Federal Conservatives launched a petition to end DEI criteria for government funding, advocating for merit-based prioritization and fiscal discipline.

The petition demands an end to DEI metrics for government funding, aligning with the Conservative plan to restore fiscal discipline, the dismantling of DEI bureaucracies, and the reallocation of taxpayer funds to essential services.

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Tory MP Vincent Ho called for the dismantling of DEI and the restoration of meritocracy in an October 9 social media post promoting his petition.

“End DEI. Restore the merit principle,” added Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

A prominent Québec biochemist and associate professor at the University of Québec has voiced growing frustration among Canadian researchers over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria.

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The Liberal government has spent over $1 billion on DEI programs, diverting funds from essential Canadian services since 2016, Ho told the Epoch Times on October 14.

The petition argues that federally funded research programs linking funding to DEI policies jeopardize academic freedom, stifle dissent, and erode trust in Canadian institutions. It states that research funding "must reward the best ideas—not identity checkboxes."

Ho considers the practice of DEI "incredibly dangerous" to science and progress.

The Liberal government asserts DEI's importance in fostering a safe, inclusive, and discrimination-free workplace. They emphasize that a public service "truly representative" of the people is both vital and urgent.

Prime Minister Mark Carney stated in February that Canadians will continue to prioritize inclusiveness and “remain … true to our values.”

The government states that implementing DEI in federally funded research fosters an "innovative economy" and research that "better addresses the needs of a diverse Canadian population."

Economics Professor David Freeman testified that ‘activist faculty are almost universally … far left.’

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This contradicts a September 24 House of Commons committee meeting that debated federal funding based on DEI criteria, claiming that the policy harms academic integrity. 

University professors Gad Saad and Eric Kaufmann argued that these "woke" policies also deny funding to deserving researchers. Saad called using DEI for research funds "an affront to individual dignity and to research excellence."

“Ideological activism is anathema to research excellence,” Saad said. “Meritocracy is all that matters.”

Earlier that month, Simon Fraser University Economics Professor David Freeman testified that "activist faculty are almost universally left, to the far left," and advocacy-oriented scholarship is susceptible to researcher biases.

MPs are currently scrutinizing criteria for $4.5 billion in annual research grants, Blacklock’s reported.

MP Ho inquired about examples of far-left activism, to which Freeman cited "Marxist scholarship or critical race theory." Freeman also suggested "depoliticizing academia" as a way to safeguard independent research funding, though he admitted it wouldn't be easy.