People holding signs supporting workers, with messages such as "We are, We give, We need, Support," and "Support, Staff, Strong," during a protest or rally outdoors, with trees and a cloudy sky in the background. Ram Selvarajah for OPSEU

OPSEU Exec elections       

Delegate toolkit

"This toolkit was built for OPSEU/SEFPO delegates heading into the March 21 Regional Elections and April 9-11 Convention. Inside: candidate lists, non-partisan evaluation questions drawn from 6 member townhalls, and plain-language explainers of every role you're voting on — from Executive Board Member to First VP/Treasurer to President."

Why We Made This Toolkit:

You can check your bank balance at 2 a.m. and compare every phone on the market on your bus ride to work. So why is it so hard to track your own grievance, reach your staff rep, or find out what resources your dues are supposed to give you?

Most OPSEU members don't even know a leadership election is happening right now. If a few members couldn't find their way around, that's an individual problem. When most of your membership can't, that's an institutional one. As a candidate for region 5 EBM, I built this Delegate Toolkit to combat a small piece of this systemic disconnect — plain-language resources that break down how this union works, what this election decides, and how to make an informed choice about who you want representing you.

-Ram

delegate toolkit

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delegate toolkit •

    • Sara Labelle: Website

    • JP Hornick (current president)

    • Melissa Shaw

    https://opseu.org/leadership-candidates/

  • As of now, three candidates have declared for First VP/Treasurer; additional candidates could still emerge at Convention.

    All delegates will vote to elect a president and first VP at Convention in April.

    • Ram Selvarajah — Region 5

    • Laurie Nancekivell — Region 1 (incumbent)

    • Aisha Jahangir — Region 2 (on a slatewith Melissa Shaw)

  • Three Candidates will be elected by Region 5 Delegates to represent Region 5 on March 21, 2026.

    • Ram Selvarajah | Candidate for Region 5 Executive Board Member | APRIL: Candidate for First VP/Treasurer

    • Chris Eckert‍ ‍| Candidate for Region 5 Executive Board Member

    • Laura Thompson | Candidate for Region 5 Executive Board Member

    • Michelle English | Candidate for Region 5 Executive Board Member

    • JP Hornick | Candidate for Region 5 Executive Board Member | APRIL: Candidate for President

    • Coleen Hoder | Candidate for Executive Board

The people who want your vote

Questions to Ask Candidates Running for opseu’s board

  • candidates running for re-eleciton

    These candidates already hold the job they are running for again during regionals, so what does their track record tell us?

    ⭐️On time: Can you walk us through how you spent your time in a typical month this past term? Not the highlights or photo reel— the actual breakdown of where your hours went and what material gains members got from your leadership.

    ⭐️ On power dynamics: When was the last time you voted against the majority of the Executive Board on something that mattered? What was it, and what happened after?

    ⭐️ On region awareness: How many locals in your region have failed to meet quorum in the past year? How many have had grievances dropped or delayed because of staffing? Do you know these numbers?

    ⭐️ On culture: Members say there's a climate of fear — people privately message candidates they support but won't publicly engage because they're afraid of political consequences. You've been on this board. Did you contribute to that climate, tolerate it, or fight it? Be specific.

    On record: Name one thing you promised members last time you ran. Did you deliver it? If not, what got in the way — and what did you do about that obstacle?

    On representation: If a member from your region called right now and described their experience with your representation over the last term — what would they say? Not your best case. Your average case.

  • On Member-issues (All candidates)

    These questions explore how candidates problem-solve and strategize

    On servicing: Staff rep workload was the single biggest issue raised by members — some locals have cycled through 3 to 6 staff reps in a single year. What specifically will you do about this in your first 90 days, and how will we know if it's working?

    On spending: Members described money flowing up and never coming back down — conferences, convention merchandise, heritage celebrations heavy on catering instead of education, while a local on strike runs out of money for hand warmers. How would you evaluate whether a spending decision is worth members' dues?

    On technology: OPSEU suffered a cyber attack, and members still can't access basic systems reliably. Local presidents can't pull their own membership lists. What is your plan to modernize the union's technology infrastructure, and what should it cost?

    On engagement: Engagement in some areas is estimated at 30%. The board voted against extending mobilizers who were proving successful, with no backup plan. What is your specific strategy to rebuild member engagement, and how is it different from what's been tried?

  • On Leadership Character (all candidates)

    These questions help us find leaders who will counter reports of toxic culture at OPSEU leadership

    On peer assessment: Which candidate in this race, other than yourself, is bringing the strongest ideas with the track record to back it up? Not who you're aligned with. Who you actually think is doing the work.

    On conflict: How do you hold conflict? When two people you respect disagree and both come to you — what do you actually do?

