University Of Calgary Students' Union

The Students’ Union, University of Calgary (commonly abbreviated to UCSU) is the undergraduate students’ association of the University of Calgary. With origins in the students’ council of the Calgary Normal School, the UCSU was established in its current incarnation by the Universities Act of 1966, which incorporated the University of Calgary as a separate entity from the University of Alberta.

A non-profit organization with an annual budget of $12 million CAD, the UCSU is led by students who are elected democratically by the undergraduate student body to serve one-year terms. The UCSU provides student services, manages on-campus businesses, and conducts student-focused advocacy before various tiers of government and external bodies.

History

1905-1944: Calgary Normal School

Once Alberta became a province in 1905, the Legislative Assembly decided that the city of Calgary would house Alberta’s first teacher training institute, the Calgary Normal School. Early student government at the Normal School consisted of at least two committees, the Literary and Athletic Executives, composed of students elected to represent their peers in academic and extracurricular matters. By the 1920s, student representation was performed by one consolidated student council. Normal School students voted for representatives from their individual classes, as well as a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and an official school Pianist. Elections occurred twice each academic year, one in fall and one in spring, owing to the duration of courses at the school.

1945-1947: Becoming an undergraduate association

In 1945, all three Normal Schools in Alberta were absorbed by the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Education. The Calgary school became formally known as its Faculty of Education in Calgary, and informally known as the Calgary Branch. Although the Students’ Union of the University of Alberta (UASU) initially assumed this meant it would take on the responsibility of providing for student representation at the Calgary Branch, students in Calgary protested the idea of surrendering their own student council and paying the UASU's students’ association fees. Such was the Branch’s desire to retain control over its own activities and yearbook that the UASU sent one of its Vice-Presidents, Catherine Pierce, from Edmonton to Calgary in November 1945. She negotiated with the council under John “Jack” Black, president of the Calgary Branch’s student council for its fall 1945 term.

A compromise was struck between UASU and Black’s administration. UASU refunded half of the fees paid by the Calgary students and the Calgary Branch retained its own Calgary Students' Union (CSU), though its governing council would have to operate within the bounds of UASU’s constitution. Furthermore, the Calgary campus would again publish an independent edition of its yearbook. As Black’s term marked a change in the purpose of student governance from providing for trainee teachers to providing for undergraduates, the modern-day Students’ Union considers Black to be its first President.

The practice of electing a council twice a year persisted from Normal School tradition until 1947. Afterwards, students elected to the CSU’s council served one-year terms. The CSU’s council also changed its structure to align with UASU’s constitution. The top four positions of its governing council were now President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The rest of the council consisted of the yearbook’s editor, a social convener, representatives for the Industrial Arts programs offered by the branch, and Literary and Athletic representatives. The Calgary Branch also imported the controversial Wauneita Society from the UASU, a quasi-sorority women’s interest group. This society selected its own president, who received a de facto seat on the Calgary Students’ Council.

The council’s role evolved into chiefly overseeing the financial side of planning and maintaining student events or amenities. It therefore established subcommittees in 1948 to execute plans and policies. One such subcommittee was the University Athletic Board, which provided practical support such as equipment repairs to sports teams. The council delegated professional development activities to the Educational Undergraduate Society. Some campus clubs endured from the Normal School, and some new ones began. There were clubs for students interested in theatre, choir, debate, philosophy, and religion. Physical activities students could participate in included ping pong, basketball, bowling, hockey, cheerleading, and folk dancing. A club for veterans of the Second World War opened for staff and student alike. The CSU also oversaw the introduction of a campus newspaper.

1948-1957: Initial steps towards autonomy

Dr. Andrew Doucette became the Calgary Branch's director in 1947. An engineering graduate from Nova Scotia, he had entered teaching and worked at the Calgary Normal School before enlisting in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1940. Having attained the rank of Major, he had recently returned from serving in Europe at the time of his appointment as director. That year also saw Frederick Cartwright elected president of the students' council. Cartwright, the son of two deaf parents, would go on to become Superintendent of the Alberta School for the Deaf. Doucette and Cartwright would work towards securing greater autonomy for the branch.

