View source for In Pursuit of Climate Justice: How DivestUVic Won Fossil Fuel Divestment at the University of Victoria

<p>''This article was written by '''Teresa Lawson''', and is the product of a collaboration between the HUB Librarian (Anglophone) and students in Jen Gobby's winter 2026 course "TCA425: Organizing for Transformative Change" at the University of Victoria. Many thanks to Teresa and Jen for their collaboration on this project.''</p>

= Introduction =
<p>This article covers the DivestUVic Movement, a student-led fossil fuel divestment campaign that spanned 8 years of efforts to achieve full divestment at the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC, Canada.</p>
<p>Sources used:</p>
*Public reports, social media posts, recordings, and press releases made by the campaign organizers
*Public documents, meeting minutes, statements, and press releases by the *University of Victoria
*News and media coverage
*Many reports by student newspaper ''The Martlet''

== What is the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement? ==
<p>Fossil fuel divestment refers to the removal of investment money held in stocks, bonds, and funds from oil, gas, and coal companies for moral, financial, and environmental reasons. Fossil fuel divestment is not the first time divestment has been used as a tool to affect change - it has previously been to target the tobacco and gambling industries and played an important role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.  <ref> Howard, Emma. 2015. “A beginner's guide to fossil fuel divestment.” ''The Guardian'', June 23, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/23/a-beginners-guide-to-fossil-fuel-divestment</ref> </p>
<p>The arguments for fossil fuel divestment primarily fall into moral, factual, and financial categories:</p>

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'''Moral'''
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Fossil fuel organizations are not concerned by the harms (current, past, or future) caused by their industry and are motivated almost entirely by short-term financial gain; as such they will continue to conduct business to satisfy this motivation even when even doing so is self-destructive.
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'''Factual'''
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Research shows that, to limit warming to a 2°C increase in global temperature, that 66% to 80% of fossil fuels need to remain in the ground.
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'''Financial'''
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If, and when, international climate action targets change are met, fossil fuel investments will be worthless and thus become ‘stranded assets’.
|}

<p>The purpose of fossil fuel divestment campaigns is to:</p>
#Reframe the business practice of fossil fuel companies socially unacceptable, undermining their legitimacy.
#By undercutting legitimacy, undermine fossil fuel lobbying power therefore making space for politicians to take effective actions.
#Highlight that the transition requirement is not an if, it is a when.
#Emphasize that fossil fuel investments will not hold value once the transition occurs.
<p>The Fossil Fuel Divestment movement is a global movement with action being taken by a huge range of people from grassroots University student clubs like DivestUVic to robust mutli-national watchgroups like the Climate Policy Initiative. Together, these groups seek to achieve progress towards divestment of fossil fuels and re-investment in renewable, sustainable alternatives.</p>

== Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaigns in Higher Education ==
<p>The movement is traced back to student activism in 2011, was taken up by 350.org in 2012, and eventually found its way to the University of Victoria with the founding of Divest UVic in 2013., According to the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database, there are over 260 educational institutions with divestment commitments, including 17 in Canada. Divestment in Canada began with Laval University's announcement in Feb 2017, followed by a steady series of announcements between 2017 and 2024. The University of Victoria was the 8th to announce divestment commitments, two years after both Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia released their own announcements.</p>

== What is the University of Victoria Foundation? ==
<p>The University of Victoria Foundation is responsible for the management of the university’s Working Capital Investments, Pension Funds, and Student Investment Fund. As of March 2025, it is responsible for managing over $600 million in assets and administering over 1,500 endowment funds that disburse more than $20 million each year for scholarships, bursaries, and other university purposes.</p>
<p>DivestUVic requested that the Foundation's Board divest of all fossil fuels in all of these holdings, however University action has primarily been with regard to the Working Capital Investments.</p>

