The University of Toronto has revoked singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie’s honorary degree following a petition.
The artist received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2019, which U of T at the time said was to recognize her work in the arts, music and her advocacy “for the rights and dignity of all people.”
A university council approved the request to revoke the degree on Wednesday, according to a bulletin on its website. The decision was made after a petition was submitted to the Standing Committee on Recognition in February 2025.
A spokesperson for U of T said the university can’t share more details beyond the bulletin, because “confidentiality is part of the process” of the committee.
Sainte-Marie came under public scrutiny in 2023 following a CBC investigation that raised questions into her claims of Indigenous heritage. The investigation found a birth certificate indicating that she was born in the U.S., rather than being adopted from Indigenous parents in Saskatchewan.
Sainte-Marie repeatedly disputed the findings and maintained she never lied about her Indigenous identity. She previously said it was common for birth certificates to be “created” after Indigenous children were adopted or taken away from their families.
The Star has reached out to her management for comment on U of T’s decision to remove her honorary degree.
In a statement after the 2023 investigation, Piapot First Nation relatives who adopted Sainte-Marie later in life called the allegations “harmful, ignorant, colonial — and racist.”
Sainte-Marie’s appointment to the Order of Canada was terminated by the Governor General in January 2025, and a few months later in March, Sainte-Marie was stripped of her Polaris Music Prizes, Juno Awards and Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction over the fallout from the investigation.
The degree is the second to be removed since the standing committee was established at the university in 2023.
U of T announced last year that it removed the honorary degree given to Canadian writer and civil servant Duncan Campbell Scott, after finding his legacy that included presiding “over the expansion of the residential school system” was “at odds” with the university’s mission and values.
Proposals for de-recognition on honorary degrees can be submitted by members of the university or external community, according to the committee’s terms.
