Chancellor carrying forward the university’s reconciliation commitments. B.C. Conservative leadership candidate vowing to repeal them. How long can Yuri Fulmer be both?
Laura Morales Padilla (she/her) // EIC
Capilano University chancellor Yuri Fulmer struck a deal with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, an MLA who was “kicked out of the Conservatives for comments that former Conservative leader John Rustad said were ‘mocking’ residential school survivors,” according to a March 30 CBC article. Thus far, CapU’s administration has upheld freedom of expression and maintained a position of neutrality regarding Fulmer’s political aspirations, but as his campaign ramps up, so have concerns from the CapU community.
Meanwhile, after Fulmer stated his intention to ban “compelled speech” (including land acknowledgements) in an April 21 X post, a video surfaced showing him participating in land acknowledgements as part of his ceremonial duties as chancellor. This caused backlash from conservatives who had backed his anti-“compelled speech” platform. Both groups—conservatives and the concerned CapU community members—despite holding opposing views on truth and reconciliation, appear to agree that the contradictions are problematic.
Fulmer struck a different tone in 2020, when Capilano University announced him as its fourth chancellor. “Capilano University’s commitment to communities resonates deeply with me,” he said then, adding that he felt “humbled by the honour and responsibility” of the role. Former president Paul Dangerfield described the chancellor’s role as carrying forward the vision, the purpose and the values of the university into the community, in a video released with the Fulmer reappointed announcement in 2023. “He has been an absolute champion of our long-term plan, which is envisioning 2030,” said Dangerfield, referring to a plan that includes “Commitment[s] to Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonizing approaches.”
Fulmer confirmed in the April 8 B.C. Conservative Leadership debate what members of the CapU community had already been witnessing: a stark contradiction between the values he had pledged to carry forward when appointed as chancellor in 2020 and reappointed in 2023, and the new commitments he is making as a candidate to lead the B.C. Conservatives, such as calling the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) “nonsense” and vowing to repeal it and “all of the legislation that surrounds it.” Still, the chancellor page on CapU’s website says, “Fulmer also works hard to personally support Truth & Reconciliation and encourage others to do the same.”
Community Concerns and University Response
Concerns from faculty and staff reached the administration on March 14, when six members of the CapU community who work at the Fulmer Family Centre for Childhood Studies (FFCCS) sent a collective email to other members of their department—as well as the new president—to bring attention to Yuri Fulmer’s public statements. The email stated that the statements appeared to be “in fundamental tension with our University’s commitments to Truth and Reconciliation.” The group prompted a discussion because they believed their concerns warranted institutional-level attention. “We are raising this because we think we have a collective responsibility to reckon with what is being said publicly by those whose names and resources are woven into the fabric of this institution,” they stated.
In an interview with the Courier, CapU’s new president Jason Dewling started by clarifying that he would be speaking on behalf of the university and that “Yuri’s comments as a candidate are his own and they don’t represent Capilano University when he speaks.” When asked about what steps has the university taken to address concerns regarding Yuri Fulmer’s campaign messaging, Dr. Dewling responded that the university provides a space for a diversity of views and has no comment on his political stance. “We just want to reaffirm our values directly to our community,” he added.
An email titled “Where we stand” was sent on April 9 to the CapU community—signed by the president and the Board of Governors Chair—which read, “As an institution that upholds freedom of expression and academic freedom, the university maintains a position of neutrality to foster a safe environment for open and respectful dialogue.” The Courier asked if this email was sent to address concerns around Yuri Fulmer’s campaign messaging. Dr. Dewling explained that the email was meant to address several issues: “The conflict in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as Yuri’s comments in his political campaign, and a variety of perspectives on all those topics,” he said.
When the Courier requested a comment about the “Where we stand” statement to the six community members who work at the FFCCS, they described it as “tepid at best.” According to them, it was received with confusion across campus. “[The statement] felt patronizing to those of us paying attention,” they wrote.
No decision is ever neutral. Silence can be just as consequential as speech and delayed speech can be just as damaging, frankly undermining the very employees who show up with enthusiasm and commitment every day. Do donor relationships matter more than a workplace that responds thoughtfully to the concerns of its people?
— CapU community members who work at FFCCS (Read full statement).
