The George Jonas Freedom Award
Celebrate freedom 2025
The George Jonas Freedom Award honours champions of freedom and individual rights. Join us for an inspiring evening with Dr. Frances Widdowson and selected keynote speakers in each location. Past award recipients include: Ezra Levant, Jordan Peterson, Tamara Lich, Christie Blatchford and Mark Steyn.
2025 Recipient
Dr. Frances Widdowson
Author, academic, and conversationalist, Dr. Frances Widdowson is a champion of open inquiry, freedom of expression, and justice for the vulnerable.
During her time as policy analyst for the Government of Northwest Territories, Dr. Widdowson challenged what she called an “Aboriginal Industry” in which non-indigenous consultants and lawyers raked in huge profits while failing to provide indigenous communities with housing, education, healthcare, and water.
During her tenure at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Dr. Widdowson educated the next generation while continuing her own research on the causes of significant socioeconomic disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.
Her activity is not limited to the classroom, however. Dr. Widdowson is a bold advocate for open dialogue and inquiry on university campuses that have become increasingly quick to censor and control public discussion.
With help from the Justice Centre, Dr. Widdowson is suing the University of Lethbridge in Alberta after the University cancelled her talk on “How Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom.”
Dr. Widdowson combines her quick mind with a critical mission to reclaim Canada’s campuses from censorship and blind consensus.