CFUW Statement on the 2025 Budget

The "Canada Strong" Budget 2025 was unveiled on November 4th, 2025. The federal government has described this budget as a "generational budget," referencing the challenges facing Canada. The most significant investments in this budget are for defence, housing, and infrastructure. 

CFUW welcomes the funding for the Department of Women and Gender Equality Canada, as included in Budget 2025, particularly since this is an issue we have advocated for.

Read the full statement HERE

2025-26 CFUW Directory

The 2025-26 CFUW Directory is now available for download on the CFUW Member Database.

If there are any edits or have difficulties accessing the document, please contact Elizabeth Malcolm at memberservices@cfuw-fcfdu.ca.

In the lead up to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we have added a folder to the CFUW Members Drive.

The folder includes template letters, social media campaign posts and accompanying captions, social media story posts, posters, and the information packages in both English and French.

Access the 16 Days of Activism Information Package HERE (version française)

Is your Club hosting an event for 16 Days? We'd love to highlight these activities on social media and in future CFUW National Club Action newsletters. Send information and any pictures from you event to Camila Taipe at advocacy@cfuw-fcfdu.ca

UWC Vancouver

CFUW Kitchener-Waterloo

CFUW Ottawa

Would you like to come to New York with other CFUW members who will be part of CFUW’s 20-member delegation attending in-person at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70)?

FINAL CALL FOR DELEGATES: Please read the information sheet for more details. The application form must be submitted online to CFUW by Nov. 29th, 2025.

You may access the application form HERE

Virtual Congress of the International Alliance of Women (IAW)

The 40th Congress of the International Alliance of Women (IAW) takes place from November 22-24. CFUW is an affiliate member of IAW and consequently, as CFUW Club members, we may attend IAW Triennial Congresses. There is no fee to attend the virtual meetings which are spread over 3 days from 10am -2 pm ET.

To register for the 40th Congress go to IAW’s website and check Register for XL Congress.

Here is a link to the IAW Congress agenda and documentation:
https://mailchi.mp/996e96e3009d/important-congress-info

The agenda on November 23 includes this item:

Panel Discussion: Shaping the world with feminist values

Guests: H.E. Mary Robinson, Dina Loghin, Soon-Young Yoon, Nicole Ameline Moderators Kerstin Lӧffler, Jill Follows, Sibylle von Heydebrand

Feminists and women’s movements have shaped global norms—from UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security to CEDAW General Recommendation No. 40 on the Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems to feminist foreign policies—establishing gender equality as central to peace, security, and justice. Yet growing anti-gender backlash threatens these gains. This panel explores commitments, challenges, and strategies for advancing feminist action in a contested moment.

Please email me if you have questions.

Grace Hollett, CFUW VP International

vpinternational@cfuw.ca

Call of Interest for Serving on a GWI Committee

This linked document from Graduate Women International (GWI) lists opportunities for additional members of CFUW and other National Federations or Associations (NFAs) to become members of GWI Committees. Any member of a CFUW Club that pays GWI dues is welcome to apply for any of those positions.

Your Biodata form and Candidate Endorsement Form will need to be submitted to the CFUW National Office by email to the Executive Director, Jaime Began (at execdir@cfuw-fcfdu.ca) by November 28th so that the Endorsement form may be completed by the CFUW President and forwarded to GWI by the deadline of 3 December 2025.

As you may know, eight CFUW members were successful in filling the following GWI leadership positions at the GWI Triennial of September 11-13, 2025. They are Patricia Patton-GWI President; Joy Hurst—VP Legal and Governance; Lynne Kent--VP Fundraising; Susan Lane--Assistant Treasurer; Beryl Matthewson--Convenor Resolutions Committee; Patricia Reavy--Member of the Membership Committee; Gail Neff—member of the Education Committee and Brenda Robertson--member of the Hegg Hoffet Committee.

Looking forward to responses!

Grace Hollett

CFUW VP International Relations

IWD 2026 Film:
The Nest

The Nest

At the end of her mother’s life, decolonial writer Julietta Singh returns to say goodbye to her haunted childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political rebels she never knew. Singh teams up with acclaimed filmmaker Chase Joynt (Framing Agnes, No Ordinary Man) for a politically charged cross-community collaboration that deftly interweaves Indigenous, Deaf, Japanese and South Asian histories, all connected through the home. A reckoning with memory, matriarchy and the enduring legacies of silenced voices, the film questions who gets lost in the archives of history, and what we stand to gain by resurrecting them. The Nest transforms a single home from a place of siloed histories into a site of radical collective potential.

Welcome to the "CFUW National Board Corner", where over the next weeks we'll introduce you to the dozens of inspiring women from across Canada who help guide CFUW! 🌟

Our national board members bring passion, experience, and vision to their roles. Read their stories and learn a bit more about each one, as together, they guide our organization with integrity, purpose, and heart.