At the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Board of Directors meeting on April 10, Carson Pechawis, Indigenous Students Liaison, voiced their concerns around Fulmer’s comments related to Indigenous peoples and approaches to crime, as they do not align with the university’s values and commitments to reconciliation. Pechawis also referenced the university’s history, “noting that the institution is named after Chief Joe Capilano even though permission was never granted for use of the name and that past decisions have raised questions about whether those commitments have been honoured by the university,” as stated in the meeting minutes. Pechawis also pointed out that Indigenous issues and concerns about private property have become political talking points with a lot of misinformation around them, and urged board members to do their own research to inform themselves.
The CSU board passed a motion instructing staff to present policy and response options for aligning Capilano University building naming decisions with CapU and CSU values. The discussion continued at the April 24 Board of Directors meeting, where a motion was passed to invite Yuri Fulmer to “meet with student executives to discuss his statements and their alignment with CapU’s values before taking further steps.” Other steps included meeting with university leadership, consulting students via surveys and engagement sessions, and advocating for a review of governance and donor naming policies.
Chancellor’s institutional role overlapping with Fulmer’s political campaign
When asked if Fulmer had acknowledged the disconnect between the communication he has been putting out and the university’s values, Dr. Dewling responded that the chancellor “affirms freedom of speech” and that “when he speaks as a candidate, he’s not speaking on behalf of the university.” A letter reaffirming that distinction was sent by Fulmer on March 19 to the president and the Board Chair, but it has not been shared publicly.
An Arts & Sciences faculty member expressed concern by the chancellor seeming “unable or unwilling” to prevent his institutional role from overlapping with his political campaign, in an email sent to the Courier on April 17. The instructor referenced a March 30 Vancouver Sun article, which outlined Fulmer’s partnership with residential school denier Dallas Brodie and identified Fulmer in the subheading as the Capilano University chancellor. “In my view it is appropriate that Chancellor Fulmer step down and refrain from participating in any future public, formal, or ceremonial events at Capilano University,” the faculty member wrote. “In advance of any suggestion that such a view is foreclosing Chancellor Fulmer’s right of political self-expression, it is worth remembering that—similar to Holocaust denialism or genocide—residential school denialism is not a ‘political point of view,’” they added.
When asked if Fulmer’s political campaign activities had interfered with him fulfilling his chancellor responsibilities, Dr. Dewling mentioned that Fulmer could not attend the annual Chancellor’s Dinner due to the B.C. Conservative Leadership Debate taking place on the same day, which is why they ended up changing the name to Presidents’ Dinner.
During the April 28 Board of Governors meeting, the Board Chair reflected on how the challenges ahead are an opportunity to reflect on what the values of the university are, as they are what matter the most in his opinion. “Values dictate how you make decisions. Values require you to hold yourself accountable and to look in the mirror,” the Chair said. Moreover, he stated that “decisions are only made by those who show up,” and that being able to stand up for other people is a privilege that should not be wasted. Fulmer has also referred to serving CapU as Chancellor as a privilege; however, according to Board of Governors meeting minutes from 2023 to 2025, Fulmer attended five of 16 meetings.
The separation between Fulmer’s political messaging and the university blurs
When asked if the name “Fulmer Family Centre for Childhood Studies” is jeopardizing the university’s apolitical or neutral stance, considering Yuri Fulmer’s political involvement, the president responded that the university receives money from a variety of people that hold different political stances. “We don’t go hunting down every single person who donates to the university to find out their stance,” he said, mentioning former president Greg Lee as an example. “I personally don’t know his political stances either, but we have a road named after him,” he noted.
In an email exchange with the Courier, Crawford Kilian, a founding faculty member of then Capilano College, helped recall the circumstances under which CapU’s street was named after the former president who led the institution’s transition from college to university.
“Greg Lee got the street named after him solely because of his service at Cap,” Kilian wrote. “I never heard him express a preference for one political position or another. Come to that, I don’t recall any senior administrator advocate for one political party or another.”
Still, Kilian recognized that Fulmer would have every right to run for the B.C. Conservative leadership. But he drew a distinction between faculty and the chancellor, describing the latter role as “a kind of political patronage.” As an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors, the chancellor is expected to maintain harmony with the government that appointed them. On the other hand, “Faculty were perfectly free to express political opinions,” Kilian noted, providing the example of Gordon Wilson, a full-time Cap instructor who rebuilt the B.C. Liberals in the 1980s. “[Wilson] got all over the province on his own time to do it,” he recalled.
