The University of Ottawa Students' Union, commonly referred to as the UOSU (; SÉUO) is the student organization representing undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa. A student referendum was held in 2019, designating the UOSU as the successor to the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, after the University of Ottawa terminated its agreement with the SFUO due to allegations of fraud.
History
Student Federation of the University of Ottawa
The SFUO represented University of Ottawa undergraduate students from 1969 to 2018. It was a not-for-profit organization, incorporated under the Ontario Corporations' Act. On August 9, 2018, La Rotonde, the university's French-language newspaper, reported that the Ottawa Police Service was investigating members of the SFUO and its executive for fraud. Subsequently, on August 10, the university announced it was withholding their funding until an audit into the allegations could be completed. Due to fraud and embezzlement allegations, the University of Ottawa announced that it would terminate its agreement with SFUO.
On September 25, 2018, the University of Ottawa provided the Federation with a 90-day notice of termination of their contract, citing insufficient progress and further allegations of workplace misconduct, internal conflict, and improper governance. The announcement noted that, as of December 24th, 2018, the Federation would no longer be recognized as the official representative of students, and invited students who wished to establish successor organizations to come forward.
The SFUO offices closed on April 10, 2019. An equitable court receiver was appointed to officially dissolve the federation.
Notable past presidents of the organization included Marcel Prud'homme (1958–59), André Ouellet (1959–60), Allan Rock (1969–70), Hugh Segal (1970–71), Denis Paradis (1974–75), Mauril Bélanger (1977–79), Anne McGrath (1979–80), Bernard Drainville (1984–85), Gilles Marchildon (1987–88), Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin (1990–91) and Guy Caron (1992–94).
Founding and subsequent history
thumb|Logo from 2019 to 2024.
To determine whether or not the SFUO could remain in place, the university organized a referendum to decide which organization should represent undergraduate students. UOSU won the referendum overwhelmingly.
The university then signed a new agreement with UOSU, outlining additional oversight and financial transparency measures, and recognizing it as the sole voice of undergraduate students at the university.
In 2020, the position of President was established, with Babacar Faye as its inaugural office holder.
Governance
The University of Ottawa Students' Union is a not-for-profit organization, incorporated in Canadian corporate law under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The organization itself is governed by its Constitution, which establishes its political apparatus and component organs.
General Assembly
The General Assembly (GA) is the highest governing body within UOSU and is composed of all of the members of the Union. The General Assembly meets twice annually, once in the fall and winter semesters, respectively. Except as limited by the Constitution, the GA may pass resolutions that bind the Board and executive committee. The GA has authority over amending UOSU's Constitution.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors governs and provides oversight to UOSU. It comprises up to 30 members that serve 1-year terms: a President; 5 Commissioners; 22 Directors elected from their faculties; 1 Indigenous Director, elected through a nomination from the Indigenous Students' Association; 1 International Student Director. Each faculty has between 1 and 5 Directors. There is 1 unallocated seat on the Board of Directors, since the removal of the Equity Commissioner role.
There is a public Board meeting session held every month; much of its responsibilities are delegated to various committees, which are either enshrined in the organization's constitution or formed as ad hoc committees, each focusing on a specific field or area of concern.
