By working together through the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia, students won a cap on tuition fee increases, stopping fees from rising faster than inflation (2% in 2011).

Recent Victories

Federation members continue to enjoy a cap on tuition fee increases in BC. Some colleges win a complete freeze on tuition fees.

The CFS lobbied successfully for a National Student Grants Program to provide non-repayable financial assistance to students across the country ($500M).

The Federation campaigned successfully for a province-wide subsidized transit fair for students in the form of the U-Pass.

After pressure from the Federation, the BC government eliminated tuition fees on adult basic education.

Several campuses across the country pass policy to ban the sale of bottled water, after coordinated efforts from students' unions.

The CFS is able to lobby successfully for the right of international students to work off campus, as the Federation holds the only seat on a government committee regulating international studies.

Historic Victories

2005 

Federation members won a cap on tuition fee increases in BC, ending three years of skyrocketing tuition fees.

The Federation made affordable, high quality post-secondary education a provincial election issue. Tens of thousands of new voters are registered across BC through the Rock the Vote BC campaign, increasing youth voter turnout by 30%. 

The Federation campaigned successfully for $51.8 million in increased funding for access to BC’s colleges, university colleges, and universities. 

The federal government budgeted $1.5 billion to be transferred to the provinces to increase access to post-secondary education by reducing tuition fees. This is the first time that the federal government takes responsibility for reducing tuition fees. 

The CFS’s recommendation to allow international students to work off-campus is implemented across Canada. 

The Federation successfully campaigns for an up-front grants program in Ontario. 

2004 

Federation members in BC collected 38,000 signatures on a petition that is presented to the legislature, demanding a reduction in tuition fees, an increase in government funding and restoration of the BC Grants program. 

The Federation secured a replacement for the BC Grants program, which will forgive students’ debt across BC by up to $50 million in loan remission every year. 

The CFS-Ontario won a fully funded tuition fee freeze. Tuition fees are frozen or reduced in five out of ten provinces. 

The CFS-NL convinced Newfoundland’s Conservative government to implement a three-year tuition fee freeze, with additional funding to improve instructional quality. 

2003 

The CFS lobbied for and secured changes to the Canada Student Loans Program enabling convention refugees and new Canadians to access Canada Student Loans. 

2002 

The CFS launched a successful campaign to block a proposal by Queen’s University that would have opened the door to unlimited tuition fee increases in all programs. 

2001

The Federation won a tuition fee reduction of 5% in BC. Students in Newfoundland get a 10% reduction in tuition fees. 

2000 

The Federation won a grants for BC students in up to four years of study, and a fifth year of grants for students with dependants. Tuition fees in BC stay frozen. 

The Federation exposed the deficiencies with the Millennium Scholarship Fund that allowed provincial governments to pert the scholarship funds to pay for pre-existing programs. The federal government responded by increasing the tax-exempt amount for scholarships from $500 to $3,000. 

1998 

In response to pressure from the Federation, the 1998 federal budget contained a series of modest gains for students in the form of interest and tax-relief on student loans. The government also announced the creation of the Millennium Scholarship Fund. 

1997 

The intense lobbying by Federation members forces the federal government to try to mitigate the student debt crisis. The 1997 budget contains several modest measures to help students who are having difficulty repaying loans. 

1995 

The Federation won another tuition fee freeze in British Columbia, which remained in place for six years. 

The CFS organized the largest pan-Canadian student demonstration in Canadian history, mobilizing over 100,000 students across Canada, after the federal government releases a review of social policy in Canada that argued for the implementation of Income Contingent Loan Repayment Schemes. 

1993 

The CFS-Ontario defeats a plan by the Ontario government and the Council of Ontario Universities to increase tuition fees by 50%. 

1992 

The Federation wins a tuition fee freeze in British Columbia. 

1991 

The CFS successfully lobbied for the removal of the three percent tax on Canada Student Loans. 

1989 

The CFS defeated the federal government proposal to apply the GST to tuition fees, campus residences and meal plans.