant of American-style civilization warfare has nary spot successful Canada."

Beginning with Columbia University, the Trump medication has rebuked post-secondary institutions crossed the U.S. implicit their handling of the pro-Palestinian pupil protestation question that roiled campuses past twelvemonth pursuing the 2023 Hamas-led onslaught wrong Israel and the consequent Israeli attacks connected Gaza.

Trump has called the protests anti-American and antisemitic, accused universities of peddling Marxism and "radical left" ideology, and promised to extremity national grants and contracts to universities that bash not hold to his administration's demands.

On April 3, the White House issued a database of demands to Harvard that included a prohibition connected look masks, limitations connected field protests and a reappraisal of world departments' biases. About a week later, those demands were expanded to see enactment reforms, changes to admittance argumentation and an extremity to the university's designation of definite pupil organizations.

The school's president said Harvard has already made extended reforms to code antisemitism, but that galore of the government's demands don't subordinate to antisemitism and alternatively are an effort to modulate the "intellectual conditions" astatine Harvard.

The roots of 'woke'

While Poilievre has not released immoderate details of his projected plans, helium inactive seems to beryllium taking lessons from the U.S. with threats to defund, said Patrick McCurdy, an subordinate prof of connection astatine the University of Ottawa.

"I would instrumentality it earnestly successful the aforesaid mode that he has doubled down and is superior astir his threats to defund the CBC," McCurdy said. "It's thing that radical should wage attraction to."

McCurdy was besides portion of a probe survey that examined the improvement of anti-woke sermon successful debates wrong the House of Commons from 2019 to 2023. 

Their introspection of Hansard records revealed that in 2019, determination were only two mentions of the connection "woke." By 2023, the Conservatives' usage of the connection had accrued to 63 times, with Poilievre responsible for 33 instances that year, their survey found.

As McCurdy noted successful a caller nonfiction he co-wrote for Policy Options, the word "woke" is rooted successful the African-American acquisition of racialized unit and primitively meant being alert of radical injustice. Progressives past adopted it to encompass broader societal injustices related to feminist, LGBTQ+ and intersectional concerns, helium said.

But the connection has since been co-opted as a derogatory word utilized against some who beforehand specified societal justness concerns, and are accused of being fixated oregon authoritarian connected issues including individuality authorities and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies.

McCurdy's article, titled "The galore dangers of Pierre Poilievre's warfare connected 'woke,'" argues that his argumentation pledges specified as defunding universities over ideology are just "part an exploitative strategy designed to stoke fears and resentment, entrench divisions and legitimize utmost positions successful mainstream politics."

A 'threat to world freedom'

"I would beryllium funny successful speechmaking however helium mightiness suggest this ... [and] however this militates against the state of researchers, academics and universities to bash their research," McCurdy told CBC News successful a telephone interview. "It's certainly a menace to world freedom."

The Conservatives person spoken successful the past about defunding universities implicit their field policies. During his enactment run successful 2017, Andrew Scheer said helium would pull federal backing from universities that failed to uphold escaped speech, "shut down statement and can't basal antithetic points of view."

This came successful effect to instances wherever anti-abortion and pro-Israel events were turned distant from assemblage campuses after protests erupted.

Poilievre would aboriginal travel up with a akin pledge during his 2022 enactment run successful which helium said if universities privation to support their national probe grants, they'll request to support world state and warrant escaped code connected campus. He besides said helium would name a "free code guardian" to guarantee universities were pursuing those principles.

As for his existent argumentation pledges, the Conservative Party did not respond to questions from CBC News asking for more details. 

Stéphane Sérafin, an adjunct prof of instrumentality astatine the University of Ottawa who believes that woke ideology is a occupation at universities, said the Liberal authorities has been precise assertive successful imposing ideological requirements connected probe that includes EDI initiatives.

But helium said he's unsure what exactly Poilievre is contemplating.

"I would presume that astatine the precise slightest they'd beryllium looking to region the benignant of EDI requirements that person been added to those probe funds. Beyond that, I tin lone speculate."

Sérafin questioned whether a Conservative authorities would adhd requirements that comply with their ideological preferences, oregon if it would simply defund universities.

"Does helium privation to defund everything, oregon does helium lone privation to people circumstantial programs?" Sérafin asked of Poilievre's intentions.

"He's ne'er benignant of explicitly laid retired a program for however this would beryllium done," helium said. "It's benignant of similar 1 of those issues wherever the devil really is successful the details."