= Campaign breakdown =
== Summary ==
<p>On February 4, 2014 the University of Victoria Student’s Society, on behalf of DivestUVic, submitted a letter to the university’s Board of Governors and the Foundation’s Board seeking divestment.</p>
<p>The letter included the problem, the goal, and the targets of their demands:</p>

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'''The Problem'''
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*The University of Victoria has $20.98 million invested in the fossil fuel industry.
*The University of Victoria is "committed to… promoting the development of a just and sustainable society through our programs of education and research and the stewardship of our own financial and physical resources.”
*These two facts contradict each other.
*“If it’s wrong to wreck the climate and peoples’ livelihoods, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage. The University of Victoria Students’ Society deeply regrets your deliberate willingness to invest in an industry quickly consigning our generation, and future generations, to life on an inhospitable planet.”
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'''The Goal'''
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For all current holdings to be divested of fossil fuels.
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'''The Target'''
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*UVic Foundation investment policy.
*UVic Foundation investment holdings.
*UVic Foundation leadership.
*University leadership.
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'''The Theory of Change'''
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* Assumptions:
**The University cares about its commitments to sustainability and social justice.
**The University cares about safeguarding its reputation.
**The University cares about responsible long-term financial planning.
**The University cares about the opinions of its students, faculty, and staff.
**The University cares about public opinion of the university.
*Strategies for Change:
**Pointing out contradictions in commitments versus action alongside threats of reputational harm will lead to (self-interested) policy change.
**Providing alternative investment pathways will empower the University to make positive change earlier, avoid stranded assets, and benefit from early positioning in changing markets.
**Leveraging public opinion will provide the social capital with which to make change and make inaction too socially costly to responsibly allow.
|}

== Key Actors ==
=== DivestUVic ===
<p>DivestUVic was founded in 2013 as a group of University of Victoria students, faculty, and staff who advocate that “it is immoral and economically irresponsible to invest in the destruction of our climate, lands, and livelihoods.” In February 2014, the group demanded that the University of Victoria immediately cease any further investment in fossil fuel companies and divest all existing holdings within three years followed by ongoing formal requests for divestment.</p>
<p>The Vice President of Finance and Operations’ response deferred discussion of any action until the next Foundation Board meeting at which point the University explicitly refused to divest.</p>

=== UVic Foundation Board ===
<p>The UVic Foundation Board is responsible for protecting the value of the Foundation funds against inflation and providing stability in the earnings distribution to facilitate financial planning of the use of these funds. The Board is guided by the University of Victoria Foundation Act, Endowment Management or Spending Policy, Responsible Investment Policy, and investment objectives and guidelines.</p>

=== UVic Board of Governors ===
<p>The University of Victoria Board of Governors is responsible for the management, administration, and control of the property, revenue, business, and affairs of the university. It is a fifteen-member body who sit on committees, including the executive and governance committee, finance committee, operations and facilities committee, audit committee, and compensation and review committee.</p>

== Internal Factors ==
<p>Several internal factors remained in play throughout DivestUVic's campaign.</p>

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'''Movement modelled like a student club'''
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The movement conducted itself like a student club with regular meetings, semester-planning sessions, recruitment drives during Club Days, and maintained a social atmosphere which contributed to its resiliency over years.
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'''Challenged decision-makers'''
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Direct actions such as occupations, protests, and deliberate disruptions were focused primarily on decision makers.
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'''Embedded art and storytelling'''
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Co-opting taglines, utilizing memes, wielding satire and humour as effective tools to highlight the absurdity of the delay, deflect, and downplay tactics of decision-makers
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'''Commissioning professional opinions'''
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Divest UVic commissioned legal and banking opinions that contradicted the 2014 recommendations, indicating that UVic was both legally and financially able to pursue full divestment.
|}

== External Factors ==
<p>In addition to the internal factors, there were several external factors at play during the campaign:</p>

