SA’s director to become CFS-National deputy chair.
Toby Lew, director of education & equity, will be the next deputy chair for the Canadian Federation of Students-National (CFS-N).
While he doesn’t believe he’ll be stepping into the role prior to May 2026, Lew already has plans to improve the federation and the Student Association of George Brown College’s (SAGBC) standing within CFS.
His role on the SAGBC board of directors ends on April. 30, 2026.
“My role [as director of education & equity] is very similar to the deputy chairperson supporting the federation, speaking on behalf of the federation and engaging with member locals, which is what we call the city and unions in our campaigns,” said Lew “I think another part, from what I understood. is to really, advocate for the federation. Recognizing that the federation is not a one size fits all, and then getting students unions to really see that, regardless of what we are, there is still a space for you to really engage with us and help, have us help you fight for your rights. And of course, there’s just a lot of internal administrative work and internal things that need to be done. There’s a lot of planning.”
A graduate and valedictorian of the General Arts & Sciences program at George Brown College (GBC), Lew had early on set his sights on a career of advocacy and teaching. His passion lies with education and dealing with social issues. It’s no surprise then that his goal when he stepped into his current role on the SAGBC board, was to refocus on the advocacy that he believes was disappearing.
“I think advocacy was something that was fading out in our organization, and when I was running for this position and stepping into power, I was really focused on wanting students to understand that the union is here to advocate for them and fight for social issues. And a huge part of engaging with students in the student movement is to educate them on the importance of the student movement. Granted, due to many circumstances that hasn’t been the rate as I would like. The rate of educating students on the student movement was, it’s not as intense as I would like, but I think there’s still a lot of room for me to educate the students, agitate them, and get them involved with the SA(GBC), to really understand that we are a union. We’re here to advocate for them. There is social issues on our campuses and outside of our campuses that is worth investing in, beyond your personal issues,” Lew said.
During his time on the board thus far – taking office as of May. 1, 2025 – Lew had spearheaded work on campus such as raising awareness of Bill 33 and working with CFS on other advocacy initiatives – including the recent rally where multiple student unions went to Queen’s Park to voice their concerns.
As he gets prepared to start in his CFS-N role next year, Lew hopes that he can rebuild the foundation of the federation. By doing this, he hopes that he can help to strengthen the ties between the national and provincial federation, and the member locals (student unions).
One thing Lew notes he has learned during his time with the SAGBC is that his personal beliefs won’t always align with the work. Because he knows this divide exists, Lew notes that being able to put aside your beliefs for the betterment of those you serve – in Lew’s case the students of GBC – is the best thing to bring everyone together.
“My duty isn’t to myself or my personal beliefs, it is to the students, and as long as what I’m doing is benefiting the students and going to support them, that is fine by me, because I work for a student union like I said, that is my goal. I can always educate students and expand on what we do. However, if it hurts… I take a step back, re evaluate and reconsider, because if what I’m doing is going to worsen the conditions of our students, that is not worth it. And I think that is something that I will be bringing over to my position, that there is a lot of things to be done with the federation, and there may be things that I want to do that will be that will be a huge task. However, I think what I have to really focus on is the health of the federation, and also the health of this coalition of student unions to really continue the fight.”
In his role as director of education & equity, students can come to Lew with ideas for advocacy and change within the community. You can contact him with questions or concerns at EducationEquityDir@sagbc.ca.