In the summer of 1948, Cartwright’s administration requested that changes be made to the UASU’s constitution, so that the Calgary branch could have its own Committee on Student Affairs. This Edmonton-based committee, made of delegates from the UASU and University of Alberta leadership, supervised matters of student discipline and welfare across all of the University's campuses. Despite the rocky start in 1945, relations between the CSU and UASU were good enough that the UASU supported the proposal, and the University's Board of Governors ratified the changes in 1949. Thus, in an early step towards self-governance, the Calgary Branch established its own student affairs committee.

In the winter of 1948, Doucette met with the Calgary University Committee, a pressure group of Calgarians who wanted to see an autonomous university in their city. Doucette encouraged them by sharing what he believed the branch would need in order to introduce university-level Arts and Science programs, which would expand the Branch from being a single Faculty of Education.

Following these developments, Doucette and Cartwright travelled to the University of Alberta's main campus together in early 1949 to report on the Branch’s progress. A University of Calgary institutional report would later reflect on Doucette and Cartwright’s work as having impressed authorities in Edmonton enough that they began giving serious consideration to calls by Calgary community activists for the city’s Branch to house multiple Faculties. Indeed, between 1952 and 1957, the Calgary Branch expanded to offer undergraduate programs in Arts, Science, Engineering, and Physical Education. Having become a university branch rather than a single faculty of education, the school was renamed to the University of Alberta in Calgary (UAC) in 1957.

1958-1966: Attaining autonomy

The provincial government, finding that the UAC had outgrown the building it shared with the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, ordered construction of a new campus in 1958. UAC moved to its new campus—the present-day site of the University of Calgary—in 1960. The CSU moved into the basement of the Arts building, accompanied by offices for the yearbook, campus newspaper, and a bookstore. The construction of an independent campus was the realization of a dream for Andrew Doucette, who was now experiencing ill health. Forced to scale back his duties, he was disappointed that he could not serve as the branch’s first president at its new location, though he remained with the institution until 1961 to acclimate incoming president Malcolm Taylor. The CSU dedicated the first edition of the yearbook published on the new campus to Doucette.

A Committee on Student Affairs was also established for the Calgary campus that year. Walter Johns, President of the University of Alberta, described the student body as “increasingly competent and responsible” in their ability to conduct their own affairs. Indeed, the composition of the Calgary Students’ Union’s governing council evolved to represent the various faculties now present on campus. Students continued to elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, though they now voted for Faculty Representatives for Engineering, Commerce, and Education; Arts and Science students were represented by one Faculty Representative. Other positions included coordinators responsible for overseeing cultural matters, athletics, women’s affairs, and public relations. Finally, students elected a representative of the Calgary campus for the National Federation of Canadian University Students.

Although the appetite for an independent University remained, the CSU did not actively pursue the matter until October 1963, when Walter Johns declared that an autonomous University of Calgary would be “useless and uncalled for.” This made the front page of the Calgary Herald, as Johns' statement attracted the ire of students and staff alike at the Calgary campus. The CSU held a referendum on November 22, 1963, asking students to vote on whether they wished for the Calgary branch to achieve “complete academic and administrative autonomy” from the University of Alberta; 78.5% voted yes. Johns, in turn, blamed the conduct of Calgarians for causing “bitterness and bad feeling on both sides which should not have occurred.” The rising tension between Calgary and Edmonton spooked some student councillors, who feared the University of Alberta would retaliate by withholding their degrees. The CSU nonetheless continued supporting independence efforts in 1964, selling stickers and badges emblazoned with slogans in favour of autonomy to fund its work. By one account, these made their way on to Johns’ car in Edmonton.