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'''Substantial support within the university'''
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Over the course of two referendums on the subject, there was overwhelming support expressed by both students (with 77% in favour) and faculty (with 77% in favour).
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'''Conflicts of interest'''
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The Foundation’s Board of Directors and UVic’s Board of Governors were both found to have members with clear conflicts of interests regarding divestment and fossil fuel companies.
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'''Pro-fossil fuel UVic advisors'''
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The Board of Governors sought advice from its investment managers in Sept 2014 on the impact of divestment. This advice was broadly that fossil fuels were “too large of a market segment to exclude,” that over the following 10-15 years “we are not seeing any dramatic or concerted environmental requirements… that might significantly impact the fundamental valuation of Canadian energy companies,” and that “excluding companies from portfolios eliminates the possibility of engagement and of a dialogue with these companies.”
*The WTI Crude Oil Price was $91.17 ($124.58, adjusted for inflation) in September 2014 with UVic investment managers providing long-term conservative price projections of $80-$85.
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'''Global movement'''
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Other prominent institutions within Canada, the USA, and globally were vocally divesting from fossil fuels, representing growing reputational pressure for UVic, which had positioned itself as a leader in sustainability and social responsibility.
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'''Social upheaval'''
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The COVID-19 Pandemic forced many movements online as of March 11 2020, marking the beginning of a series of global initiatives to shut down and curb the spread and death caused by the novel disease. Simultaneously, social and climate justice movements garnered global attention particularly through social media and became connection points for a variety of social and climate justice movements, such as School Strike for Climate, Wet’suwet’en Solidarity Protests, and Black Lives Matter Protests.
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'''Oil price crash'''
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The WTI Crude Oil Price fell below $80 in December 2014, just 3 months after the opinion letters commissioned by UVic, a graph of the oil prices is provided below with key dates highlighted.
*Oil prices have trended downward from September 2014 onward, typically staying below the estimated $80 per barrel, lending financial pressure to investment decisions, particularly with oil bottoming out at around $25 per barrel at the start of the pandemic.
|}


= Organizational activities =
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 2101px;"
|- style="height: 28px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 28px; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''Category of Activity'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 28px; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''Description'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 28px; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''% of Total Activities'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 28px; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''Examples'''
|- style="height: 147px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 147px;" | <div>

