Nominations Period

Nominations Open March 6, 2023
Nominations Close March 16, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

This is the period where a candidate can submit a nomination form through the online portal or to the SA Connect office. The nomination form must be received by 2:00 p.m. eastern time when the nominations close.

Campaign period

Campaigning opens March 20, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

This is the period where candidates can openly campaign in the elections. Campaigning must conform to the election rules as outlined in the Elections by-law and regulations made under the Elections Policy.

Voting Period

Voting Starts March 27, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.
Voting ends March 31, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

The days the membership votes for their Student Association Executive, Board of Directors, and the Student Governor. Voting starts at 9:00 a.m. on the first day of voting and ends at 5:00 p.m. on the last day. Election results are posted at around 6:00 p.m. on the last day of voting on the SA website and Instagram.

The Election Cycle runs from March 6 to March 31.  The process does take some time to do things like campaign, put up posters, run social media campaigns and other election related tasks.  There are very few mandatory events which occur during the election campaign period, you will be informed about these events in advance. 

• Director of Communications & Internal (for a term of May 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023);
• Director of Education & Equity (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Director of Student Experience (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Arts, Design and Information Technology Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Business Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024); 
• Community Services and Early Childhood Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Construction and Engineering Technologies Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Health Sciences Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Hospitality and Culinary Arts Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Preparatory and Liberal Studies Educational Centre Representative (for a term of May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024);
• Student Representative to the Board of Governors (for a term of September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024).

A summary of the position is as follows:

• is the official spokesperson of the Student Association to the general public, George Brown College, campus groups, and at college functions and monitor all Board of Directors personnel files and related HR documents at the head office of the corporation.
• is a signing officer for cheques and contracts for the Student Association; and
• coordinates the work of the Board of Directors and the Annual General Meeting. 

Everyone’s experience in these positions is a little different, however the most common benefits for your career which you can get out of this position are:

• Home business management and communication skills;
• Network with leaders within and outside the college; and
• Gain important understanding of the integral operations of a large organization.

The position receives a remuneration of $17 per hour for a 28-hour work week.

A summary of the position is as follows:

• promote and support recreational and other activities throughout the academic year 
• identify and implement strategies for increasing student use of services and involvement in organization programs
• work in conjunction with Director of education and Equity to plan advertising strategy for activities and events
• collaborate with Directors to create and develop an annual plan of student communications and campaigns designed to engage students

Everyone’s experience in these positions is a little different, however the most common benefits for your career which you can get out of this position are:

• Gain valuable understanding regarding the operations of major events in an urban college environment, including in creating risk management mitigation plans.

The position receives a remuneration of $17 per hour for a 24-hour work week.

A summary of the position is as follows:

• attends the monthly Student Association Board of Directors Meetings and the committees of the Board of Directors;
• Participating in two class talks per semester to share with classes in their programs the work of the Student Association and 
• Connect with students within their Educational Centre in order to inform the advocacy work of the Student Association. 

Everyone’s experience in these positions is a little different, however the most common benefits for your career which you can get out of this position are:

• Gain an understanding of the decision making process of an large organization.
• Further your communications skills.

The position receives a monthly honorarium of up to $600.00 per month.

The Student Representative to the Board of Governors:

• Attend the Meetings of the Board of Governors and Board of Governors Committees for George Brown College and bring a student voice to the deliberations of George Brown College’s Highest Governing Body.

Everyone’s experience in these positions is a little different, however the most common benefits for your career which you can get out of this position are:

• Gain insight regarding how a major educational institution operates.
• Further your professional network by working with leaders on the George Brown College and Toronto Community. 

To be nominated for these positions you must file a nomination form before the deadline for nominations.  The nomination form contains information about you and the position you are running for.  The nomination form is can be filed using the electronic form available at https://www.studentassociation.ca/elections/ or a paper form available from the SA connect offices. 

The form includes endorsement signatures.  Theses are signatures of student who wish you to run for these office. Every position requires a different amount of endorsement signatures:

• For Director of Communications and Internal, you must submit a letter of reference and a number of other items.
• For Director of Education & Equity and Director of Student Experience you have to provide 30 signatures from any full time post-secondary student.
• For Educational Centre Representatives you must provide ten signatures from any students within your educational centre.
• For the Student Representative to the Board of Governors, you must provide five signatures from any full time post secondary student.