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="3" |2026-2027 Executive Committee
|-
!Name
!Faculty
!Position
|-
|Elnaz Enayatpour
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Norah Bello (interim)
|Science
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Dan Ngenzi Ya Ruty (interim)
|Science and Social Sciences
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Zach Lebel
|Science and Social Sciences
|Operations Commissioner
|-
|Hamza El Mendri
|Engineering
|Student Life Commissioner
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2025-2026 Executive Committee
|-
!Name
!Faculty
!Position
|-
|Jack Coen
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Alex Stratas
|Social Sciences
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Ève Tremblay
|Social Sciences and Arts
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Elnaz Enayatpour (interim)
|Social Sciences
|Operations Commissioner
||-
|Emilia Bah
|Arts
|Student Life Commissioner (interim; from May 1 - November)
|-
|Samar Mohamed Ahmed
|Telfer
|Student Life Commissioner (until May)
|–
|Kaitlin Ma (interim)
|Social Sciences
|Communications Commissioner
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2024-2025 Executive Committee
|-
!Name
!Faculty
!Position
|-
|Delphine Robitaille
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|vacant (until May 5, 2024)
|–
| rowspan="3" | Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Sanjida Flora (interim; from May 6, 2024, to August)
|Law
|-
|Alex Stratas (from November 18, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|-
|Daphnée Veilleux-Michaud (until January)
|Social Sciences
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|vacant (from January)
|–
|
|-
|vacant (until May 5, 2024)
|–
|rowspan="2" | Operations Commissioner
|-
|Greg Coleman (interim; from May 6, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|-
|vacant (until November 17, 2024)
|–
| rowspan="2" |Student Life Commissioner
|-
|Emilia Bah (from November 18, 2024)
|Arts
|-
|vacant
|–
| rowspan="2" |Communications Commissioner
|-
|Anne-Moïse Gusnie Hyppolite (from November 18, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|-
|Imani Bunzigiye (until November)
|Engineering
|Equity Commissioner
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2023–2024 Executive Committee
|-
!Name
!Faculty
!Position
|-
|vacant (until November 12, 2023)
|–
| rowspan="2" | President
|-
| (from November 12, 2023)
|Social Sciences
|-
| (until March 8, 2024)
|Science
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|vacant (until May 28, 2023)
|–
| rowspan="3" | Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Amine El-Idrissi (interim; until November 12, 2023)
|Social Sciences
|-
|Tristan Maldonado-Rodriguez (until March 8, 2024)
|N/A
|-
| (until August 25, 2023)
|Arts
| rowspan="2" | Operations Commissioner
|-
| (interim; from January 1, 2024)
|Telfer School of Management
|-
|vacant (until May 28, 2023)
|–
| rowspan="2" | Student Life Commissioner
|-
| (interim; elected on November 12, 2023)
|Social Sciences
|-
|vacant (until November 12, 2023)
|–
|Clubs & Services Commissioner
|-
| (from November 12, 2023)
|Engineering
|Communications Commissioner
|-
| (until November 12, 2023)
|Telfer School of Management
| rowspan="2" | Equity Commissioner
|-
| (interim; from January 1, 2024)
|Engineering
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="3" |2026-2027 Board of Directors
|-
!Name
!Faculty / Constituency
!Role
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Executive Committee
|-
|Elnaz Enayatpour
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Norah Bello (interim)
|Science
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Dan Ngenzi Ya Ruty (interim)
|Science and Social Sciences
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Zach Lebel
|Science and Social Sciences
|Operations Commissioner
|-
|Hamza El Mendri
|Engineering
|Student Life Commissioner
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Faculty Directors
|-
|Emma Brisson
|Arts
|Director
|-
|Josh Klein
|Arts
|Director
|-
|Agam Singh
|Engineering
|Director
|-
|Patricia Defo
|Health Sciences
|Director
|-
|Yesha Villanueva
|Health Sciences
|Director
|-
|Evan Hong
|Science
|Director
|-
|Kevin Joseph
|Science
|Director
|-
|Amy Park
|Science
|Director
|-
|Cédrik Desjardins
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Kareem Mukbil
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Alec Tweddell
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|vacant
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | At-Large Directors
|-
|Rani Betsiaroana
|International Students
|Director for International Students
|-
|Ben Cameron
|Indigenous Students' Association nomination
|Director for Indigenous Students
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2025-2026 Board of Directors
|-
!Name
!Faculty / Constituency
!Role
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Executive Committee
|-
|Jack Coen
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Alex Stratas
|Social Sciences
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Ève Tremblay
|Social Sciences and Arts
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Elnaz Enayatpour (interim)
|Social Sciences
|Operations Commissioner
|-
|Emilia Bah (interim)
|Arts
|Student Life Commissioner
|-
|Kaitlin Ma (interim)
|Social Sciences
|Communications Commissioner
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Faculty Directors
|-
|Julianne LeBlanc
|Arts
|Director
|-
|Emma Brisson
|Arts
|Director
|-
|Mathias Suxo Salinas
|Engineering
|Director
|-
|Justin Patrick
|Engineering
|Director
|-
|Jad Mghabghab
|Engineering
|Director
|-
|Grace Tongue
|Health Sciences
|Director
|-
|Yesha Villanueva
|Health Sciences
|Director
|-
|Farah Mourad
|Health Sciences
|Director
|-
|Zach Lebel
|Science
|Director
|-
|Evan Hong
|Science
|Director
|-
|Amy Park
|Science
|Director
|-
|Maréme Diongue
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Ryan Chang
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Eli Zima Luste
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Lien Huynh
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Eyinojuoluwa Orolugbadgbe
|Social Sciences
|Director
|-
|Jean Paul Azzi
|Medicine
|Director
|-
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | At-Large Directors
|-
|Kim Mantha
|Indigenous Students' Association nomination
|Director for Indigenous Students (September - May)
|-
|Kassidy Klinger
|Indigenous Students' Association nomination
|Director for Indigenous Students (May - August)
|–
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2024-2025 Board of Directors
|-
!Name
!Faculty / Constituency
!Role
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Executive Committee
|-
|Delphine Robitaille
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Alex Stratas (from November 18, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Daphnée Veilleux-Michaud (until January 2025)
|Social Sciences
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Greg Coleman (interim; from May 6, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|Operations Commissioner
|-
|Emilia Bah (from November 18, 2024)
|Arts
|Student Life Commissioner
|-
|Anne-Moïse Gusnie Hyppolite (from November 18, 2024)
|Social Sciences
|Communications Commissioner
|-
|Imani Bunzigiye (until November 2024)
|Engineering
|Equity Commissioner
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Faculty Directors
|-
| colspan="3" |Full membership not available.