The University of Alberta’s Board of Governors ultimately responded by granting the Calgary branch two independent governance bodies in late 1964. The branch would receive its own General Faculties Council, responsible for academic affairs and the supervision of student affairs; and its own Senate, responsible for external relations. This was still insufficient to pacify the Calgary University Committee, which petitioned the province to revisit the idea of granting the Calgary campus independence. The University of Alberta subsequently recommended a full separation between both institutions, prompting the Government of Alberta to introduce a bill to that end in 1966. On April 15, 1966, royal assent was given to the Universities Act. The University of Calgary became an independent institution, and the Students’ Union, University of Calgary was incorporated as its official undergraduate study body.

Finances

The UCSU derives 10% of its operating revenue from student fees and 90% from its own commercial activity. This allows UCSU to charge one of the lowest students’ association fees in Canada as of 2019, at $65 per academic year for an average full-time undergraduate. The UCSU has traditionally put any and all fee increases to a vote, even when continuing to offer services without an increase would mean operating at a loss, such as the referendum on increasing its Health and Dental Plan in 2022. As such, the UCSU’s core operating student fee has not increased since 1995. Annual financial audits are available on its website.

MacEwan Hall

The UCSU's base of operations is MacEwan Hall, located on the main campus of the University of Calgary. The building consists of two parts: the original MacEwan Hall, which opened in 1967, and the MacEwan Student Centre, an extension to the original hall that opened in 1988. Colloquially, the building is known on campus and in Calgary as 'Mac Hall.' Two subsidiaries of the UCSU manage concert bookings and events using spaces within the Hall: the MacEwan Conference and Event Centre, and Mac Hall Concerts. The first act to perform at MacEwan Hall was Ian & Sylvia on October 13, 1967.

1906-1961: Before MacEwan Hall

Until 1960, the Calgary Branch shared a campus with the Provincial Institute of Technology and Arts. PITA itself was the precursor to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and the Alberta University of the Arts, and the building PITA shared with the Calgary Branch is still in use today as SAIT's Heritage Hall. Initially, the CSU operated out of one room and shared this space with student clubs, whose members often left furniture owned by the CSU strewn across campus.

Andrew Doucette sympathized with students for lacking designated space, so in 1951, once the Branch had been granted its own Committee on Student Affairs, he began working with the CSU to find a more appropriate space for its operations. On the campus’s grounds was a hut that had been used by army medics during the war. Doucette successfully won permission from the University of Alberta to turn control of the building over to the CSU. Students renovated the building themselves and acquired all its furniture, except for a rug that Doucette donated to the building personally. Throughout the building’s lifetime, students continued to assume responsibility for its maintenance. The new building provided officers for the campus newspaper, clubs, council executives, and the yearbook team. It also contained council meeting chambers and a games room.

1962-1967: Building MacEwan Hall

In 1962, the CSU asked students to vote on whether they would accept a temporary $10 increase to their students' association fee in order to fundraise for the construction of a new Students’ Union building. The referendum passed with 94% of the vote and work began on construction. Student contributions paid for 55% of the costs and the University of Calgary's Board of Governors paid the remaining 45%. The Hall was named after Grant MacEwan, then- Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, who attended its opening. With services ranging from office space to dining facilities, it was managed by a committee of five University delegates and six UCSU delegates.

1968-1988: Building MacEwan Student Centre

By 1980, enrolment at the University of Calgary had broadly increased year on year to the point that MacEwan Hall was no longer large enough to accommodate them. Students were again asked by the UCSU if they would pay a temporary building fee, this time to facilitate an expansion of MacEwan Hall; the referendum passed.

Successive UCSU Presidents oversaw construction of the expansion, MacEwan Student Centre, including Myles McDougall. McDougall, who would later become Alberta's Minister for Advanced Education in 2025, participated in the groundbreaking ceremony when construction began in 1987. The expansion opened in 1988, adding 16,500 square metres of space to MacEwan Hall. It contained facilities such as a counselling clinic, a health centre, study spaces, club spaces, Native Student Services, the campus bookstore, and a ten-outlet food court.