{|
|- 
|      <p>'''Local Awareness Building Within University'''</p>
|}</div>
| style="width: 25%; height: 147px;" | Engage with students and faculty through multiple communication channels such as email blasts, news releases, newspaper coverage, photo events, poster campaigns, and clever or humorous taglines in order to build support for the movement.
| style="width: 25%; height: 147px; text-align: center;" | 45%
| style="width: 25%; height: 147px;" |
*Regular coverage by student newspaper ''The Martlet''
*Publishing news releases to document movement gains, challenges, and activities
*"I support DivestUVic" photo activity during Clubs Days
|- style="height: 99px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 99px;" | '''Building Public Awareness Outside University'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 99px;" | Engage with local residents and media through news releases, newspaper coverage, and interviews to build public support for the movement.
| style="width: 25%; height: 99px; text-align: center;" | 16%
| style="width: 25%; height: 99px;" |
*Conduct newspaper interviews and publish newspaper articles
*Publish opinion and information pieces through newspapers and think tanks
|- style="height: 239px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 239px;" | '''Dedicated Organization & Planning'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 239px;" | Maintaining a regular structure and internal organization that enables the movement to endure over multiple semesters, pass on knowledge, and benefit from fresh ideas from new recruits.
| style="width: 25%; height: 239px; text-align: center;" | 30%
| style="width: 25%; height: 239px;" |
*Weekly and semesterly club meetings to plan events around movement members’ capacity and capabilities
*Dedicated de-centralized communication channels such as a website, social media, and Discord
*Integrate intersectionality broadly in direct actions, online presence, and event planning, including protection of protestors and protest training
|- style="height: 123px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 123px;" | '''Recruitment'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 123px;" | Ongoing recruitment to ensure there is capacity to take action.
| style="width: 25%; height: 123px; text-align: center;" | 7%
| style="width: 25%; height: 123px;" |
*Clubs Days tabling and recruitment at beginning of each semester
*Creation and distribution of movement primer materials with associated orientation open-house style recruitment meetings
|- style="height: 314px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 314px;" | '''Direct Action on Decision-Makers'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 314px;" | Directly engage with targeted decision-makers through protest, letter-writing, and creating communication/public image dilemmas that highlight contradictions between action and promises.
| style="width: 25%; height: 314px; text-align: center;" | 31%
| style="width: 25%; height: 314px;" |
*Submit initial demand to decision makers
*Commission professional opinions that contradict advice the university is acting on
*Sit-in protests, blockades, silent protests, and direct presentations at Board of Governor's meetings
*Hosting public forums and debates with fossil fuel interests
*Conduct regular reviews of Investment Reports, propose changes
*Demand involvement and collaboration in the development of changes to Investment Policies
|- style="height: 264px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 264px;" | '''Satire & Humour as Criticism'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 264px;" | Use satire and humour through communications to highlight contradictions, invite people into conversation, and get complex concepts across in an accessible way.
| style="width: 25%; height: 264px;" | 18%
| style="width: 25%; height: 264px;" |
*Community engagement event writing satirical Valentine's to decision -makers
*Co-opting University taglines in satirical and critical meme posts ("DivesttheUVicEdge", “YikesNation”)
*Satirical bakesale featuring punny food like "bitumen brownies" and "tar bars"
*Satirical, ironic, and dry-humour social media posts and meme contests highlighting the ridiculousness of power-holders' inaction
|- style="height: 429px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 429px;" | '''Public Shaming'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 429px;" | Explicitly and clearly articulate when target fails to follow through on a commitment, is delaying, or when public reputation is at stake.
| style="width: 25%; height: 429px; text-align: center;" | 20%
| style="width: 25%; height: 429px;" |
*Host protest + press conference event to push back against incomplete implementation of demands
*Identify other high profile public figures and institutions divesting and engaging with them on social media as a form of public shaming
*Publish informational pieces on University leadership with conflicts of interest related to the issue
*Purchase billboard in high-profile location to publicly shame university
*Making correspondence with those in power publicly visible on movement's website
*"Name and shame" campaign that explicitly calls out the specific fossil fuel companies in the university's investment portfolio, distribute on social media
|- style="height: 312px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 312px;" | '''Demonstrate Support for Movement'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 312px;" | Highlight collaboration or mutual support from related events to demonstrate positive public opinion on issue topic.
| style="width: 25%; height: 312px; text-align: center;" | 18%
| style="width: 25%; height: 312px;" |
*Tap newspapers for high-profile events like faculty/staff referendum to drive public spotlight and awareness
*Seeking public endorsement of movement by university unions, clubs, and societies
*Coordinate environmental events with related movements (Divest Victoria, 350.org's Fossil Free, etc)
*Collaborate with related movements for reinvestment demands (Climate Justice UBC, SFU350, etc)
*"Tag a Friend" social media campaign to spread awareness, highlight support
|- style="height: 146px;"
| style="width: 25%; height: 146px;" | '''Solidarity Actions'''
| style="width: 25%; height: 146px;" | Collaborate and support related initiatives to network, sharing information, ideas, and tactics while demonstrating commitment to the ideals of the movement.
| style="width: 25%; height: 146px; text-align: center;" | 11%
| style="width: 25%; height: 146px;" |
*Food drive to support related movement and spread awareness
*Participate in related events (Fossil Free Week, School Strike for Climate, Black Lives Matter marches, Wet'suwet'en solidary protests, NoDAPL marches etc)
|}
Further, the groups specifically engaged by the movement tended to be university students or faculty and staff, though direct actions did target university leadership explicitly. A single activity could be targeting multiple groups.
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"
|- 
| style="width: 50%; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''Group Engaged by Movement'''
| style="width: 50%; background-color: #99e1d9; text-align: center;" | '''% of Activities'''
|- 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left;" | University Students
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center;" | 65%
|- 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left;" | University Faculty/Staff
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center;" | 57%
|- 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left;" | University Leadership
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center;" | 38%
|- 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left;" | General Public
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center;" | 14%
|- 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left;" | University Alumni
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center;" | 1%
|}
Finally, activities were categorized based on which pillars (assumptions) the movement was targeting as part of their work.&nbsp; A single activity could be targeting multiple pillars, as was often the case with direct action taken towards University Leadership.
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 168px;" 
|- style="height: 28px;" 
! style="width: 50%; background-color: rgb(153, 225, 217); text-align: center; height: 28px;" | Pillar (Assumption) Targeted
! style="width: 50%; background-color: rgb(153, 225, 217); text-align: center; height: 28px;" | % of Activities
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left; height: 28px;" | Student, Faculty, Staff Opinion
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 28px;" | 80%
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left; height: 28px;" | University Reputation
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 28px;" | 39%
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left; height: 28px;" | Commitment to Sustainability
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 28px;" | 38%
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left; height: 28px;" | Public Opinion
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 28px;" | 36%
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="width: 50%; text-align: left; height: 28px;" | Long-Term Financial Planning
| style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 28px;" | 26%
|}