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | At-Large Directors
|-
| colspan="3" |Full membership not available.
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="3" |2023-2024 Board of Directors
|-
!Name
!Faculty / Constituency
!Role
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Executive Committee
|-
|Delphine Robitaille (from November 12, 2023)
|Social Sciences
|President
|-
|Maisy Elspeth (until March 8, 2024)
|Science
|Advocacy Commissioner
|-
|Tristan Maldonado-Rodriguez (until March 8, 2024)
|N/A
|Francophone Affairs Commissioner
|-
|Jessika Salambere (interim; from January 1, 2024)
|Telfer School of Management
|Operations Commissioner
|-
|Rayne Daprato (interim; from November 12, 2023)
|Social Sciences
|Student Life Commissioner
|-
|Daniel Thorp (from November 12, 2023)
|Engineering
|Communications Commissioner
|-
|Imani Bunzigiye (interim; from January 1, 2024)
|Engineering
|Equity Commissioner
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | Faculty Directors
|-
| colspan="3" |Full membership not available.
|-
| colspan="3" style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" | At-Large Directors
|-
| colspan="3" |Full membership not available.
|}
Elections
General elections are held during the Winter term, either in February or March, to elect the board of directors and executive committee.
General Election
The 2025 General Elections saw the highest voter turnout since 2020, with 10.63% of students casting a ballot. Jack Coen was elected president with 64.08% of the vote. Ève Tremblay narrowly won the race for Francophone Affairs Commissioner, while Alex Stratas was re-elected as Advocacy Commissioner. Several Executive positions, including Communications, Operations, and Student Life, remained vacant.
Only 10 Board of Directors seats were filled, with five elected from the Faculty of Social Sciences. Four students were elected to the University Senate, and Hazel Downey was elected to the University of Ottawa Board of Governors as the undergraduate representative.
Seven referendum questions appeared on the ballot. Three proposals passed: a $3 per semester Fund for Students with Disabilities, a $1.50 per semester levy for the Advocacy Fund, and the renaming of the Engineering Students' Society ancillary fee to the Engineering Endowment Fund.
General Election
General elections were held on February 18, 2024. Turnout was 6.74%. President Delphine Robitaille was re-elected unopposed. The Interim Equity Commissioner, Imani Bunzigiye, was elected to a full term, and Interim Francophone Affairs Commissioner was defeated by Daphnée Veilleux-Michaud. 3 Executive positions were left vacant: Student Life, Communications, and Advocacy Commissioner.
On May 6, 2024, the UOSU Board of Directors hired Greg Coleman as Operations Commissioner and Sanjida Flora as Advocacy Commissioner.
2023
By-Election
By-elections were held from October 9–14, 2023. Turnout was 7.7%. The positions of President, Student Life Commissioner, Francophone Affairs Commissioner and Communications Commissioner were filled. Additionally, five Director seats and three Senate seats were filled.
Students voted in 10 referendums during the by-elections. 9 of them passed, including an 11% reduction in Union fees, resulting in a $500,000 cut to its budget. Turnout was 3.8%. Only one Executive Position was contested, with Joyce Williams being elected Equity Commissioner with 51.7% of the vote. The Operations and Advocacy Commissioners were elected unopposed.
Clubs and Student Governments
Clubs
The organization recognizes over 360 different clubs and associations related to all aspects of student life, from powerlifting to chess to politics.
