As Albertans prepare to vote in the Oct. 19 provincial referendum, the University of Calgary has reminded the community of its rules around partisan political activity, while maintaining that members of the university community can participate in the political process individually.
The U of C’s existing policies allow members of its community to engage in partisan political activity, although the rules differ depending on who’s participating and what university resources are being utilized. Students and student clubs are permitted to organize and participate in political activities, while staff and academic staff have the caveat that they must fulfil their responsibilities simultaneously.
Academic staff also have protections for research and teaching through academic freedom, which allows them the right to “examine, to question, to teach, to learn, to investigate, to speculate, to comment, to criticize, to write, to publish and like freely, without pressure, direct or indirect, to conform to or defer to prescribed doctrines, and recognize the right of academic staff to engage in these activities.”
Under its Partisan Political Activities Policy, the university describes itself as a non-partisian organization and does not support or endorse political parties, candidates or referendum questions at any level of government. The policy still allows students, employees and academic staff to engage in political activity themselves.
For students, the main restriction is prohibiting the use of university resources for partisan political activities. This includes using university resources to volunteer for a political entity, participate in campaign events, fundraise for or run for office.
Similarly, student clubs can also engage in partisan politics but cannot use university funds for those activities and must abide by relevant Students’ Union or Graduate Students' Association rules. Clubs cannot use university resources to fundraise or solicit political donations.
Political events themselves are allowed on campus. Students, student clubs, employees and academic staff can use university facilities for partisan activities as long as they follow the Use of University Facilities for Non-Academic Purposes Policy and the university is not subsidizing the cost.
Hosting those events does not mean the U of C agrees with what is being said at them. The university's Statement on Free Expression specifically notes that the use of university facilities by an individual or organization does not imply university endorsement of the views expressed.
More broadly, the statement gives members of the university community the freedom to “investigate, comment, listen, gather, challenge and critique,” subject to Canadian law and university policies. It also says the university does not shield its members from views they may find controversial, offensive or objectionable.
For staff and faculty, political participation comes with some additional conditions. Academic staff, appointees and employees can participate in partisan political activities as private citizens; but they cannot use university resources, must continue fulfilling their responsibilities to the university and cannot participate in a way that would lead a reasonable person to believe they are representing the university’s stance.
Academic staff, however, also operate under academic freedom protections. The Partisan Political Activity Policy says it is not intended to interfere with academic freedom and distinguishes partisan activity from academic, research, knowledge mobilization or teaching activities that fall within a person’s university role.
That distinction is particularly relevant during a referendum where the university itself is also producing research on the issue. The Alberta government selected the U of C’s School of Public Policy to conduct an independent analysis of the potential fiscal and economic impacts of Alberta leaving Canada. U of C has said the school is using academic expertise to produce evidence-based analysis, while the university itself will take no position on the referendum.
The University Position on Statements explains how those pieces are intended to fit together. The U of C generally limits official statements to matters directly related to university operations. This Includes core academic and research functions, or issues where a formal position has already been adopted through university governance. The same approach applies to faculties, departments, councils, offices and other administrative units.
“A university is not one voice, but many,” the statement reads. While the university limits itself to neutrality, members of the university community remain free to take positions for themselves.
