Why was the University of Calgary mentioned several times in the Epstein Files?
By Matthew Johnson, April 2 2026—
After the release of over 3.5 million files relating to the investigation of known child sex offender Jefferey Epstein, the Gauntlet has reviewed documents that have shown the University of Calgary and members of the campus community mentioned several times.
The release of documents is in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law that required the U.S. Department of Justice to release all files, commonly referred to as the Epstein files.
The release by the Department of Justice has been criticized by victims of Epstein for the slow release of documents.
This follows as other post-secondaries in Canada have also been mentioned in the files, with Concordia University also being mentioned seven times, as reported by the Concordian.
The appearance of the names of people or organizations in relation to the files does not show wrongdoing.
It is also important to report that it is unclear from the documents reviewed, whether or not anyone had met or conversed with Epstein. However, it does show the range of people he had access to or wanted access to, at the least.
Trilateral Commission & Richard F. Haskayne
One instance reveals Epstein as a part of the Trilateral Commission back in 2008, which was founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller. The commission had leadership members from North America, Europe and Asia, as stated by the commission on its website. The commission had former and at the time current political leadership and members of the business and academic community of the board.
Epstein as a member sat on the commission’s North America Group. Members of the exclusive group included Richard F. Haskayne, businessman and namesake of the Haskayne School of Business here at the U of C.
It is unclear at this time if Epstein and Haskayne had any sort of relationship, or were just merely members on the commission together.
Conferences & Epstein’s connections to the world of academics
Another is an invite in 2018 to the Science of Consciousness Conference held by Stuart Hameroff, a former anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Arizona.
University of Calgary professor, Dr. Christoph Simon, was one of the speakers at the conference, speaking on the panel “Physics and Consciousness I” at the event.
Again, it is unclear whether or not Epstein had attended the event that Simon was speaking at. Conferences such as these are commonplace in the world of academia, and a part of the job of researchers is to attend and speak at these conferences.
Epstein was known for having deep ties into the world of academia, even going so far as to provide funding to researchers and professors at post-secondary institutions. However, there is no clear evidence that Epstein has ever provided funding to academics or other projects at the University of Calgary.
Epstein & AI
Epstein himself was known for wanting to be close to that world and have the image of the intellectual be validated by members of the institutions themselves, which is why we have seen those knowingly and unknowingly a part of his orbit.
Another instance comes simply from being sent a copy of a conversation on artificial intelligence (AI) that U of C professor Dr. Stuart Kauffman participated in online.
Epstein shared the conversation with Joi Ito, former Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Labs and professor at MIT. Epstein recommended these academics as potential candidates for some project, but it is unclear from the documents themselves what the project is.
Ito has since issued an apology on the MIT Media Labs website.
It remains unclear from the trove of documents released if Kauffman had a conversation with Ito or Epstein in regards to any project on artificial intelligence.
With the world of academia being so small, it is not difficult for researchers and academics to be in the same room without having a direct relationship with other attendees.
The university administration did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.