Services and programming

Student financial assistance

The UCSU’s first scholarship offering was established in 1969, when incoming university president Alfred Carrothers declined a small monetary welcome gift from the UCSU. After Carrothers instead asked that the UCSU put the money to good use, the UCSU established the A.W.R. Carrothers Scholarship, which it continues to offer annually. The UCSU’s second ongoing financial award, the Ray Alward Memorial Bursary, was introduced a decade later. Ray Alward was a long-serving caretaker of MacEwan Hall who was popular among students.

As of 2025, the UCSU offers a range of merit-based and needs-based scholarships and bursaries for the University of Calgary’s undergraduates. Students can also apply for funding to support their academic and professional development. These funds include conference and research funding, as well as employment subsidies and funding to support student-led sustainability efforts.

Undergraduate research

Every year since 2006, undergraduates across all faculties are invited to submit their research for inclusion in the UCSU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Researchers whose submissions are selected for recognition are invited to a presentation event where they can showcase their research and receive a monetary award.

Health services

Health plan

The UCSU administers a health and dental plan for undergraduates. Health insurance was first introduced in the 1988-89 academic year by the 46^th Students’ Legislative Council, and dental coverage was added in 1991. The cost of these plans combined did not increase between 1993 and 2021. Students were asked to vote on whether they would accept an increase to the cost of their health plan in 2022 in order to increase coverage; the majority voted no. As of 2022, the UCSU’s student health and dental plan remains one of the cheapest in Canada.

On-campus health

The UCSU began exploring ways to introduce on-campus mental health provision for students on campus in 1970. Financial constraints limited these early efforts to the funding of a counselling hotline, the Crisis Centre. The hotline was primarily staffed by volunteers, and fielded inquiries from students seeking help on various issues, ranging from loneliness to academic stress.

In 2008, the UCSU funded the development of the SU Wellness Centre to provide health services on-campus. Located within the UCSU’s building, this Centre is staffed by medical and mental health professionals who provide care to members of the University’s community. In 2016, provincial funding facilitated the hiring of more social workers and psychologists at the Centre to meet growing demand for mental health support in particular.

SU Campus Food Bank

The UCSU can trace its history of participating in charitable efforts to combat food insecurity since its early incarnation under the Calgary Normal School. The Students’ Council organized winter fundraising galas for the benefit of the Sunshine Society, a philanthropic arm of the Calgary Herald that provided necessities to low-income families in the city.

In 1993, a student club, the Students’ Food Action Committee, began raising awareness of the issue of food insecurity on campus. The UCSU coordinated a partnership with the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank, thus maintaining its own food bank for the first time. In its first year of operation, the bank was utilized by 170 students and their relatives, including 60 children. In 1996, the UCSU began managing the food bank independently of the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank, which it continues to operate as of May 2025.

Since 2021, the SU Campus Food Bank has seen an uptick in demand. The UCSU completed 227 requests for food hampers in the academic year of 2021-22, and 526 for the academic year of 2022-23. In August 2024, the UCSU reported that usage for the 2024-25 academic year was on track to surpass previous records. Also in late 2024, the UCSU began offering an affordable meal program through its on-campus restaurant, The Den, in a bid to address food insecurity on campus.

Every October, the SU Campus Food Bank maintains an annual food drive, run in partnership with the University of Calgary. Students and faculty alike are encouraged to form teams and compete to collect the most donations. These events are generally themed, such as the 2022 drive entitled ‘Stack the Mac.’ Participants were tasked with collecting enough non-perishable pasta that the UCSU could build a tower taller than the University of Calgary’s mascot, Rex. The SU Campus Food Bank’s operations are also supported by year-round donations.

LGBT+ programming

Early initiatives

February 1969 saw the UCSU invite Harold Call, American LGBT rights activist and U.S. army veteran, to give a talk at MacEwan Hall. This was four months before same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in Canada. Call’s talk focused on the negative experiences of the LGBT community during interactions with North American police. Three plainclothes undercover officers from the Calgary Police were in attendance at the talk; they left when Call identified them as police officers from the podium.