As of May 1st, 2025, the UOSU imposed a limit of 300 clubs as a result of pressure from Conventions & Reservations regarding their administrative capacity to handle the volume of room booking requests.
Recognized Student Governments
Recognized Student Governments (RSGs) are autonomous, student-led organizations affiliated with the UOSU.
- Economics Students' Association (ESA)
- Engineering Students' Society (ESS)
- Feminist and Gender Studies Student Association (FGSA)
- Health Sciences Students' Association (HSSA)
- Human Kinetics Students' Association (HKSA)
- Indigenous Students' Association (ISA)
- International Development and Globalization Students' Association (DSA)
- International, Political, and Policy Studies Students' Association (IPPSSA)
- Psychology Students' Association (PSA)
- Sociology and Anthropology Students' Association (SASA)
- Science Students' Association (SSA)
- Students' Association of the Faculty of Arts (SAFA)
- Telfer Students' Association (TSA)
- Undergraduate Nursing Students' Association (UNSA)
- Indigenous Law Student Governance (ILSG)
- Association étudiante du Programme de droit canadien (AssoPDC)
- Pharmaceutical Studies Students' Association (PharmSA)
Some larger RSGs, such as ESS, SAFA, and TSA, oversee subsidiary student governments that represent specific departments or programs within their faculties.
Businesses and services
The UOSU operates businesses and service centres, many of which were inherited from the SFUO.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="3" |Services
|-
!Name
!Type
!Description
|-
|Bike Co-op
|Service
|Cyclist resources and services
|-
|Centre for Students with Disabilities
|Service
|Disability rights advocacy
|-
|Clubs Administration Service
|Service
|Club regulation and management
|-
|Feminist Resource Centre
|Service
|Feminist advocacy and support
|-
|Food Bank
|Service
|Food bank
|-
|International House
|Service
|International students' rights advocacy
|-
|PIVIK
|Business
|Convenience store
|-
|Pride Centre
|Service
|LGBT+ advocacy
|-
|Racialized and Indigenous Students Experience Centre
|Service
|Multiracial and Indigenous advocacy and activism
|-
|Student Rights Centre
|Service
|Student-initiated appeals to the university administration
|-
|Sustainable Development Centre
|Service
|Environmental sustainability awareness
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="4" |Former services
|-
!Name
!Type
!Description
!Notes
|-
|Bilingualism Centre
|Service
|Second-language learning assistance and linguistic rights advocacy
|Eliminated in 2024-2025 budget
|-
|Multi-Faith Centre
|Service
|Religious pluralist advocacy
|Eliminated in 2024-2025 budget A special General Assembly meeting was called when a petition demanding the Union remove club status from UOSFL and adopt a pro-choice stance was signed by 500 students and presented to the Union. The meeting failed to reach quorum. In January 2020, the Board of Directors stripped UOSFL of club status.
CHUO-FM referendum
During the October 2023 by-elections, UOSU members voted to eliminate a tuition levy that funded CHUO-FM, a local campus radio station. The levy was set at $4.99 per student, which accounted for between $360,000–$380,000 of annual funding, or around 80% of its total funding. The radio station criticized the decision, saying their survival was at risk, and the referendum was legally questionable.
At the General Assembly meeting following the referendum, the referendum was not ratified after the Board received legal advice to reject it. According to President-elect Delphine Robitaille, it would have been a "legal liability." There is no similar precedent for not ratifying referendum results. During the 2024 general elections, the referendum was approved again.
2024-2025 service cuts
Following the Fall 2023 Elections, UOSU members approved a referendum forcing a 11.37 percent cut to UOSU student fees in the 2024–2025 school year. In part due to these cuts, UOSU's Budget 2024-2025 included the defunding and dissolution of four services: the Bilingualism Centre, the Peer Help Centre, Foot Patrol, and the Multifaith Centre. Coincidentally, in The Fulcrum's article on the passage of the budget, an Anglophone Board of Directors member representing the Faculty of Social Sciences, James Adair, and the Operations Commissioner are pictured to the right of the President with Bike Co-op branded water bottles. Less than a week later on July 6, La Rotonde published another open letter to the UOSU President, insisting that the budget included cuts to the Feminist Resource Centre that constituted "anti-feminist intellectual harassment." However, no cuts aimed at this service were included in the 2024-2025 budget.
See also
- List of Ontario students' associations