= Timeline =
The DivestUVic movement has taken place over ten years, with phases of increased and decreased activity. &nbsp;Below is an overview of the different phases and what characterized that period alongside contextual global events.
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|- style="height: 46px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 46px; text-align: center;" | '''Phase / Arc'''
| style="width: 20%; height: 46px; text-align: center;" | '''Start and End Date'''
| style="width: 20%; height: 46px; text-align: center;" | '''Key Events'''
| style="width: 20%; height: 46px; text-align: center;" | '''Contextual Events'''
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Initial Challenge & Rejection'''
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Jun 2013 - Sep 2014
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*'''Jun 2013''': DivestUVic founded
*'''Feb 2014''': DivestUVic submits their letter of demand to the University
*'''Apr 2014''': Faculty votes in support of divestment
*'''May 2014''': After a non-committal response and a delay, the University explicitly refuses to divest
**Board of Governors seeks to distance itself from Foundation’s decision making process
**Foundation cites fund managers for reasons to not divest
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*Harvard release Fossil Fuel Divestment statement (Oct 2013)
*WTI Crude Oil price ranges between $125-$150/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Support Building & Second Rejection'''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Oct 2014 - Jun 2015
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*'''Jan 2015''': Public forum on divestment includes Suncor representative
*'''Mar 2015''': Student referendum votes in favour of divestment
*'''Mar 2015''': University of Victoria Educational Workers’ Union (CUPE, Local 4163) endorses DivestUvic
*'''Apr 2015''': UVic Vice President of External Relations responds to DivestUVic, again distancing the Board of Governors from the Foundation’s decisions
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*WTI Crude Oil price falls to $65-$80/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Refined Challenge'''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Jul 2015 - Mar 2016
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*'''Jul 2015''': DivestUVic hosts a sit-in at NDP politician Murray Rankin’s office and conducts ''Times Colonist ''interview
*'''Jul 2015''': Public speaking event at Centennial Square
*'''Oct 2015''': DivestUVic works with UVic Student Society to get divestment on the student society elections debate schedule
*'''Jan 2016''': Protest at Board of Governors’ meeting; Board again deflects responsibility to Foundation
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*WTI Crude Oil price falls to $45-$68/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | ''First Hibernation''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Apr 2016 - Oct 2016
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*No Instagram activity
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*WTI Crude Oil price hovers around $65
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Refined Challenge & Issue Movement'''
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Nov 2016 - Mar 2018
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*'''Dec 2016''': Participation in related climate action events such as No DAPL events
*'''Feb 2017''': DivestUVic meets with the UVic Administration and Board Chair
*'''Mar 2017''': Movement begins screening movies and hosting events in support of Indigenous sovereignty
*'''Nov 2017''': Cross-institution mutual support and encouragement with DivestDalhousie on social media
*'''Jan 2018''': UVic Alumni launch pressure campaign
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*Laval University becomes first Canadian university to divest (Feb 2017)
*WTI Crude Oil price falls to $45-$70/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | ''Second Hibernation''
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Apr 2018 - Nov 2018
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*No Instagram activity
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*Greta Thurnberg’s first School Strike for Climate
*Coastal GasLink applies for injunction against Wet’suwet’en land defenders
*WTI Crude Oil price rises to $80-90/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Resurgence & Renewed Pressure'''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Dec 2018 - Jan 2020
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*Satire and irony as criticism become a common used tool
*'''Feb 2019 - Dec 2019''': Multiple sit-ins and protests at Board of Governors meetings despite efforts to prevent the protesters' activities
*'''Mar 2019''': Protests and solidarity actions, such as for the International Student Tuition Hike
*'''Apr 2019''': Student blockade of the Michael William Building
*'''Sept 2019''': DivestUVic presents Student Perspective on Divestment to Board of Governors; the Board indicates they will vote on changes to short-term investment strategy in November 2019 but pushes the vote back to January 2020, then pushes it back again to March 2020
*'''Nov 2019''': Students barred from entering the primary Administration building, flagged as ‘security threat’, spurs further protest
*'''Dec 2019''': Faculty votes in favour of divestment again
***Local news picks up story and highlights vote and blockade in mainstream news
*'''Jan 2020''': Board of Governors votes in favour of an updated Responsible Investment Policy, proposing a 45% divestment from fossil fuels,,
**DivestUVic demands that Mary Garden be removed from Foundation Board until her conflicts of interest have been addressed
**Wet’suwet’en solidarity activities begin
**DivestUVic rallies students, media, and allies to demand 100% divestment instead of insufficient 45%
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" |