    On power: When was the last time you disagreed with someone who had more power than you in this union — and what did you do about it?

    On listening: Tell me about a time you changed your mind on something important because a member told you something you hadn't considered. What was it, and what did you do differently?

    On accountability: What decision have you made that, looking back, you'd handle differently? Not whether you got it wrong — everyone does — but can you say it plainly, without spin, without pointing the finger at someone else?

    On identity: If you lose this election, what will you do the next morning? Will you still be doing union work, or does your involvement depend on holding this title?

    On self-knowledge: What do you wish you were better at as a leader? Not what your critics say — what you actually know about yourself.

understanding what you’re voting for at OPSEU’s regional elections & Convention 2026

  • What the role is.

    The President is the chief executive officer of OPSEU. Full-time. Paid. Salary is set by the Board and ratified at Convention.

    Convention delegates elect the President from among the 28 Board members-elect, on the second-last day of Convention, by secret ballot. Majority required — run-off rounds if needed.

    What the President actually does.

    Runs the union's operations day-to-day. That means authority over staff, regional offices, campaigns, communications, political strategy, and any operational decision that isn't specifically reserved for the Board or Convention.

    Chairs the Executive Board and the Executive Committee. The President sets the agenda for both. That means the President decides what issues come before the Board and in what order. If something isn't on the agenda, the Board doesn't discuss it unless it forces the issue.

    Sole interpreter of the Constitution. When there's a dispute about what a constitutional provision means, the President decides. The Board or Convention can overturn it, but in the moment, the President's reading governs. Before finalizing an interpretation, the President must consult the Executive Committee.

    Chief spokesperson for the union on policy matters. When OPSEU is at Queen's Park, in the media, or in political conversations, the President represents 155,000 members.

    Has oversight power over locals. The President can authorize investigations into locals (with Board approval by two-thirds vote), approve or reject local bylaws (cannot unreasonably withhold — locals can appeal to the Board), and impose emergency trusteeships through the Executive Committee for up to 30 days.

    Appoints replacements to Convention Committees and can convene special Regional meetings to fill Board vacancies.

    Can participate in debate at meetings but must vacate the chair while doing so.

    Their relationship to local presidents, EBMs, and delegates.

    The President is not a local president's direct point of contact for day-to-day issues — that's staff reps and Regional Board members. But the President has overall authority over the union's operations, which means they shape how much support flows down to locals, how staff are deployed, how responsive regional offices are, and what gets prioritized.

    Members have the right to attend any Board meeting and to make a formal presentation to the Board with 10 days' written notice. The President chairs those meetings.

    The President also has the authority to assign members to attend any local meeting and to attend any local meeting themselves with voice but no vote.

    If the President leaves office, the First VP/Treasurer automatically becomes Acting President and continues to hold both titles until the next Convention elects a new President.

  • What you're voting for at Regionals on March 21

    • At each Regional election meeting, delegates elect 3 people to the Board. Then from those 3, delegates elect 1 to be the Regional Vice-President. The remaining 2 serve as Members-at-Large. Delegates also elect 1 alternate.

    • Any actively employed member in the region can run — even if they're not a delegate — as long as their nomination is signed by at least 2 members from the region and submitted to the President at least a week before the meeting. Delegates can also be nominated on the floor.

    • The term is roughly 3 years — from adjournment of Convention to adjournment of Convention in the next election year.

    What an EBM actually does.

    • Constitutionally, every EBM has the same vote and the same responsibility: uphold the Constitution, implement Convention decisions, formulate policy between Conventions, and oversee the union's officers, staff, and subsidiary organizations.

    In practice, what that means for your region:

    • They vote on the budget. OPSEU's annual budget is over $100 million, funded by member dues at 1.375% of gross pay. The budget covers staffing, regional offices, campaigns, technology, Convention, bargaining costs — everything. Every EBM votes on it. If your EBM doesn't understand the budget, they're approving spending they can't evaluate.

    • They vote on staffing direction. The Board sets objectives and policies on personnel administration. It doesn't hire or fire individual staff, but it decides how many staff there are, how they're classified, and what the priorities are. When members say their locals have cycled through 3 to 6 staff reps in a single year, or that some staff rep bundles include 16 locals with 60% or more in bargaining — the Board is where those workload decisions get made or not made.

    • They vote on trusteeship. The Board can investigate and place locals under trusteeship by a two-thirds vote. That means taking over a local's operations, finances, and elections. Your EBM votes on whether that happens to locals in your region or anyone else's.

    • They receive the approved minutes of every Board meeting. Those minutes are distributed to every local president after each meeting.


    Their relationship to local presidents and delegates.

    • This is the part that isn't written in the Constitution but matters in practice.

