Montreal’s McGill University will begin cutting ties with the campus student union after members prevented students from attending classes and vandalized property during a three-day anti-Israel protest on campus last week.
Interim deputy provost Angela Campbell said the university and SSMU have a contractual agreement that either party can end after mediation attempts.
SSMU president Dymetri Taylor said mediation will begin in the next two weeks, a process that could last months.
If the contract is cancelled, the union could lose access to university spaces, club services, and printing student papers.
Organizations established under the union’s umbrella may also be required to drop the McGill name.
McGill has cited concerns over vandalism, intimidation, and disruptions associated with the recent protests.
Campbell said during the demonstrations, dozens of classes were interrupted, a window was smashed, and red paint was sprayed inside an office, with a staff member reportedly hit by it.
“These tactics do nothing to support or advance the causes they purport to advance,” Campbell wrote in a message to students. “They divide our community and threaten to foment hate.”
SSMU represents over 20,000 undergraduates and has defended its position, saying it does not control the actions of individual students.
Taylor claimed that the union had called for peaceful protests and should not be blamed for those individuals who violated the student code of conduct.
McGill has taken action against anti-Israel protests over the past year, which have become frequent on campus and across the Montreal region.
In November 2023, a Quebec court halted the union from adopting an anti-Israel policy.
In December, the university revoked the McGill name from the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights.
Last spring, a student encampment remained on campus for three months while two injunction requests were denied.
At the time, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights called McGill’s decision “collective punishment” and accused the university of attempting to suppress student voices advocating for Gaza.
The group claimed the move was an attempt to shift attention away from McGill’s investments in companies tied to Israel’s military.
McGill’s move comes as universities in the U.S. also grapple with pro-Palestinian protests.
President Donald Trump recently announced a crackdown on such demonstrations, with the arrest of a recent graduate from Columbia University Mahmoud Khalil being “the first arrest of many to come.”
The Trump administration also threatened to revoke $400 million in federal funding from Columbia, citing a failure to curb antisemitism on campus.
Campbell acknowledged criticism that McGill’s response could be seen as biased. “My goal is not to silence dissent, but to affirm that all students—whatever their identity or politics—deserve to live, learn, and express themselves on a campus free of fear, harassment, or violence,” she said.
Taylor said the union is prepared for mediation and hopes to resolve the conflict with the university.