CFUW AGM and Conference
Montreal July 21-25 2026
Report submitted by
Brenda Robertson
CFUW North Bay Club Delegate
Highlights of the 2026 AGM and Conference
Elections of the CFUW National Board
President Linda Sestock
VP Finance Susan Lane
VP International Relations Grace Hollet
VP Advocacy Niki Carlan
VP Education Audrey Hobbs-Johnson
VP Membership Anne Cordon
VP Ontario Sandra Shaw
VP Quebec Debra Christian-Stowe
VP Atlantic Region Janet O’Brien
VP B.C. Sheila Service
VP Prairies Barbara Gustafson
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
Articles of Incorporation Passed
Number of Directors increased from 11 to 12
New Board Position is V P Regional Directors
The Chair of the Regional Directors committee shall serve as the Vice President Regional Directors
E-Club Passed
Member organizations shall be known as Canadian Federation of University Women (geographic location), and shall be referred to in these Bylaws and generally as Club(s)
Policy and Procedure Passed
Policy means a broad statement on the strategic or philosophical position of the organization on a given topic, aligned with mission and purposes. A Policy is durable and is established or changed only by endorsement of the members.
Procedure means a specific statement of how the organization will carry out policy on a given topic, outlining roles, responsibilities, response to a situation. Procedures are established or changed by a motion of the board.
The Board is accountable to member Clubs and is responsible for oversight and management of CFUW in accordance with CFUW Policy as established by the CFUW members.
House Keeping Motions Passed
A woman or person who identifies as a woman, who is a member of more than one CFUW Club shall pay National and GWI dues to only one club.
CFUW National Finance 2026-2027
Auditors Report Passed
Budget Passed
Please see the AGM and Conference Booklet for details.
NOTE: As the Budget is prepared early, additional updates are to
be sent out.
Administrative Procedures Volume 2 Review Project 2025-2026
On June 5, 2026 the National Board approved the current revisions to the Administrative Volume 2 in principle and directed that work continue into the next biennium. The Board also agreed that the Administrative Volume 2 should become a living document subject to annual review and maintenance by the National Office in collaboration with the Board.
RESOLUTIONS Both Resolutions Passed
Resolution 1: Canadian Response to the Education Crisis for Women and Girls in Afghanistan CFUW Ottawa
Resolution 2: Countering Disinformation in Canada CFUW Guelph
Preparation for Montreal AGM 2026 July 21-25
Participation in
CFUW Articles and Bylaws session May 27
CFUW Resolution Amendment session May 28
CFUW Finance –Budget July 8
Election Buddy for voting process July 9 and July 14
Attended in person Election Buddy info session July 21
Overview of Montreal AGM 2026
CFUW AGMs bring members from coast to coast together to engage in CFUW business, connect with colleagues and meet new friends, and hear inspiring speakers.
The Montreal-Lakeshore club and the National Office hosted attendees with warm welcomes and provided wonderful hospitality along with LAC activities.
As a volunteer at the Registration Table, meeting and greeting arrivals was delightful. There were many first time attendees at an AGM this year. A first time attendee session is always provided to give an overview and to answer a host of questions.
The Gala evening on the Tuesday evening provided an opportunity to hear from the National President Linda Sestock and be informed about the numerous awards from Membership increases to International Woman’s Day. A musical evening followed the dinner.
Regional breakfast meetings are always appreciated for meeting Ontario Council club members from across the province and share lots of ideas from sharing on celebrating club anniversaries to collaborating with other organizations.
The Member Led sessions brought attendees from different clubs across Canada together to consider various topics such as
Theme 1 – Member Retention & Recognition
Topic: New member retention—getting new members engaged and involved
Theme 2 Communication & Marketing
Topic: Marketing and the Social Spark—increase community presence
Theme 3 - Leadership & Club Demographics
Topic: Alternative Leadership Models: capacity building and preventing burnout by focusing on inclusion, leadership, and sharing
Theme 4 - Action & Impact (Red)
Topic: Purposeful Programming: High-impact speakers and low-cost "popup"-events.
Theme 5 - Expanding Our Reach (Orange)
Topic: Building CFUW collaborations—e.g., with other service/volunteer groups
Table Top Displays
A number of clubs set up table top displays to share their efforts in promoting their club and showcasing their successes.
Examples: A wine and cheese night around a beautiful set table with sample poster
Various styles of hand outs for new and returning members
Programmes initiated with collaboration of other volunteer organizations
(sample- Aging in Place) reaching out to the whole community
Speakers at the AGM and Conference
To begin each morning, a prayer and cultural talk was given by
Kahsennenkawe Sky Deer about her Mohawk people, the past and moving forward together, the importance of the strawberry and three sisters and their cultural teachings.
On Conference Day
Dr. Carla Fehr spoke on Gender and AI—Who Builds it? Who Benefits? Who is Left out?
Julie Lalond gave a thought provoking interactive talk on Bystander Intervention
To Build Community Care
Anne Norrante Alexandre from Canadian Equality Consulting presented on
Understanding Equity-Deserving Communities—Inclusive Practices and Equity
What is Equity, Equality, Inclusion?
The Closing Keynote speaker, Na’kwset from Lac La Ronge shared her personal experiences as an Indigenous child in the Sixties scoop to her efforts to find her birth family and reconnect with her Cree heritage to going to University, and becoming Exec Director of a Women’s Shelter and creating Resilince Montreal a shelter/services for Indigenous people.
Charitable Trust Dinner
2025-2026 /Fellowship Recipient Ella Walsh, a mechanical engineer designer and
2nd year PhD student in robotics for invasive surgery shared her journey starting as a youth on a robotics team to designing an attachment for wheel chairs to follow a resident senior, to developing sensories for a log hours brace to correct a club foot.
Appreciation to CFUW North Bay
Thank you to CFUW North Bay for the opportunity to serve a the club voting delegate
at the 2026 CFUW National AGM in Montreal. These AGMS are always a broadening experiences to learn more about the Canadian Federation of University Women organization and the impact we can have. I encourage all members to consider attending a CFUW AGM in person. CFUW is a sparkling gem among women’s organizations.