Before the pandemic signatures in person were required for all nominations. Now that George Brown College is returning to normal operations in a hybrid fashion, the requirement for in person or electronic signatures have returned.  While the temporary process of electronic process through the online voting system which was used during the pandemic was useful for the purpose during the pandemic, however it had several flaws including putting the pressure on ensuring completed nomination forms on the elections officials, and not the candidates.   

You do not need previous experience to run, but it can be helpful. Certain life experiences will serve you well during elections: for example, if you served in a high school student council, or you’re a leader in group work assignments, you already have experience which you can use for these roles.

No, there are no qualifications necessary to run for these offices.  Board and Executive members comes from many different backgrounds and many different programs.

For Executive positions, any student can run for these positions, subject to a few legal qualifications.

For Educational Centre Representatives, only students within that Educational Centre can run for positions within that Educational Centre. 

For Executive members the tasks can vary.  Some days an Executive member will meet with senior staff at the Student Association about issues such as human resources, finances, and insurance; while another day they might be making a speech for a lunch of hundreds of people at a George Brown College event; while on another day they could be greeting students at an Orientation week event.

For Educational Centre Representatives, the primary tasks are attending Board of Directors Meetings and meeting with students and administrators within your Educational Centre by conducting meetings with department chairs, professors, etc., and conducting class talks to talk about the Student Association Role and mission.

The work schedule is flexible, please see the position description for the various positions for the required work week.  The Student Association operates during business hours, and there is a requirement for members of the executive to be in the office during the business hours of the Student Association. 

Yes, during the month of May, every member of the Board and Executive receives comprehensive training in their role and the function and roles of the Student Association. 

For Director of Communications and Internal, you are not allowed to take more than fifty percent of the normal course load for your program.  

For Director of Education and Equity and Director of Student Experience, you are not allowed to take more than the normal full time course load for your program.

For Educational Centre Representatives, you must be a full time student throughout your term of office.

Under the by-laws you are eligible to be a candidate if you meet the following conditions:

• Be a member (either a full time student or current Board member);
• Be at least 18 years of age as of the date of ratification; and
• Not be deemed ineligible to manage the property under various federal or provincial statutes, including being bankrupt;
• Not be currently employed by the Corporation in any role’; 

*if you are employed by the corporation, you will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence during the campaign and deemed to resign from part-time/full-time employment from Student Association upon election.

For Educational Centre Representatives

• you must also be registered within your Education Centre during your term.

If you are running for Director of Communications & Internal you additionally must:

• Not be an employed by the Corporation or the College during your term of office.
• Have a GPA of at least 3.0 or greater;
• Submit a letter of reference to the CRO;
• Not have discipline on file as an employee, Board of Directors Member, or candidate; and
• Must attend a session and pass a test after the session regarding the roles of the Board of Directors and the Director of Communications and Internal (this session will be held conjunction with the All Candidates Meeting).

For the position of Student Representative for the George Brown College Board of Governors you must meet the following qualifications:

• You must be enrolled in a program throughout the 2023-2024 academic year;
• You must possess a passing GPA of 2.75; and 
• If your graduate prior to the end of the term of office, you can continue until you are no longer a student, however if you withdraw from the college prior to the end of your term you cease to be a member of the Board of Governors effective the day which you withdraw.

You can campaign, subject to several rules, either on campus or online.  The full details of how to campaign is covered during the all candidates meeting.  

The spending limits for the campaigns are as follows:

• Executive Positions $300
• Educational Centres$100
• All Acclaimed Positions$50

The Election will be conducted online using the Simply Voting System.  Every eligible elector will use their GBC log in to vote, and the elector must use these credentials to log into the voting system and cast their vote.

The electronic system calculates the ballots at the close of voting, and the Chief Returning Officer will publish the results. 

Any full time post-secondary student can vote for any executive position or the Student Representative to the Board of Governor.

Any full time post-secondary student within the Educational Centre can vote for the Educational Centre Representative. 

Simply Voting is an online voting platform which uses high level of technology to ensure that the election is as safe as possible.  While no online platform is 100% secure, Simply Voting is tested and secure, and have been used in thousands major elections for the non-profit, municipal, and other public sector organizations.