A gay–straight alliance, gender–sexuality alliance (GSA) or queer–straight alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organization, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the United States and Canada. Gay–straight alliance is intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all LGBTQ+ individuals, children, teenagers, and youth as well as their cisgender heterosexual allies. The first GSAs were established in the 1980s. Scientific studies show that GSAs have positive academic, health, and social impacts on schoolchildren of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Numerous judicial decisions in United States federal and state court jurisdictions have upheld the establishment of GSAs in schools, and the right to use that name for them.
A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizational activities, representation, and academic support of the membership.
The Alma Mater Society of Queen's University, otherwise known as the AMS, is the central undergraduate student association at Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest organization of its kind in Canada. Its roots lie in the old Dialectic Society, which created the AMS in 1858. The society seeks to represent and facilitate the student experience, whether it is through a multitude of clubs, services, governance or volunteer opportunities.
Egale Canada is a Canadian charity founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people and their families, across Canada.
The Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver, otherwise referred to as the Alma Mater Society or the AMS, is the student society of UBC Vancouver and represents more than 72,000 undergraduate and graduate students at UBC's Vancouver campus and their affiliated colleges. The AMS also operates student services, businesses, resource groups and clubs. The AMS is a non-profit organization that exists to advocate for student viewpoints and ensure the needs of students are met by the University Administration and the Provincial and Federal governments. The Alma Mater Society is composed of a number of constituency organizations for undergraduate students, and works closely with the Graduate Student Society of UBC.
The Brock University Students' Union (BUSU) is the students' union representing the over 17,000 undergraduate students of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. BUSU is a founding and current member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization in Canada. The Federation describe as a populist "citizens advocacy group" but critics accuse it to be an astroturf organization.
The New Brunswick Student Alliance is a student driven organization that advocates for more than 12,000 post-secondary students across New Brunswick.
The Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA) was the largest post-secondary student advocacy group in Nova Scotia, Canada and the largest student organization in the Atlantic Provinces. In 2012 it was renamed Students Nova Scotia. The organization historically represented 80-87% of the province's university students. It worked towards improved funding for education in Nova Scotia and the elimination of real and perceived financial barriers for university students.
The Canadian Police Association (CPA) is an advocacy and fundraising organization that is also a registered lobbyist with the Canadian government. The CPA represents Canadian police officers. It is divided into 27 regional chapters at municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Each of these chapters is represented by either a president or director.
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was a private, independent organization created by an act of the Parliament of Canada in 1998. It received an initial endowment of $2.5 billion from the federal government to provide awards annually for ten years. The foundation distributed $325 million in the form of bursaries and scholarships each year throughout Canada in support of post-secondary education. As well, the foundation conducted research into post-secondary access, via the Millennium Research Program.
Colleges and Institutes Canada is a national association formed in 1972 to represent the interests of its member institutions to government and industry. Membership is voluntary and open to publicly-funded community colleges in Canada or institutions that may also be referred to as an institute of technology, CEGEP, or university with a college mandate. As of 2023, CICan has 141 member institutions.
Higher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and provided by universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges. The current minister is Jill Dunlop who was appointed in June 2021. The ministry administers laws covering 22 public universities, 24 public colleges, 17 privately funded religious universities, and over 500 private career colleges. 18 of the top 50 research universities in Canada are in Ontario.
The Alberta Students' Executive Council (ASEC) is a provincial student advocacy organization based in Edmonton, Alberta. Membership is open to student associations from any post-secondary institution in Alberta, and ASEC currently includes members from 17 universities, colleges, and polytechnic institutions across the province. The ASEC membership represents 110,000 students, or approximately 1/3 of all post-secondary students in Alberta, Canada.
Higher education in New Brunswick refers to education provided by higher education institutions in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Higher education has a rich history in New Brunswick. The first English-language university in Canada was the University of New Brunswick. Mount Allison University was the first in the British Empire to award a baccalaureate to a woman, Grace Annie Lockhart, B.Sc. in 1875. Education is the responsibility of the provinces in Canada and there is no federal ministry governing it.
The Fur Institute of Canada (FIC) works to promote the fur trade and to advocate for the fur industry. The organization, has more than 100 members from industry and trade, government, Aboriginal groups and the scientific community.
Students Nova Scotia, formerly known as the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA), is an alliance of some Nova Scotia post-secondary student associations. Its stated aim is to give students a voice in Nova Scotia with government and the public, helping set the direction of post-secondary education by researching challenges, identifying solutions, and creating the political space needed for these solutions to happen.
Yvan Baker is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the federal riding of Etobicoke Centre in the 2019 federal election and in the 2021 Canadian federal election. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Prior to entering federal politics, he served as the Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the provincial riding of Etobicoke Centre from 2014 to 2018.
The Undergraduates of Canadian Research Intensive Universities (UCRU) is an alliance of students' unions in Canada. Their common objective is to protect the interests and advocate on behalf of over 240,000 undergraduate university students from Canada's largest research intensive universities (U15), and to provide research and recommendations to the government on how to improve post-secondary education in Canada. The UCRU began as an informal association called ADVOCAN, and was formalized and rebranded in late 2017.