    • Your 3 Regional Board members are supposed to be the link between your region's locals and the provincial Board table. Local presidents deal with staff reps and regional office on day-to-day issues. But when something is a Board-level problem — a policy decision, a budget question, a structural issue with how locals are organized or staffed — the EBM is supposed to be the person who carries that to the table and brings information back.

    • Every EBM has a published work phone number and email through OPSEU's head office. Local presidents should be able to contact their Regional Board members. If your local president has never heard from your EBMs, or doesn't know who they are, or has tried to reach them and gotten no response — that's information about whether the relationship is functioning.

    • The Regional Vice-President has a slightly different role than the other 2 EBMs because they sit on the Executive Committee — the 10-person body that meets at least 8 times a year and handles day-to-day executive oversight, financial supervision, and policy recommendations between full Board meetings. The Regional VP has access to more information and more decision-making than the 2 Members-at-Large. That means delegates at Regionals should think about which of the 3 candidates they want in that VP seat — because it's a meaningfully different role with more access to the inner workings of the union.

    • The Executive Committee can also make non-budgetary expenditures up to $10,000 per item and $120,000 per year.

  • First Vice-President/Treasurer

    What the role is.

    • The First VP/Treasurer is the second-in-command and the union's chief financial officer. Full-time. Paid. Same salary terms as the President — set by Board, ratified at Convention.

    • Elected at Convention the same way as the President — from among the 28 Board members-elect, by secret ballot, separate vote, on the second-last day.

    What the First VP/Treasurer actually does.

    • Prepares the annual budget. The First VP builds the budget in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Board reviews, amends, and adopts it. Then the First VP presents it at Convention, where delegates can direct changes before adopting it. The budget includes forecasts of quarterly revenue and expenses, capital expenditures, cash flows, and the union's projected financial position at year-end.

    • If the budget isn't approved by the start of the fiscal year, existing budgetary provisions continue in effect. If the Board and Convention still haven't approved a budget within 4 months of the fiscal year starting, the Board's version takes effect retroactively.

    • Recommends the external auditor. The Board recommends a chartered accounting firm to Convention based on the First VP's recommendation. The auditors report to the Officers, who then provide the full report to Convention delegates and a summary to every local within 60 days.

    • Reports all compensation publicly. At every Convention, the First VP is required to report the current salary and allowances for the President and First VP, the salary levels for every category of union staff, and the honoraria, per diem, and expenses received by every Board member since the last Convention.

    • Acts for the President when the President is absent or incapacitated. This is not a ceremonial backup. The First VP takes on the full duties, responsibilities, and salary of the President on an acting basis.

    • Sits on the Executive Committee. Same access, same meeting frequency (at least 8 times a year), same role in financial supervision and policy development as the Regional VPs.

    Their relationship to local presidents, EBMs, and delegates.

    • Typically, the First VP/Treasurer is not a direct contact for local-level issues. But the budget they prepare determines how much money goes to regional offices, how many staff reps are hired, whether technology gets upgraded, what campaigns get funded, and how much comes back to locals in rebates. When local presidents say dues money flows up and never comes back down — the budget process is where that gets decided, and the First VP is the person who builds the first draft.

    • The First VP also assists the President in all duties related to running the union, which means they're involved in operations, staffing decisions, and the general direction of the union, not just the finances.

  • OPSEU's Executive Board has 28 members. It is the governing body of the union whenever Convention is not in session. That means between Conventions, these 28 people make the decisions — about the budget, about staffing, about campaigns, about policy, about whether a local gets placed under trusteeship.

    The 28 break down like this:

    The President and the First Vice-President/Treasurer These are the only two people on the Board who do this as their job. Everyone else has a regular day job and serves on the Board on top of it.

    7 Regional Vice-Presidents — one per region. They sit on the 10-person Executive Committee, which is the inner decision-making body that meets more often and handles things between full Board meetings. They are not full-time paid. They receive honoraria, per diem, and expenses.

    1 Equity Vice-President — also sits on the Executive Committee. Recommended by the Board Equity Committee, appointed by the Board. Same compensation as Regional VPs.

    14 Regional Members-at-Large — 2 per region. These are the other Board members elected at Regional meetings who did not become the Regional VP. They sit on the full Board but not on the Executive Committee. Same compensation structure — honoraria, per diem, expenses.

    4 Equity Members-at-Large — Equity Board Members who did not become the Equity VP. Same Board vote, same compensation, no Executive Committee seat.

    All 28 get an equal vote at Board meetings. The Board meets at least 6 times a year, with no more than 3 months between meetings. Quorum is two-thirds of members in office — so roughly 19 of 28 need to be present for the Board to act.

This page isn't a substitute for official OPSEU/SEFPO resources, so please confirm any crucial details through official channels. We're here to help you feel prepared and empowered going into convention — not to replace the union's own processes.