An incident unfolded at the University of British Columbia involving the OneBC political party, where its leader and several supporters were escorted by police onto a waiting bus after being surrounded in a building by opponents for almost an hour.
During duelling events on campus Thursday afternoon, Andy Lin, among the thousand participants, expressed frustration at the situation, stating, “We chased them out. And now, they’re hiding in a public building. It’s really upsetting for me to witness these individuals coming here to cause chaos… we have one of the top schools in the nation, fostering a productive society, and they’re here just to create chaos. So, naturally, I will voice my opinion.”
On January 20, OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie announced an event at the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, emphasizing the importance of discussions and debates for the pursuit of truth. A supporter of the event, Frances Widdowson, criticized UBC for allegedly promoting falsehoods about unmarked graves, which she claimed compromised academic values.
Brodie, reinstated as party leader in December following an internal dispute, currently serves as the sole MLA for OneBC. She established OneBC in March 2025 after being expelled from the B.C. Conservative Party for purportedly mocking former residential school students.
In the lead-up to the event, opposition to it mobilized, with social media posts urging solidarity with survivors rather than framing it as a counter-protest.
UBC intervened, directing OneBC to leave the campus due to safety concerns, with RCMP and campus security personnel overseeing the situation. Subsequently, a OneBC supporter was briefly detained and then released without charges. The remaining supporters moved towards the UBC Aquatic Centre lobby, leading to a standoff as Campus Security restricted access.
TransLink supported the police request to remove approximately 50 individuals from the UBC campus for safety reasons. As tensions escalated, chants of “get off our campus” reverberated as a TransLink bus departed with Brodie and her supporters.
Brodie did not comment on the situation but shared an interview from inside the Aquatic Centre, describing the event as successful amidst the commotion. She emphasized the importance of raising awareness about current issues to Canadians and British Columbians.
The event sparked significant attention and discussions surrounding truth and reconciliation efforts, highlighting the complexities of engaging in such dialogues within academic institutions.
