Aiden Peters

Aiden Peters is a second-year student studying economics. Peters is running for vice president, external affairs.

“I’m very involved on campus, or at least I try to be,” Peters said. He is the vice president of the economics society and is involved with the Indigenous Students Association.

Peters is running for this position because he believes there are two ways of approaching government in the position of external affairs – as a really good friend or from an angle of pressuring them.

“Poke wherever you can to get your policies through […] that’s sort of what I believe are ideal method for dealing with the government should be,” he explained.

Peters has also been part of organizations like the Youth Parliament of Manitoba, and he believes he knows how to navigate political systems quite well.

Peters has three main things he hopes to accomplish. Provincially, he wants to achieve a tuition freeze. Municipally, he wants to advocate for bus routes that are convenient for students. “I think that […] especially late at night at the campus too […] there’s not really much bus service.”

Federally, he wants to continue working with Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) to deal with student aid and grant programs.

Peters envisions his tenure as “protest, consistence and collaborative.”  He said, “I’d like to work a lot with other student unions, especially across Manitoba.”

Peters enjoys debating, biking and music.

Vivian Pinheiro

Vivian Pinheiro is a second-year global political economy student running for vice-president external affairs.

She currently serves as a student senator and previously worked in an MLA’s office, where she gained experience in policy development and community engagement.

“Over the past year, I’ve gained a lot of experience in policy, in student government and understanding politics as a whole,” Pinheiro said. She believes the role would allow her to “bridge the gap between what students face […] and public decision-making.”

Transit reliability is a key focus of her campaign. Pinheiro said she has heard from students who miss classes, labs and exams due to overcrowded or cancelled buses.

She hopes to strengthen collaboration with city partners to address the issue. “Thousands of U of M students use […] bus transit every day,” she said, adding that it is a concern that affects both students and the broader community.

Pinheiro also plans to advocate for the restoration of international student healthcare, which was cut in 2018. She said coordinated provincial advocacy and collaboration with other post-secondary institutions would be essential to keeping the issue on the government’s agenda. “It is very important to always highlight and […] show real data, show real reasons why this is very important,” she said.

Beyond these priorities, Pinheiro cited cost-of-living concerns, tuition predictability and renter protections as important issues.

She described her leadership approach in three words, “experience, strategy and momentum,” and emphasized that “continuity is very important.”