On November 25, 2025, the University of Guelph canceled the second annual People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity, citing security concerns.

The conference was scheduled for November 29, 2025, in the same location where it had been held without incident the previous year. Approximately 400 people registered for the event, which brought together doctors, professors, poets, lawyers, and labor activists to foster community dialogue and solidarity. Four days before the event, the university sent a blanket email canceling the conference, citing a “reassessment of safety and security.” No further explanation was given. Attendance numbers had not changed from the time the conference venue had been booked, and it was not clear that any other conditions had changed either.

Local businesses ultimately stepped in to support the event, allowing the conference to proceed at nearby churches, community centers, and restaurants.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the cancellation of a previously approved on-campus, academic event. Higher education leaders should respect academic freedom and make space for a diversity of views on campus by refraining from restrictions on academic activity. Where there are legitimate security concerns, the university is obligated to take reasonable available measures to ensure security. In the absence of such concerns, content-based restrictions on otherwise legitimate university events undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/palestinian-solidarity-conference-happens-despite-u-of-g-cancellation-11558193
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2025/12/01/letter-to-the-university-of-guelph-expressing-concern-at-its-last-minute-cancellation-of-the-peoples-conference-for-palestinian-solidarity
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