UPEI profs already starting to heed association's warning to avoid U.S. travel

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Prince Edward Island's university professors and students are among those being warned to debar question to the United States, with stories being shared of Canadians moving into occupation astatine the border.

Peter McInnis is simply a past prof astatine St. Francis Xavier University successful Nova Scotia arsenic good arsenic the president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, which represents much than 72,000 professors astatine 125 universities crossed the country.  

"In our 75 years of existence, this is the archetypal clip we've issued specified an advisory saying, 'If you don't person to spell to the United States, don't,'" helium said. 

McInnis said Canadians travelling arsenic tourists are improbable to look immoderate further difficulties, but that's not the lawsuit for academics.

"U.S. customs officials are scrutinizing professors and we're usually going determination for work-related issues," helium said, giving arsenic examples attending conferences, doing research, oregon exchanging probe with American colleagues.

It's not conscionable Canadians who are being targeted, McInnis said.

"It's international, arsenic the Americans are tightening their borders and specifically targeting groups they deliberation are perchance trouble-makers oregon dissenters oregon not agreeing with their peculiar view, which includes america arsenic academics."

Margot Rejskind, the enforcement manager of UPEI's Faculty Association, said she has already changed immoderate question plans owed to these risks.

"I personally would not question to the United States astatine this point. I admit that I'm progressive successful unions, I've been outspoken astir EDI [equity, diverseness and inclusion] topics and things similar that," she said.

"I don't deliberation they would instrumentality kindly to maine close now, truthful I person really changed my question plans for this outpouring and I won't beryllium attending immoderate conferences."

Rejskind said she hasn't heard immoderate idiosyncratic fearfulness stories from University of Prince Edward Island unit oregon students, but points retired that the busiest play for travelling hasn't gotten started yet.

"The semester is conscionable finishing truthful astir radical who mightiness beryllium going to transverse the borderline for nonrecreational reasons volition apt commencement to bash that successful May, June, July. That's truly [when] the league play truly starts."

Dr. Jessica Strong, an adjunct prof successful the Department of Clinical Psychology astatine UPEI, said the CAUT question advisory was not astonishing but inactive concerning.

"I felt a small spot down astir it, being an American and having household there. Expected but yeah, a downer." 

Strong said she has already made question plans that exclude the U.S.

"I really person a sabbatical coming up this twelvemonth truthful I had been making plans to beryllium successful Australia anyway," she said. "That benignant of helped professionally, that I wasn't readying to spell back."

Although U.S. customs agents are present successful immoderate cases checking physics devices of Canadians seeking to enter the States for posts captious of the Trump administration's actions, Strong said that wouldn't deter her from speaking out.

"I deliberation if anything, I would astir apt beryllium much outspoken astir acting against what's going connected down there."

McInnis said helium has heard a workfellow from a assemblage successful Western Canada talking astir ways of evading having idiosyncratic devices searched astatine the border.

"Their assemblage volition supply burner phones — that is, benignant of pre-paid phones with thing connected them and laptops that are stripped retired of material, the slightest imaginable grounds that the U.S. officials tin look at." 

McInnis said posts that are deemed "problematic" can pb to Canadians being denied entranceway to the country.

"I don't deliberation it's alarmist connected our part; we're doing our owed diligence," helium said of the warning.

"It's risky and that's the ineligible sentiment we're getting arsenic well."

Rejskind said this is not conscionable astir Canadians travellers. 

"Some of our disciplines, including the veterinary school, [are] accredited done an American association, due to the fact that our disciplines are tiny capable that successful Canada it doesn't marque consciousness to person their own," she said.

"Academic conferences, accreditations… getting your papers published — all of those things are affected by things that are going connected successful the U.S. close now."