U of T students elect new Governing Council representatives across all three campuses
Following weeks of campaigning, students at St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough voted in the 2026 Governing Council elections, selecting new representatives tasked with shaping university policy.

Students across the University of Toronto (U of T)’s three campuses have elected new student representatives to the university’s Governing Council (GC) following the conclusion of the annual tri-campus elections.

The GC is the university’s highest decision-making body, responsible for overseeing academic policy, approving budgets, and setting the institution’s strategic direction. Student representatives elected to the council sit alongside faculty members, administrators, and external governors, bringing student perspectives into discussions that affect the entire university.

Each year, students from U of T’s St. George, Mississauga (UTM), and Scarborough (UTSC) campuses vote to elect representatives from several constituencies. The positions are among the most influential elected roles available to students at the university.

This year’s election for full-time undergraduate students in Constituency I, which includes students from UTM, UTSC, and the Faculty of Arts and Science at St. George, drew a particularly competitive field with 38 candidates competing for two seats.

According to official results released by the Governing Council Secretariat, Samuel Kamalendran, a third-year UTM student studying Political Science, and the current managing editor of The Medium, secured the highest vote total in the race with 563 votes. Areeb Naeem of Woodsworth College won the second seat, receiving 411 votes.

Kamalendran’s vote total placed him significantly ahead of the rest of the candidate pool. The next closest candidate, Salaar Khan (UTM), received 315 votes, followed by Ericsson Cui (UTM) with 266 votes and Artan Saberi (University College) with 211 votes.

Speaking with The Medium after his election, Kamalendran said his immediate focus is on preparing for the responsibilities of the role before his term officially begins.

“There’s some time before my term starts,” he said. “I got my first set of emails today, and I’ve been in contact with members of this year’s Governing Council to better understand the roles and responsibilities and get acquainted with the position.”

Kamalendran described the election as highly competitive. “The responsibility is huge because of how many people voted,” he said.

While campaigning, Kamalendran said he spent significant time speaking with students directly through outreach and tabling events. “Talking to people and getting to know what’s on people’s minds was a big part of campaigning,” he expressed.

Kamalendran said one of the issues students raised most frequently was Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) flexibility and the possibility of extending related academic deadlines. Advocating for those academic policy changes will be one of his first priorities, particularly through collaboration with students’ unions across the university.

“My first plan of action is working with the three unions of U of T,” Kamalendran said. He added that the Governing Council can also serve as a platform to push for broader opportunities for students, including academic and professional development. “One thing I want to do is leverage the platform of the Governing Council to work together across campuses,” he said. “That includes increasing co-op and research opportunities and strengthening advocacy.”

Another challenge Kamalendran hopes to address is the disconnect many students feel between themselves and university governance. “I want to make those decisions more transparent and improve the ability to communicate with students,” he shared.

To help close the communication gap, Kamalendran plans to share updates about Governing Council discussions through social media. “One of the main steps will be using Instagram to disperse updates about Governing Council meetings and summarize what happened,” he said. 

He also hopes to collaborate with students’ unions, including the UTM Students’ Union (UTMSU), to distribute updates and improve student awareness of governance decisions.

When asked how he plans to ensure that marginalized or underrepresented students are included in decision-making processes, Kamalendran noted that many demographic-specific initiatives fall under the jurisdiction of students’ unions rather than the Governing Council. “The Governing Council doesn’t always have a lot of jurisdiction there.” However, he said he still intends to prioritize open engagement with students through initiatives such as campus outreach and tabling.

Reflecting on the responsibilities that come with the position, Kamalendran said his leadership approach will focus on aligning governance decisions with student priorities.

“As a GC member, all my initiatives align with student interests,” he said. “My goal is to support students and will always keep their interests first.”

The newly elected student representatives will begin their terms in the coming months and will participate in Governing Council meetings and committees that shape policies affecting students across the University of Toronto’s tri-campus system.

Editor’s note: Samuel Kamalendran was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.