Q Centre

The SU Q Centre is a centre offering peer support services, events, and space to socialize for students who are members or allies of the LGBT+ community. Primarily staffed by volunteers, the Q Centre opened on November 3, 2010. Within a decade of its opening, the Centre had expanded from 10 volunteers to 40.

Other initiatives

Every August since 2012, the UCSU participates in Calgary Pride. In 2021, the Q Centre and wider UCSU successfully campaigned to simplify the process for students who legally change their names to update their records with the University of Calgary. Students also received the option to submit a preferred name.

The Committee of 10,000

Each year, the UCSU collects a small levy from undergraduates for the benefit of the Committee of 10,000. This committee, composed of student volunteers, accepts applications from charitable causes in Calgary and Alberta, and decides which should receive the funds raised from the student body. The UCSU’s primary permanent off-campus charitable effort, it was founded in honour of Olga Valda, who had been both a student and benefactor of the University of Calgary.

Valda, a ballerina by profession, arrived in Canada in 1919 and moved with her second husband to Calgary in 1950, where she established the Calgary Ballet School. In 1961, aged 69, Valda enrolled at the University of Calgary to pursue a bachelor’s degree in archeology. She quickly established a warm relationship with the UCSU, founding a Ballet Club that also conducted showcases of Russian folk dancing during her first year on campus. The UCSU presented Valda with an award in 1963 for her contributions to campus life and deemed her to be one of the campus’s “most celebrated” students in 1966. In a profile of Valda’s academic life for the Calgary Herald, Grant MacEwan wrote that she was the oldest graduate in Canada at the time of her graduation in 1969.

Valda maintained a relationship with the University until her death in 1973. She bequeathed a portion of her estate to the University of Calgary to provide bursaries for students who needed it. This bursary, which the University named after her, ran until 2005. The UCSU decided to honour Valda as well by establishing the “Committee of 10,000,” so named due to the number of students enrolled at the time of its 1973 founding.

Students' Legislative Council

The Students' Union's highest governing body is the Students' Legislative Council, where all resolutions, major policies, and positions are voted on. All undergraduates enrolled at the University are eligible to participate in the Council's yearly general election.

The Council consists of four Executives, who work in their positions full-time, and at least twelve Faculty Representatives from the University of Calgary's various academic Faculties. Each Faculty may elect an additional representative for every additional 2,000 students enrolled. Undergraduates also elect two representatives to the University of Calgary's Senate, and one representative to the University's Board of Governors.

2025-26 Students' Legislative Council

Non-Voting Officials

Provincial and federal representation

The University of Calgary Students' Union participates in the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations. Previously, they were a member of Council of Alberta University Students on the provincial level.

Notable former student leaders

* Jim Hawkes: President (1953-54); Member of Parliament for Calgary West from 1979 until 1993.
* Paul Unongo: President (1963-64); the first international student to become President of the UCSU, Unongo went on to become a federal minister in his native Nigeria.
* Tag Goulet: President (1980-81); author, publisher, and film producer. Goulet, the first Indigenous person to lead the UCSU, is Canadian Metis, and has worked in advocacy roles for the Indigenous community.
* Myles McDougall: President (1984-85); Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Fish Creek and current Albertan Minister of Advanced Education.
* Nima Dorjee: President (1989-90); engineer and entrepreneur. Dorjee, himself born into a Tibetan refugee family, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2024 for his work in refugee resettlement and mentoring aspiring engineers.
* Naheed Nenshi: President (1993-94); thrice-elected mayor of Calgary, current leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party.
* Lauren Webber: President (2010-11); daughter of former Member of Parliament, Len Webber, and one recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, for her work with the United Nations World Food Programme.

References

External links

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Official student newspaper

University Site
{{University of Calgary
Calgary
Students' Union
Organizations based in Calgary