Frances Widdowson

Frances Widdowson (born 1966) is a Canadian political scientist. She was an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University (MRU) from 2008 until her termination in 2021 after an investigation into claims of harassment by Widdowson against a faculty member.

Widdowson is a skeptic of certain claims regarding the Indian residential school system, challenging assertions that First Nations children are buried at the Kamloops Residential School.

Education Widdowson received an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Victoria, then a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from York University in 2008. While she worked in Yellowknife, she became interested in researching Canada's Aboriginal policy, directing her attention towards what she calls the "Aboriginal industry," which includes non-Indigenous lawyers and consultants acting as intermediaries between the government and Indigenous communities. She believes this industry prioritizes compensation and funding discussions over the quality of services provided and that they engage in lengthy legal battles, often lasting decades, during which government personnel change and the needs of the Indigenous communities are overlooked, while the intermediaries profit significantly from the settlements.

In 2008, she published Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry with Albert Howard, which discussed these issues. Peter Kulchyski, professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, writing for Canadian Dimension, gave the book a negative review, commenting, "There are moments, however, when their ethnocentrism does slide over into overt racism, like when they begin chapter ten, on traditional knowledge, with a discussion of the book Why Cats Paint, effectively implying that elders have the same absence of ability to think as cats have to create art", and that the authors "blithely ignore what is historically inconvenient to their argument—namely, history."

Widdowson joined the faculty of MRU in 2008. She received tenure in 2011.

While working at MRU, Widdowson questioned the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), as well as stating that the residential school system had educational benefits, despite their harms.

In 2020, she said the Black Lives Matter movement caused "destroyed" the university.

Considered a "champion of free speech" by some, She returned to the town to give her lecture at the Lethbridge Public Library. In July, Widdowson sued the University of Lethbridge for canceling her scheduled lecture. The lawsuit was filed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

Widdowson is working a manuscript entitled The Woke Academy: How Advocacy Studies Murder Academic Disciplines and Effective Policy Development.

Widdowson is skeptical of certain claims regarding the Indian residential school system, challenging assertions that First Nations children are buried at the Kamloops Residential School in the absence of forensic confirmation. Widdowson has repeatedly questioned the conclusiveness of ground penetrating radar (GPR) used to identify potential graves at the former Kamloops Residential School. She has written "GPR is incredibly inaccurate and is completely inconclusive. You must excavate if you’re going to find what is beneath the soil."

She has attended several campus events in British Columbia related to the residential school gravesites, often challenged by counter-protesters and requiring police presence.

Awards and honours Widdowson's book Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry was short-listed for the 2008 Donner Prize.

Personal life Widdowson is married to Albert Howard.

Books with Albert Howard Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (2008) editor Approaches to Aboriginal Education in Canada: Searching for Solutions (2013) Separate but Unequal: How Parallelist Ideology Conceals Indigenous Dependency (2019) editor Indigenizing the University: Diverse Perspectives (2021)