Major voting glitches as tiny per cent of students approve dissolving URSU; UofR president calls process ‘extremely concerning’
A glitch-ridden vote on October 21, 2025, seems to have marked the end of the ongoing University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) saga. There could be further developments but, it appears that the organization is toast after a resolution at a special general meeting (SGM) to dissolve URSU passed, with 17 votes in favour and 13 against.
The 70 votes that were cast in favour represent only ~0.4 per cent (70/16,642 students as of fall 2025) of the student body.
The vote’s legitimacy is being questioned after numerous students reported receiving invalid links to the online meeting, which some say was the reason for the low turnout.
Many of those who were denied access wanted to vote against the resolution so that URSU can be held accountable for their actions.
Students react to SGM troubles
“I do not accept the vote as legitimate and intend to fight it in court,” said Maria De Leeuw, a third-year student in the faculty of education, to the Carillon.
De Leeuw was one of numerous students, including members from the Carillon’s team, for whom the provided link to get into the meeting did not work. She said that both the links that were sent did not work and she had to spend around an hour trying to access the SGM.
She thinks there are multiple reasons why she was unable to get into the meeting. The primary reason, De Leeuw said, was because she spoke out against URSU’s behavior in the previous SGM which had to be adjourned on September 24. De Leeuw reported what she called an “illegal format of the meeting” to the URSU General Manager, Aoun E Muhammad, which she believes may have played a part in her not being let in.
“URSU was disinclined to ensure I had a working link to the meeting […and] has repeatedly insulted the intelligence of the student body by their unethical and ridiculous conduct,” said De Leeuw.
I do not accept the vote as legitimate and intend to fight it in court, – Maria De Leeuw, student, faculty of education.
Updates that were shared on Instagram by URSU regarding the new SGM said that, “Members who registered for the adjourned SGM on Sept. 24th, 2025, are automatically registered [for the new SGM] —no action needed.” De Leeuw who had attended the previous SGM did not have to register again but found the SGM inaccessible still. She added that most other students she spoke to were also unable to attend the meeting.
She said that she is somewhat hopeful that if URSU did any wrongdoing, they may still face justice. She mentioned having faith in the students who have “organized the legal challenge to this vote and want to see the forensic audit take place.”
Jared Byers is another student who was unable to join the SGM. “The vote made the mountain students have to climb to reclaim their union much larger,” said Byers. Byers shares De Leeuw’s sentiment in not accepting the result of the SGM.
“The participants in the [online] chatroom were anonymous, and the voters were anonymous so there was no transparency. While real students were blocked from participating, there was no way to see the votes coming from real union members,” said Byers. He added that “the vote was disingenuous and insulting to democratic values that are core to [the] Canadian society.”
Byers does not see this as being the end of the former student union and its former leaders. “You can’t just vote for yourself free from liability,” Byers said. He feels that being unable to access the meeting was no accident.
“I do believe someone in URSU recognized my name and that it played a part in [me] not being allowed in the meeting. I have been vocal in Discord and in a past SGM about the students losing confidence in URSU,” said Byers.
UofR responds
A day after the SGM, University President Dr. Jeff Keshen released a statement which was shared with the students via email to address the controversy.
“I recognize that many students were disappointed because URSU offered only online participation, and in addition, I understand that many students could not join the meeting at all in the online format,” said Keshen in the release.
Keshen called the processes “extremely concerning” and said that the meeting to dissolve was based on a small number of votes.
“The process leading to this outcome was not open, fair, or transparent, and did not demonstrate the accountability that our students expect and deserve,” he said in the email.
What the motion stated
The process leading to this outcome was not open, fair, or transparent, and did not demonstrate the accountability that our students expect and deserve, – Dr. Jeff Keshen.
URSU’s SGM agenda included the resolution for the voluntary dissolution of URSU in accordance with The Non-Profit Corporations Act, 2022 (Saskatchewan). It further aimed to resolve that “the Board of Directors shall, within 90 days of adoption of this resolution, engage and appoint a liquidator to initiate the wind-up. And be it further resolved that, upon appointment, the liquidator is authorized and directed to take all steps necessary or desirable to implement the dissolution in accordance with applicable law.”
What’s Next
URSU is the campus organization that advocates for students and also provides funding for health and dental services and a transit subsidy. It also funds groups like UR pride, the Women’s Centre, and the Carillon.
This year it has been embroiled in conflicts with the UofR over finance and governance concerns, with some of these disputes playing out in court.
Students are now discussing possible legal actions and forensic audits to investigate the handling of URSU’s dissolution. More student reactions and developments are expected in the coming days as the university community is still coming to terms with the controversial vote.