“Having a building named after a current prospective political leader (Yuri) is also not neutrality,” wrote Dr. David Matijasevich—political science instructor—to the Courier on April 10. According to Dr. Matijasevich, the freedom of expression argument doesn’t hold up when the institution has made a commitment to neutrality. “If neutrality doesn’t apply to the names of buildings on campus,” he questioned—noting that buildings are institutional in the most physical, lasting way—”where is this neutrality to be found?” When it comes to defending freedom of expression, Dr. Matijasevich clarified that the issue is not having a campus member holding or promoting conservative views, “it is about the university as an institution promoting those who espouse [these views].”
Another issue that put into question the clear separation of the chancellor’s political campaign from the university’s values was a campaign video shared in Fulmer’s social media in which the campus is used as backdrop, specifically the inside and outside of the Fulmer Family Centre for Childhood Studies. When the evidence was shared with the president, he stated that “The university did not authorize or participate in the creation of any campaign materials, and any political messaging contained within them reflects the views of the campaign alone, not those of CapU.” Dr. Dewling also confirmed that the images were not created by or owned by the University and suggested that further questions regarding the campaign’s choice of filming locations or use of imagery are best directed to the campaign team.
Fulmer’s Response (and Non-Response) to Media Inquiries
As reported on March 1, the Courier contacted Yuri Fulmer’s campaign team with a list of questions about his political commitments and their compatibility with his role as chancellor. Fulmer declined to comment. His campaign team explained: “He wants to have a clear separation between that role and his candidacy and therefore does not wish to be seen as politicizing the position by having a feature about him as a candidate in the campus paper.”
The Courier reached out to CapU’s Senior Communications and Government Relations Officer to request an interview with Mr. Fulmer. The officer asked for questions in advance to consider the request, and the Courier sent them on April 21. The questions only referenced the chancellor’s political platform to establish the context for community concerns. Nevertheless, the response stated: “After reviewing [the questions], we’ve noted that they are largely focused on Mr. Fulmer’s political activities and leadership campaign. We ask that you please contact Mr. Fulmer directly should you wish to pursue them further.”
In short: When contacted through his campaign team, Fulmer refuses to answer questions related to his chancellor responsibilities. When contacted through the university’s channels, he is not made available for an interview if the questions touch on his political activities.
Fine and Applied Arts instructor David Geary, originally from the New Zealand Maori tribe Taranaki, described the chancellor’s strategy as “a well-worn playbook” that consists of “speak to hot-button issues” to try and take over the news cycle. While Geary affirmed that “Yuri has the right to believe and say whatever he likes on the campaign trail,” he also wished that, while still chancellor, Fulmer joined a private circle with CapU Elders to explain his positions on matters relating to Indigenous Peoples. “No cameras, no transcript, no media moments,” he wrote to the Courier on April 14. “Then have the Elders advise our CapU community on what they learnt and would recommend we do,” he added.
What comes next
For the last six years, Fulmer has been “conferring credentials and performing other official ceremonial duties,” according to Capilano University’s chancellor page. At CapU, no event begins without a land acknowledgement—defined by the university’s own land acknowledgement guide as “a necessarily political statement which recognizes the ongoing relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the land within the context of colonialism.” On April 24, however, Fulmer posted a video on his campaign social media channels defending himself from a previously undisclosed video—which had just been posted publicly by another candidate—showing his participation in land acknowledgements. The video starts by describing the regulations and mandates that have made the “political establishment” in B.C. so problematic, to then claim, “When you lead a major university, those same government systems force you to read their performative land acknowledgements.” By the end, it states, “But Yuri is done reading their scripts. He’s absolutely sick of the fake performative politics that punish hard work. He’s running for premier for a simple reason: to take a sledgehammer to the system those same insiders built.”
The university has so far responded by reaffirming its values without sanctioning Fulmer. But even though there is no clear line separating freedom of expression from a breach of the chancellor’s duty, the Fulmer case has created a need to draw those lines more clearly. The University Act states: “The members of the board of a university must act in the best interests of the university.” It does not specify that actions are limited to the physical bounds of the campus, and community concerns call on the administration to create policies preventing similar situations moving forward. When asked if the administration is looking into creating such policies, the president said yes: “The board is going to take the opportunity to review this situation and see if there needs to be some adjustments to their policies.”
In the meantime, can CapU’s existing policies and values accommodate Fulmer’s campaign platform as separate from the university’s reconciliation commitments if he refuses to deliver a land acknowledgement at the next ceremonial event? Community members’ concerns suggest that silence has been perceived not as neutrality, but as a choice in the chancellor’s favour. With the president’s installation coming up on Thursday, May 7, community members will be watching closely.