Hey Centennial! We’re excited to share this CCSAI Board Bulletin, highlighting what your student leaders have been working on over the past few months. From Fall 2025 through the Winter 2026 semester, we’ve been focused on advocacy, student supports and building a stronger campus community – always with your voice at the centre.
Connecting With Students Across Campuses
Throughout the Fall and Winter semesters, we’ve been present at orientations, tabling sessions, and major campus events across Centennial. From Cenchella and Clubs Mix & Mingle to Frost Week orientations, these events have been great opportunities to meet students, answer questions, and share how CCSAI can support you during your time here.
These appearances also gave us the chance to hear directly from students about what matters most and bring those voices into the work we do.
Speaking Up For Students
Beyond campus, we’ve also been advocating for students at both the provincial and national levels.
At the provincial level, we worked alongside other student associations across Ontario to raise concerns about Bill 33, including participating in advocacy initiatives, letter-writing campaigns, and discussions with policymakers at Queen’s Park.
Our board also supported broader student advocacy efforts, including outreach related to the Canadian Student Grants campaign and petitions calling for stronger financial supports for students.
At the national level, CCSAI representatives have been actively involved with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). This included contributing to policy discussions on issues such as food insecurity, housing affordability, and federal student financial assistance, as well as participating in CASA committees focused on governance and equity, diversity, inclusion, and community engagement.
Closer to home, we also worked to support students during the Centennial support staff strike. Throughout the disruption, CCSAI focused on sharing updates, listening to student concerns, and advocating for solutions that would minimize the impact on students’ learning experience and campus life.
Through these efforts and more, we continue to ensure that Centennial students’ voices are represented in conversations that affect their education and well-being.
Improving Student Supports
We’re always looking for ways to make student services more responsive to student needs.
Earlier this year, we launched a student feedback survey to hear directly from you about the supports that matter most. Students shared their thoughts on areas such as:
· Mental health supports
· Career services
· Food security programs (Breakfast Grab n’ Go and the Food Bank)
· Learning cost reimbursements
· Professional development opportunities
This feedback helps guide the work we do and strengthens our advocacy for the services students rely on.
Making Financial Supports More Accessible
One area we’ve been focusing more on is financial accessibility for students.
We’ve been reviewing the Cost Reimbursement program, which helps students cover certain learning-related expenses. By gathering student feedback and identifying barriers in the current process, we’re exploring ways to make the program easier to access, more visible, and more student-friendly.
At the national level, we’re also pleased to share a recent advocacy win for students across Canada. The federal government has announced an extension of the 40% increase to Canada Student Grants and loan limits for the 2026–2027 academic year. This temporary increase has been in place since 2023 and has helped students better manage rising education and living costs.
This decision follows sustained advocacy efforts by student organizations, including CASA, of which CCSAI is a member. Through coordinated campaigns and student-led initiatives, student voices helped push this forward.
While this extension is a meaningful step, we continue to advocate for permanent, long-term improvements to student financial assistance that reflect the real cost of living and studying in Canada.
Together, these efforts aim to ensure students not only have access to financial supports on campus, but that their needs are also represented and acted on at the national level.
Student Leadership & Involvement
Creating opportunities for students to participate in leadership and community-building is an important part of our work at CCSAI.
This year, we launched and supported several student committees, including the Transform the Future Committee, EDIA Committee, and Clubs Executive Committee, which give students the opportunity to take an active role in shaping initiatives, programs, and campus life.
We’ve also been supporting efforts that strengthen Indigenous student representation and engagement on campus. This includes work related to the development of the Indigenous Student Union (ISU) and contributing to conversations around Centennial’s Indigenous Strategic Framework, helping ensure that Indigenous student voices remain part of ongoing institutional initiatives.
Across campus, we continue to support student-led spaces and communities, including initiatives organized by groups such as the Black Student Collective, which create opportunities for students to connect, celebrate their identities, and build supportive communities at Centennial.
Transform the Future Fund Projects
We’re also continuing to invest in student-driven improvements across campus.
Through the Transform the Future (TTF) Fund, which collects $1 per student each semester, students can propose projects that improve campus life.
Recently approved initiatives include:
· An HD Sport Simulator at the Athletic & Wellness Centre
· A Bidet Installation Project across Ashtonbee, Morningside, and Progress campuses
These projects show how student ideas can turn into real improvements that benefit the wider Centennial community.
Building Community
At the end of the day, our goal is not only to advocate for students, but also to help build a stronger and more connected Centennial community.
Alongside advocacy work, we supported a range of initiatives that bring students together — from campus events and club activities to community-focused initiatives. This has included supporting student-friendly events such as Blue Jays watch parties, as well as organizing a humanitarian relief drive that brought students together to support communities in need.
These moments create opportunities for students to connect, unwind, and feel part of campus life.
Stay Tuned!
Your CCSAI Board of Directors is here to represent your voice, support your experience, and advocate for the issues that matter most to you.
Everything we do is shaped by what we hear from students: whether through conversations on campus, feedback surveys, or the communities you build with one another.
As the semester continues, we look forward to connecting with more of you across campus. Stay tuned for upcoming events, opportunities to get involved, and more ways to make the most of your time at Centennial.
