Welcome to The Griff’s coverage of the 2026 SAMU executive committee elections. These profiles aim to present balanced views based on candidate responses, all to help you make an informed decision when casting your vote. And if you’re not currently a MacEwan student, we hope this coverage offers you a window into what’s happening in student politics at the heart of our downtown Edmonton campus.

Nathan Poon

Advocacy is a top priority for Nathan Poon in his run for vice-president governance and finance. 

“As a third year student I see that I know what students want, I’m a student’s first advocate,” says Nathan Poon. “I’ve been here for three years, I looked over what everyone wants and I hear everyone complaining about parking fees are too much, we need more space, I don’t have enough accessibility, or we want another breakfast club, stuff like that. I want to advocate for students, it’s one of my biggest goals.”.

A key part of his platform focuses on reviewing MacEwan’s policies to allow for students to choose what they are paying for, and if they can opt out of certain fees. Poon said he wants to work with the university to examine tuition-related fees and identify any that might be necessary for some students.

“Some people don’t want to use the gym membership, so I want to try to talk with the MacEwan life or see whoever I can communicate with to see if we can maybe make that option where we have the Arc card and you can either say “yes or no” to it, I want to see if we can do the same for that,” says Poon. 

Poon also hopes to strengthen support for clubs at MacEwan.

“I want to advocate for affordability,” says Poon, adding that he hopes to make sure clubs are well funded, organized, and run smoothly. 

As an accounting major, Poon says his academic background will help him navigate the responsibilities of the governance and finance role. 

“The reason why they should vote for me is because I am, like, in my third year and I am an accounting major,” says Poon. “So I know all the finances, I know all the budgeting, I know all the reporting, and I am student driven, so I want students first.”

To shape his platform, Poon says he created a survey asking students what issues matter most to them.

“I’ve created my platform and I’ve created a Google form that says ‘what do you want as a student?,’” says Poon. “So that gives me an idea of what I can advocate for and what I’ll try to advocate for.”

Andrei Santiago

For Andrei Santiago, advocacy means bringing student concerns to the university administration. Santiago hopes to be re-elected as vice president (governance & finance), and he wants to leverage his experience to continue advocating for students if he wins. 

His re-election campaign consists of four points: external affordability, internal affordability, strategic planning and oversight, and representation and accountability. 

External affordability 

Santiago says external affordability means financial advocacy directed at the university. 

“And so what that looks like is having those conversations at the tuition and fees consultation table, as well as having our president and vice president meetings with MacEwan, and also having my meetings with my MacEwan counterpart,” Santiago says. This means regular meetings with MacEwan’s CFO. 

Continuing his work from his first term, Santiago says he aims to leverage his meetings with MacEwan’s CFO to ensure that funds are consistently directed to student needs. 

Santiago says he hopes MacEwan runs a surplus in its budget next year to make a stronger case for allocating the money to students’ needs and concerns. However, he offered no evidence of a university budget surplus next year.

“And so what that looks like is having those conversations at the tuition and fees consultation table, having our president and vice president meetings with MacEwan, and having my meetings with my MacEwan counterpart.”

—Andrei Santiago, current vice president (governance & finance)

Internal affordability 

Santiago’s second campaign point is to see how SAMU can save students money. 

He highlighted that he wants to review SAMU’s health, dental, and legal plans to identify ways to enhance these services and promote their benefits to students. 

He says he wants to also monitor SAMU’s services to determine how he can help students save money. 

“And so this is moreso the most important during budget season, and that runs from November to January. So, really looking at every single department and looking to see where we can save students money,” he says. 

“And I really want this to be put in place so that students know what we’re doing and because we are their student representatives.” 

—Andrei Santiago, current vice president (governance & finance)

Strategic planning and oversight 

Related once again to his governance and finance’s internal responsibilities, Santiago says he wants to ensure that SAMU’s rules, policies and procedures are always relevant and cohesive. Santiago also wants any major changes to be debated and discussed across a myriad of SAMU committees, so that councillors are informed by the time they reach students’ council. 

On the external level, Santiago says he wants to continue monitoring external services such as the U-Pass and Alumo, SAMU’s newest insurance provider. 

“So again, working with the City of Edmonton and working with Alumo to make sure that our these services that we are providing for our students are functioning, functioning well,” he says. 

Representation and accountability

Santiago wants to tap into social media to increase SAMU’s social media presence. Highlighting the work executive committee members do, along with the results of their advocacy efforts, will help better inform students. “And I really want this to be put in place so that students know what we’re doing and because we are their student representatives,” Santiago says.