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Laying the groundwork for a nationwide student strike in 2026, members of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) voted yes on an amended emergency motion titled “National General Unlimited Student Strike” at the 43rd Annual National General Meeting (NGM) in Ottawa last week.
Proposed by Local 7, the student union at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), the original motion called for a 2026 general student strike alongside demands for free tuition for Indigenous, Black, and refugee students, the elimination of differential fees for international students, a 30 per cent tuition reduction for domestic students, and institutional divestment from industries tied to environmental harm and human rights violations.
“It’s a little bit more bureaucratic than what I was hoping for, but I think this is a huge step in this country toward a national, unified general, unlimited strike,” said Owen Skeen, president of NSCAD University student union.
The proposal faced intense scrutiny during the five-day meeting, prompting significant amendments. The revised version emphasizes collaboration and feasibility, mandating research into legal protections, the development of public demands, and regional representation in planning. A final decision on the strike will rest with member unions after detailed feasibility reports are presented.
With the motion now in the hands of the CFS National Executive, planning is underway for what could become a historic moment in student activism.
Why a National Strike?
Skeen and his team drew inspiration for the motion from a 78-day pro-Palestinian encampment at Dalhousie University last summer. Reflecting on that experience, he said, “We sort of came to the conclusion that as worthwhile of a practice as it was to be involved in the encampment, it wasn’t really an example of mass organizing.”
“I think the only form of direct mass organizing that we could come up with was to strike, because all forms of action outside of that, as far as we could tell, were really just forms of protest, of saying, ‘We don’t like something, so please change it.’ Whereas a strike is a way of saying, ‘We want this. Here’s what we’re going to do until you give it to us.’”
He pointed to successful student strikes and rallies in Quebec and Newfoundland, saying that they gave him hope that such a demonstration of power could work on a national level.
“Although strikes have not existed in a substantial place in the consciousness of Anglophone students in Canada, strikes have always been a tactic for students in Quebec and Francophone students throughout Canada,” he explained.
“Students at Concordia, just last year, went on strike regarding tuition fees being proposed for increase, and they were able to mobilize more than 17,000 students to go on strike. As recently as 2012, more than 100,000 students in Quebec engaged in a provincial strike that lasted for more than 100 days, in which saved Quebec students multiple billion dollars over a period of years following that, as a result of preventing a tuition increase from passing in the province of Quebec.”
“We’ve seen Newfoundland and Labrador have multiple successful days of action. And I think students are hungry for more,” agreed Brandon Rhéal Amyot, vice president of the Lakehead University Orillia Campus student union (Local 32). Amyot also serves as the Two-Spirit and Trans representative on both the CFS National Executive and the Circle of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Students.
“We’re now in a position in which the students of this country cannot continue to afford tuition at the rates that are being proposed. We’re now in a position in which the people indigenous to Palestine cannot stand to wait any longer for our solidarity. We’re at a time in which we are reaching, you know, critical crisis levels of environmental catastrophe,” Skeen said.
“This is why we’re proposing something as bold as a national tuition strike or a national student strike in Canada – it’s because we don’t believe we have the privilege of trying anything less ambitious.”
Amyot echoed Skeen’s statements: “The reality is, as one of the delegates said when they motivated it, we’re not going to get it by asking nicely. This current federal government is old and tired and is doing patchwork fixes to the post-secondary system. But we need systemic change.”
Concerns About the Original Motion
Delegates like Abrar Abdelmahmoud raised concerns that led to the motion’s reworking and referral.
“There [was a] certain clause about free tuition for all Indigenous students, and then another clause that says free tuition for all Black students,” said Abdelmahmoud, vice-president of student affairs at the University of Winnipeg (Local 8) and a member of the CFS Black Caucus.
“As someone who was part of the student movement, CFS has always championed free tuition for all. It struck me by surprise that we’re now identifying groups of people who should have free tuition.”
She noted that Local 7 had not consulted the Black Caucus about this clause, describing it as “scapegoating the Black community without asking first what it is that we actually want.”
Amyot acknowledged the concerns but pointed out that the Circle of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Students generally supported the clause for free tuition for Indigenous students, given education is a treaty right. “So already there is a responsibility by the Canadian government to ensure that Indigenous students, whether they’re on reserve, off reserve, receive a true education.”
“I think that the delegates from the local that moved it were well intentioned,” they added. “I did hear that they put it forward in general, because they wanted to workshop it. They know that it needs further investigation, because there was a lot of discussion about it and that’s healthy for our organization.”
Skeen echoed this sentiment, explaining that he and his team did not set out to create “the perfect set of demands” for the strike motion. “But we were trying to establish the best sort of balanced framework for a set of demands,” he said. “Initially, we began with ending differential fees and with 30 per cent reduced tuition for all students.”
However, in consultation with Indigenous contributors, they added the clause to include free tuition for Indigenous students, aligning with treaty obligations.
“That was in response to the responsibility that the Canadian government does have, on an ongoing basis, to provide free education for all indigenous students,” he said.
“What was raised after that is that, in the same way, or not quite in the same way, it is the case that reparations are owed to the people indigenous to Canada. It is also the case that reparations are owed to Black Canadians because of the various ways in which the Canadian government has historically been involved in slavery and the Slave Trade throughout North America.”
Skeen said he understood that the motion would pass through the Circle and the Black Caucus, and welcomed recommendations that would help them clarify some of their language.
“Which is what happened,” he said. “And we were able to clarify our language specifically by removing both of these demands and seeking further input from both the Black Caucus, the Circle and the National Executive of the Canadian Federation of Students as they make sure that they are as representative of the interests of all of the students in Canada as possible.”
Looking Ahead
Over the next year, the National Executive will assess the motion’s logistics, from legal protections to regional coordination. Skeen emphasized that even if the National Executive ultimately advises against striking, the groundwork laid will bring the federation closer to making it a reality.
“I absolutely believe Canada can achieve free education for all students,” Skeen said. “And I believe that it must achieve that.”
Tomi Raji is a fourth-year journalism student with a passion for fascinating storytelling. She reports for On The Record, Fall 2024.
