Two candidates are vying to succeed UMSU president Prabhnoor Singh, who is not seeking another term. This year’s presidential hopefuls are familiar faces in UMSU politics.

Heaven Kaur

Fourth-year biological sciences student Heaven Kaur is running to be the next UMSU president. Kaur currently serves as vice-president, university affairs, and previously held the role of women’s representative.

Kaur said she is seeking the presidency to continue projects she began during her time in office. “Being elected as the next UMSU president would allow me that opportunity to finish the work that is in progress,” she said, pointing to her experience in “different leadership positions” and “different advocacy roles” as preparation for the role.

Transparency, she noted, is central to her approach. “I want to ensure that students know what work I’m doing,” Kaur said, referencing advocacy updates she shared this year and her plan to host “monthly townhalls” to give students the opportunity to connect directly with elected officials.

Kaur raised the idea of a central database for course syllabi to help students make informed decisions and emphasized campus safety as a priority.

Kaur envisions her tenure to be “empowered, informed and connected.”

Fatima Shabir

Fatima Shabir is a science student running for UMSU president.

Entering the presidential race for the second consecutive year, Shabir said her campaign is driven by growing frustration among students over rising fees and a perceived lack of visible results.

One of the main reasons she is running is that “students are paying more in fees than ever and they still do not feel like there are any visible results,” she said,

Shabir noted that conversations with students across campus often centre on the same concerns, including daily costs, access to study spaces and lounges, affordable textbooks and food prices.

Shabir said many students feel disconnected from the union and want to see tangible change. “When we say a union, it’s supposed to unite us all rather than just being an organization sitting there,” she said.

Should she be voted into office, she hopes students will feel they can turn to UMSU with their concerns and “actually feel like there’s something changing there.”

Shabir added that her focus is not the title of the position itself, but ensuring that changes benefit “all students, not just a few.”

Shabir said she wants “to fix UMSU itself and put more of the funding itself into student life.”