Canadian Federation of Students
 |
|
| Founded | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Members | 650,000 (est.) |
| Key people |
Bilan Arte (Chairperson) Anne-Marie Roy (Deputy Chairperson) Peyton Veitch (Treasurer) |
| Office location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Country | Canada |
| Website | www.cfs-fcee.ca |
Bilan Arte (Chairperson)
Anne-Marie Roy (Deputy Chairperson)
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student organization in Canada, representing over 650,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981, the stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian students and work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education. The CFS has its roots in Canada's long tradition of having national student organizations, such as formerly the National Union of Students (Canada), the Canadian Union of Students, the National Federation of Canadian University Students, the Canadian Student Assembly, and the Student Christian Movement of Canada (SCM).
CFS is composed of member local student unions. All members of the Canadian Federation of Students pay membership dues as a part of their membership.
In Canadian student politics, the decision of whether a student union should be a member of the Federation is a contentious issue, and the organization's processes for joining or leaving its membership has been the subject of much debate.
The name "Canadian Federation of Students" is generally used to designate three legally distinct organizations: the national CFS, one of the provincial components of the Federation, and/or CFS-Services.
CFS and CFS-Services share the same bylaws and decision-making structures. These structures include biannual general meetings, where every member students' union receives one vote regardless of the size of their local membership, and an executive, which includes representatives of each provincial affiliate. In provinces where a significant number of students' unions are members of the CFS, the affiliated component (e.g. CFS-BC, CFS-Ontario) has its own general meetings and executive, the latter being formed by representatives of the local students' unions. In October 2009 CFS-Quebec ceased to operate as a recognized provincial affiliate of the CFS.
The CFS was officially formed on October 18, 1981, from the merger of two national organizations - the National Union of Students in Canada and the Association of Student Councils - and student federations from five Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan). The goal of the merger was to create a united student movement in Canada that could provide student-oriented services and political representation at the federal and provincial levels of government. Part of the impetus to organize came from the federal government's announcement of $2 billion of cuts from Established Program Financing (including cuts to federal transfer payments for health and education). Another impetus was raising tuition fees, which had been a major issue for CFS' precursor organization. the NUS, starting in the late 1970s.
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