Photo credit: Toronto Students in Solidarity with Palestine

By Ella MacCormack, The Varsity, October 12, 2025

On September 29, a Pratt & Whitney recruitment event was cancelled after students protested at the Engineering Career Centre on College and Beverley Street. The event was planned in partnership with Career Exploration & Education and Student Life, and aimed to teach students about Pratt & Whitney’s hireable roles and the recruitment process.

Pratt & Whitney is an aircraft engine and auxiliary power system for commercial, business, and military aircrafts. In the about section of the event, they wrote that “our engines help connect people, grow economies and defend freedom.”

Hours before the event’s scheduled start, UofT Occupy for Palestine called for “ALL OUT NOW TO 255 BEVERLEY STREET” in a group Instagram post with World Beyond War Canada, Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto, and Tkarón:to Students in Solidarity with Palestine.

Protesters stood outside the building at 255 Beverley Street with a banner painted with “WEAPONS COMPANIES OFF OUR CAMPUS” while chanting and handing out fliers. Building staff locked the glass front doors.

UofT Occupy for Palestine wrote to The Varsity that because the Israeli Air Force has operated Pratt & Whitney-powered aircrafts since 1947, “the year the Nakba (the forced displacement of over 750 000 Palestinians from their homes) began, we felt that there was a moral imperative to try and cancel the recruitment event.”

The event was originally scheduled from 5:30–7:00 pm, and soon after 6 pm, a printed off paper read that, “The event has been CANCELLED. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.”

When asked why the event was cancelled, a university spokesperson directed The Varsity to the U of T free speech FAQ, which reads, “While the University has — extremely rarely — denied, cancelled, or rescheduled bookings, the bar to do so is set very high and has nothing to do with whether the administration agrees or disagrees with the event’s proposed content,” and that “physical safety is an over-riding imperative when controversy arises. The university does not permit actions by any groups that cause (or are assessed to have the reasonable potential to cause) threats to the physical safety of members of the university community.”

In response, UofT Occupy for Palestine wrote to The Varsit**y that “University Administration’s response highlights a pattern of vilifying its own students… The reality remains that it is UofT and their willingness to invite Pratt & Whitney onto our campus that makes Palestinian students at UofT and in Gaza unsafe.”

The morning of the event, Dalla Lana School of Public Health PhD student and physician Dr. Kavita Algu emailed university administration to cancel the event.

On September 30, the Office of the President responded by thanking Dr. Algu for sharing their concerns, and wrote that the U of T Experiential Learning Commons “hosts opportunities and resources for students’ career exploration, professional mentorship, and connections with industry partners. As such, we maintain an open employer recruitment practice that responds to student interests from a range of disciplines.”

The email continued, “Posting a position or holding an information session does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the University of any company or position. We encourage all students to reflect on their own interests and skills as they make career decisions.”

Pratt & Whitney has been recruiting on U of T campus for decades, with ads in The Varsity leading as far back as 1955.

U of T has officially partnered with Pratt & Whitney before. The Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies both list Pratt & Whitney as an industry partner, and the University of Toronto Institute for Multidisciplinary Design & Innovation was established in collaboration with companies including Pratt & Whitney.

Pratt & Whitney did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment in time for publication.

The post Pratt & Whitney Information Session on U. of Toronto Campus Cancelled After Student Protest appeared first on World BEYOND War.

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