*Global Climate Strikes begin in March 2019
*RCMP raid Unist’ot’en Camp
*Université du Quebec à Montreal, Concordia University, and Simon Fraser University divest from fossil fuels
*WHO declares COVID-19 “Of Concern”
*WTI Crude Oil price hovers around $70/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Initial Success & Refined Focus'''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Feb 2020 - Jan 2021
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*'''Feb 2020''': Wet’suwet’en solidarity protests
*May 2020: UVic begins considering becoming a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)
*'''Jun 2020''': Conflicts of interests are identified in Foundation Board; movement calls for the resignation of Mary Garden, Lisa Dempsey, Doug Stadelman, Daphne Corbett, and Beverly Van Ruyven for their connections to fossil fuel lobby and corporations
*'''Sept 2020''': Movement purchases highly-visible billboard on Patricia Bay Highway leading to the ferry terminal
*'''Sept 2020''': DivestUVic joins the Divest Canada Coalition
*'''Jan 2021''': DivestUVic explicitly names the fossil fuel companies UVic is investing in and advocates for negative screening
*'''Jan 2021''': UVic announcements investment in Raven Indigenous Capital Partners in Jan 2021
*'''Feb 2021''': UVic Responsible Investment Policy updated
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*Lakehead University and University of Guelph divest from fossil fuels
*Wet’suwe’ten solidarity protests spread to include railway disruptions, walk outs, more
*WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic; global lockdowns begin
*Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police protests begin
*Dakota Access Pipeline ordered closed
*WTI Crude Oil price falls to $25-$65/barrel
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | '''Significant Success & Deeper Involvement'''<br>
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | Feb 2021 - Nov 2021
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*'''Feb 2021: UVic announces it will divest of fossil fuels from its working capital fund'''
*'''Feb 2021''': DivestUVic celebrates success and initiates #DivesttheRest campaign
*'''Mar 2021''': DivestUVic commissions legal opinions from EcoJustice and Vancity in support of 100% divestment
*'''Aug 2021''': Movement criticizes UVic for continuing to hold $470million in fossil fuel assets
*'''Sept 2021''': UVic Foundation presents its first Responsible Investment Report
*'''Nov 2021''': March for Divestment event
*'''Nov 2021''': UVic announces it has divested its working capital fund 100% from fossil fuel
*'''Nov 2021''': DivestUVic initiates Reinvestment Campaign alongside Climate Justice UBC and SFU350
| style="width: 20%; height: 23px;" | &nbsp;
*University of Waterloo and University of Toronto divest from fossil fuels
*Defund Line 3 and Fairy Creek blockades begin
*WTI Crude Oil price rises to around $80/barrel
|- 
| style="width: 20%;" | '''Focus on Accountability'''
| style="width: 20%;" | Dec 2021 - Mar 2022
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*'''Dec 2021''': Letter writing campaign to demand accountability and full divestment across all UVic Foundation’s investments
*'''Mar 2022''': UVic announcements $25million investment in Brookfield fund
*'''Mar 2022''': DivestUVic fosters “Raise the Bar” campaign
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*University of British Columbia has set the standard for climate leadership by committing to full divestment by 2025 and have declared a climate emergency
*University of Ottawa divests from fossil fuel
*WTI Crude Oil price rises to around $90-115/barrel
|- 
| style="width: 20%;" | ''Third Hibernation''
| style="width: 20%;" | Apr 2022 - Dec 2023
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*No Instagram activity
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*University of Montreal,Victoria University, University of Toronto, University of St. Michael's College, Trinity College University of Toronto, McGill University divests from fossil fuel
*WHO declares COVID-19 pandemic over in May 2023
*WTI Crude Oil price hovers around $80/barrel
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| style="width: 20%;" | '''Accountability & Collaboration'''
| style="width: 20%;" | Jan 2024 - Mar 2025
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*'''Feb 2024''': DivestUVic deep-dives into Foundation’s investments to understand full impact and more responsible opportunities
*'''Nov 2024''': DivestUVic presents Responsible Investment Policy Review to the UVic Financial Planning and Operations Team; it is endorsed by 10 UVIc groups
*'''Jan 2025''': Policy Review is unanimously approved by Board of Governors
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*Saint Paul University divests from fossil fuels
*WTI Crude Oil price hovers around $70-80/barrel
|- 
| style="width: 20%;" | '''In Pursuit of Climate Justice'''
| style="width: 20%;" | Apr 2025 - Feb 2026
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*'''Apr 2025 - Feb 2026''': Solidarity actions to support Indigenous land defenders, Palestinian genocide awareness
*'''Feb 2026''': DivestUVic announces movement focus shifting to social, political, and environmental justice in UVic’s investments
*'''Feb 2026''': Collaboration between DivestUVic and Financial Operations team integrates human rights improvements in investment policy
*'''Feb 2026''': UVic commits to adopting the 10 Principles of UNPRI and inclusion of an active feedback role for accountability to students and faculty
*Responsible Investment Report 2024/25 released
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*Canada and British Columbia end the Federal Carbon Tax
*WTI Crude Oil price hovers around $70/barrel
|}

