Smoke from the nearby wildfires began rolling into Banff early on Day 5, signaling the close of UNDE’s 20th Triennial Convention and the dawn of another mandate. After a week of resolutions, delegates were eager to turn their attention to new business — deciding who would form their leadership for the next three years.
National Executive Elections
The day kicked off with the elections of UNDE’s National President. June Winger ran unopposed and was re-elected in her position. James Potts was elected as the Executive Vice-President and Mona Simcoe was elected as the alternate. Joel Hildabrand was elected in the role of Human Rights Advisor.
Regional Elections
The delegates then headed into their respective regional caucuses to vote on their regional representatives.
The regional Vice Presidents and Deputy Vice Presidents elected to start their term this fall include:
- Steve Warren VP NLNB, DVP Dan Frost
- Bill Kroeger VP NS, DVP Scott Harrigan
- Johanne Rouillard VP QC, DVP Kevin Piton
- Chris Snooks VP ONT, DVP Mandy Forget
- Cathy O’Kane VP NPF, DVP Julie Thellen
- Tin Tang VP CSE, DVP Tonya Collins
- Shawn King VP NCR, DVP Abby Porter
- Mona Simcoe VP MS, DVP Michale Weisgerber
- Stéphane Depot VP ABN, DVP Danielle Poissant
- Josh Peterson VP BC, DVP Shawn Creamer
The newly elected National Executive are set to meet in Ottawa in September where they will discuss and develop a strategy for the mandate.
‘Leave Banff thinking about what comes next’
Once the regional delegates had been selected, the newly elected candidates were sworn into their roles, and the entire delegation participated in an Indigenous land acknowledgement.
Winger delivered her closing remarks and a challenge to delegates: where should UNDE head for our next Convention in 2029?
“Nearly half of the delegates who arrived here were attending their first UNDE National Convention. That means new activists, new energy,” Winger said in her closing remarks. “So don’t leave Banff thinking Convention is over. Leave Banff thinking about what comes next. “
