IGNITE, the student union representing Humber Polytechnic and the University of Guelph-Humber, has cancelled its 2026–27 board elections due to insufficient nomination applications to trigger a voting period.
In a late evening announcement shared on Instagram, IGNITE Chair Alexandra Rodgers confirmed that only 10 complete nomination packages were submitted, the same number as the available board positions, prompting IGNITE’s Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Committee to proceed by acclamation rather than hold a competitive election.
“After consideration and in accordance with Articles 5.1 and 5.3 of IGNITE’s By-Laws, the GRC Committee determined that all eligible nominations would be acclaimed, meaning that no election or voting period would take place,” the committee said in a statement.
IGNITE received five nominations from the Lakeshore campus, four from the North campus, one from the University of Guelph-Humber, and none from the Downtown campus.
A typical board consists of 10 directors, including three representatives each from the North campus, Lakeshore campus, and the University of Guelph-Humber, along with one representative from the Downtown campus.
The nomination period ran from Jan. 13 to Jan. 29 and was extended by one week in an effort to attract more candidates, but no additional applications were submitted after the deadline.
The GRC Committee said it is moving forward with the nominees, citing their demonstrated interest and commitment to serving students across campuses.
“This year, despite extending the nomination period by one additional week, we didn’t receive enough nominations to meet the usual campus distribution,” the committee said.
“The GRC Committee is moving forward with these 10 nominees because they have shown effort and dedicated interest to serve on the Board. They are eager to represent not just their campus, but Humber and U of GH students at large,” the committee added.
One of the Lakeshore campus nominees, Sehaj Bajwa, said the cancellation came as a disappointment.
“I was kind of taken aback when I saw the email. I was looking forward towards the whole campaign. And I was looking forward towards talking to my peers about their expectations from the Ignite board of directors. And what they are expecting us to do, you know, in this coming academic year,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa expressed mixed feelings about the potential of joining the board.
“On the positive side, I'm excited that I'll be a part of this board of directors and that I'll be able to do something that actually makes a difference,” Bajwa said.
“This whole thing kind of makes me sad on some note that, you know, people are not exactly confiding in IGNITE or, I don't know, like, are not coming forward to participate in these very important decisions. Because being a part of a student union or contributing to it in any capacity is a very big thing,” he said.
The acclaimed nominees for the 2026–27 IGNITE Board of Directors are Shivan Ahluwalia, Sehaj Bajwa, Rish Diwan, Brandy Laurent from the Lakeshore campus, Gracy Narewal from the University of Guelph-Humber, and Abdul-Moiz Saeed, Purab Sharma, Surjeet Singh, Nick Walton, and Maryam Zahid from the North campus.
To be nominated, candidates from the North or Lakeshore campuses must submit a package with at least 75 signatures from full-time students at their home campus. Those running at the University of Guelph-Humber or the International Graduate School require 50 signatures.
Under normal circumstances, campaigning would begin within 15 business days after the close of nominations and last at least five consecutive business days, but will not occur this year due to the acclamation.
However, the students will still have an opportunity to vote to ratify the nominees during IGNITE’s virtual Annual General Meeting on March 25 at 11 a.m.
If approved, the nominees will officially form the 2026–27 Board of Directors, with terms beginning May 1 following the annual meeting and ending April 30 of the following year.
This year's election process contrasts with last year’s election cycle, when 17 candidates ran for 10 board positions, with 7,824 student votes and 296 choosing to abstain.
The 2026 – 2027 Board of Directors nominee profiles are available on IGNITE’s website.
IGNITE’s current GRC Committee consists of student directors Alexandra Rodgers, chair from the Lakeshore campus, Natalie Vrdoljak, vice-chair from the University of Guelph-Humber, and Daniel Tarhembe from the Downtown campus.
