Seven months after being mobbed and arrested on the University of Victoria campus, former professor Frances Widdowson has had her trespassing ticket withdrawn. Saanich Police Inspector Andy Stuart informed Widdowson in a letter last week that he had requested a stay of proceedings, meaning she is no longer required to attend court.
Background of the Incident
On December 2, 2025, Widdowson walked onto the UVic campus to hold an outdoor free speech discussion about what she calls the unmarked graves claim. She was accompanied by OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, another prominent critic of the claim. Widdowson referred to the planned event as a street epistemology, part of a series of such events she has held at Canadian university campuses since being fired by Mount Royal University in 2021.
The day before, acting UVic president Robina Thomas condemned the event as a divisive public talk that was not sanctioned by the university and not authorized to take place on campus. Thomas expressed condolences to those experiencing harm due to Widdowson's impending arrival and reaffirmed the university's pledge to uphold ʔetalnəw̓əl, which according to UVic's strategic plan means respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationship with all things.
Protest and Arrest
An estimated 1,000 protesters gathered on campus to interdict the discussion, which an APTN crew covering the event referred to as a denialism rally. APTN's coverage showed members of Widdowson's entourage being pelted with orange smoke bombs, yelled at through bullhorns, and having a sign reading what remains stolen by a masked demonstrator. Widdowson had barely reached the university's Petch Fountain before Saanich Police arrested her, removed her from campus, and issued a Failure to Leave Premises ticket under B.C.'s Trespass Act.
Legal Resolution
In a statement Wednesday, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which has been handling Widdowson's case, said the stay concludes the prosecution but leaves unresolved broader questions that had been expected to arise through litigation. The statement implied that lawyers had intended to use the ticket to press a charter challenge regarding free expression on Canadian university campuses. Because the prosecution is being stayed, that question will not be decided in this case.
Widdowson's Criticism of Unmarked Graves Claim
Widdowson was an early critic of the 2021 claim that 215 children's graves were found at the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. In a 2025 video posted to her YouTube channel, she called the event the Kamloops Mass Grave Deception.