== Was the Goal Achieved? ==
<p>The movement’s stated demand was for the University of Victoria to cease all new investments in fossil fuels and for all current holdings to be divested of fossil fuels. This demand was made in February 2014 with initial success in January 2020 with the updated Responsible Investment Policy and a commitment to 45% divestment followed by major success in response to continued pressure for full divestment in February 2021. Full success was achieved, formally, in November 2021 after 7 years of ongoing efforts.</p>
<p>Success came about as a result of sustained pressure by student activists, an increasing number of peer institutions divesting, falling oil prices, shifting public and student opinion, and increasing reputational cost.</p>
<p>As of February 2026, the movement is now 12 years old and still actively involved in justice and solidarity work at the university. The movement’s goal, however, has expanded to become more intersectional in its climate and social justice demands. It now focuses on holding the university accountable to social, political, and environmental justice in UVic’s investments as of Feb 2026.</p>
<p>In the 2023/2024 UVic Foundation Investments Report (2023/24), there has been significant change in the nature and amounts invested in the reported categories with a clear shift away from fossil fuel investments., However, these investments have been moved into technology, industrial, and consumer discretionary industries such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. It is perhaps with great foresight and wisdom that DivestUvic has decided to shift its attention to include the social, political, and environmental aspects of the University’s investments, particularly given the extremely high profile nature of several of these new investments and their potential intersection with sociopolitical accountability.</p>

