The Federal Student Advocacy Alliance (FSAA) is a national coalition of more than 281,000 students at 33 universities, colleges, and institutes in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan. Together we work to provide Western Canadian students with a unified voice to influence national change.
Our Vision
An accessible, resilient, and world-class Canadian post-secondary education system that prioritizes the diverse needs of students today.
Our Mission
Empowering western Canadian students to advance their unique national interests through collaboration, research, and advocacy.
Our Values
- Student Led: The Coalition is led by elected Student Leaders and provides every member the opportunity to be involved in the governance, operations, and day to day work.
- Accessible: The Coalition is open to membership from all student associations and provincial advocacy organizations in Canada, strives to eliminate financial and other barriers to participation, and is easy to join and easy to leave.
- Focused: The Coalition focuses exclusively on post-secondary student issues and is committed to advancing realistic solutions to these issues.
- Non-partisan: The Coalition is committed to non-partisanship and strives to work constructively with all politicians and political parties in Canada.
History:
The idea for a western Canadian student advocacy coalition emerged organically over some time, to give student leaders in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan an avenue to engage more meaningfully in federal advocacy.
Seeking an alternative to existing federal advocacy groups, the Alberta Students Executive Council (ASEC), the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS), and various students’ associations in Saskatchewan began discussions in the fall of 2019 to create an organization that is lower cost, more representative, and easier to participate in.
The decision was made to formalize a coalition that would represent the interests of all western Canadian students, in Ottawa. The long-term hope for this coalition is to create a new, more flexible model for federal student advocacy in Canada. A model that enables the participation of every student association, big or small, graduate, undergraduate, or college, and that can endure the ever-looming threat of voluntary student unionism.