Alexa Evans’ report as Chief Returning Officer, delivered at the 2025 UWSA Annual Meeting.
First, I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to all the candidates who participated. It was truly inspiring to see so many outstanding individuals step forward and put their names on the ballot.
This year, we had a 36.7% voter turnout, which was down slightly from the 2024 election. Each member was able to vote for up to five out of the nine candidates, and to ensure fairness, the candidates were listed in a random order on the ballot.
There were five seats up for grabs in this election. However, two candidates tied for 5th place. I referred the question of how to break the tie to the Board.
In response to the tie, the Board acted swiftly and passed a motion on Tuesday to temporarily create a 10th seat. This allows us to seat the top six candidates as directors. I’d like to thank the Board for their prompt action and for finding such a fair and thoughtful solution. Article 8 of the by-law details how more seats can be added on an as-needed basis. The Board did not know who the tied or even top six candidates were when discussing or voting on this motion, only that director Angela Rooke was not part of the tie.
Increasing the number of directors has come up recently, for a few reasons: to share the workload more, to reflect our growing membership, and to help provide more consistency in the face of turnover. The tied vote provided some impetus to add another seat at least temporarily. The ongoing number of directors will be discussed when the Board updates our Articles of Incorporation this year to comply with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.
Election results
Angela Rooke was re-elected, and your new directors are Emilie Mechler, Gregory McIntyre, Khyati Nagar, Sarah Seabrook, and Tracey Beirness. Directors start their terms today and will be onboarded shortly. Congratulations to the new directors
As previously announced, Bill Baer was acclaimed as the president following the nomination period. He will become the president-elect on November 1 and his presidential term starts next November.
A big thank you to our outgoing directors, Tim Ireland and Agata Antkiewicz, for all your hard work.
Finally, a special thank-you goes to our election committee members—Lizzy, Lauren, and Stefaniada—for their invaluable support and enthusiasm throughout the process. Your commitment helped ensure that the election was conducted fairly, transparently, and smoothly.