= Lessons for Future Organizing =
<p>In reflecting on the tactics, messaging, and outcomes of this movement, four primary lessons emerge:</p>
<p>'''Be Informed'''</p>
*Determine who is responsible for enacting change for investment policy; who is ultimately responsible for how investments are handled? Direct your policy demands to them and communicate who supporters need to contact to express their support for your cause.
*Research the contextual background for those who are responsible for how investments are made - identify conflicts of interest, active participation in boards, groups, or businesses with a vested interest counter to the request and highlight those in your awareness building.
*Determine what other institutions and organizations are leading the way on the issue and learn from them.
<p>'''Be in Community'''</p>
*Connect with similar initiatives in your region for events, newsletters, and recruitment.
*Connect with fellow students, particularly law, finance, communications, climate science, and humanities students for support building compelling arguments.
*Centre intersectionality and solidarity, support and network with local social justice and climate justice movements to help spread the word, garner support, and keep perspective/accountability.
<p>'''Be Inconvenient'''</p>
*Be clever, creative, and inconvenient to those you are protesting against; this gets news coverage and stirs up questions.
*Demanding accountability and maintaining involvement in the follow-through as success is achieved solidifies that success.
*Satire, irony, and humour are powerful and connective forces; lean into it.
<p>'''It's a Marathon Not a Sprint'''</p>
*Student movements are vulnerable to the ebb and flow of semester cycles, graduation, and obligation - maintain a regular club or organizational schedule to maintain membership and organizing capacity.
*Refining the movement’s focus in response to changing needs can help avoid loss of momentum.
*It takes time to achieve change, maintaining pressure doesn’t have to sit with one cohort alone - it is a collective effort over months or years.

= Key Quotes =
*“If it’s wrong to wreck the climate and peoples’ livelihoods, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage” - Kelsey Mech, DivestUVic
*“Between 2024 and 2030, an annual average of at least USD 6.3 trillion in global climate finance is needed to keep global warming within 1.5°C (CPI, 2025). Achieving this—and capturing the economic and environmental benefits that result from it—will require financial institutions (FIs) to play a key role as enablers, alongside other actors including governments and real-economy companies… Action from [Financial Institutions] is vital to the climate transition in the global economy, composed of interlocking sectors and national economies….Near-term backsliding will not change the ultimate need for transition.” - Le et al, Climate Policy Initiative
*“UVic lost $4 million on their Canadian fossil fuel investments between March 2018 and March 2019. Even before COVID-19, UVic’s fossil energy investments were delivering a -17% rate of return (RoR). In contrast, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s fossil free index had a +7.9% RoR that same year. The fossil energy sector was the worst performing segment of the stock market in 2018-19.” - Rowe et al
*“Both the Board of Governors and the Foundation Board have duties of loyalty and prudence when making investment decisions… Neither Board is prevented from adopting a divestment policy to reduce their exposure to material financial risks from climate change, provided that policy is financially prudent.” - Vancity, Ecojustice

= Further Reading =