You can access the shared CFUW Board profiles on the CFUW Member's Drive HERE

2026 Resolution Intents

On behalf of the CFUW Resolutions Committee, we wish to thank the Clubs and Committees who forwarded Resolution Intents. We have reviewed these Intents and confirmed their alignment with CFUW’s mission and are not contained within the current list of Adopted Resolutions or, if similar, the proposed resolution will provide a valuable update to any current adopted resolution.

For the Resolutions schedule for the remainder of 2025-2026 please refer to the Resolutions Information and Guidelines found HERE.

Margaret Therrien and Wendy Taylor
Co-Chairs, CFUW Resolutions Committee

Proposers and 2026 Resolution Intents

Intent #1 (CFUW Ottawa) Canadian Response to the Education Response in Afghanistan

Intent #2 (CFUW Northumberland) A Strong, Equitable Canadian Economy

Intent #3 (CFUW Guelph) The Destructive Impact of Disinformation

Thinking About Member Proposals??

What are member proposals? Motions of any kind. We usually think of motions discussed at a general meeting as being limited to Resolutions (in CFUW this means motions to establish advocacy policy) and Bylaw amendments.

Members (CFUW Clubs) can submit motions on a variety of topics. As long as they propose action that is within the purposes of CFUW or that addresses how CFUW conducts business (bylaw amendments, amendments to procedure, resolutions, dues motions, nominations) member proposals can be considered at the AGM or a policy session. The Articles and Bylaws Committee handles all such member proposals except nominations, which are handled by the Nominations Committee and “Resolutions”, which are handled by the Resolutions committee.

More information, as well as forms, can be found HERE

Advocacy Opportunity: Op-Eds

An Op-Ed is an opinion piece in a newspaper (including online news publications), in which the author presents evidence and arguments to inform and convince the public about a subject. The purpose is to raise awareness, stimulate debate, or increase support for a particular cause.

Op-Eds can be a useful advocacy tool as their purpose are not to share facts or news or a press release, rather an argument must be made. CFUW clubs and members can use Op-Eds to make arguments for and against the issues that are close to their hearts.

CFUW will host an Op-Ed Challenge in 2026! Now is the ideal time to educate yourself on the dos and don'ts of writing Op-Ed's as CFUW members or clubs and to brainstorm which topics you might want to write about.

You can learn more about Op-Eds by watching the op-ed webinar hosted by the previous National Advocacy and Policy Specialist HERE

CFUW National Webinars and Trainings can also be accessed in the CFUW Member's Drive HERE

Hotel booking is now available for the 2026 CFUW AGM & Conference.

Book your group rate for CFUW AGM 2026 - If you wish to extend your stay in Montreal, the group rate extends before and after the schedule. See specifics below.

Last Day to Book : Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Start Date: Friday, July 17, 2026
End Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Travel Codes for the 2026 CFUW AGM & Conference

Monday October 27^th 4-5:30 pm ET CFUW Awards and Projects: What Works, How to Plan

Building on ideas from the Membership Award winning projects recently we heard great ideas. See resources in the Members Drive including the notes from the September MMM on successful recruitment strategies:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tW5KnOfR7Nbf0oWkp36S_VGK0_zpxw7n

Upcoming:

Monday November 24^th 4-5:30 pm ET Alternative Leadership Models

Highlighting CFUW club ideas and other volunteer groups—what are the ingredients for success?

Aminatta Forna, a Scottish/Sierra Leonean writer says: “If you want to know a country, read its writers”. In an effort to further educate CFUW members on Zambia as part of the 2025-26 ISP, Maureen Cassidy, dual member of CFUW Aurora/Newmarket and UWCNY, had the idea to promote Zambian authors and artists in the CFUW Club Action newsletter.

Iris Mwanza is a Zambian-American author and gender equality advocate. Born and raised in Zambia, early exposure to inequality has been a driving force in her life - from becoming a lawyer, writing a Ph.D. dissertation on women and children’s rights, a career fighting for gender equality, and now writing The Lions' Den, a thriller with gender equality as its heart.

Next week, Thursday, November 27th, will be the last drop-in session for 2025 - Thank you to everyone who has come out! Drop-in sessions will resume in the new year.

A recording of a previous Drop-In is available HERE

CFUW Interest Groups Across the Country
CFUW FAQ Page
CFUW Member's Drive Resource Document
CFUW Member's Drive
CFUW Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Resources
Zoom Request Form
CFUW Newsletter Archives

Have you checked out the new CFUW Event Calendar? It’s jam packed with CFUW Committee meetings, Club Events, and important dates from the National Office!

Clubs are encouraged to submit their events to the CFUW National Event Calendar through the CFUW Member Database.

Ontario Council Speaker Series — November 29, 2025 — Register HERE

The Role of Patriarchy: Historical Perspectives and Current Issues Featuring Kim Verwaayen, Associate Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, University of Western Ontario

Please join us at 10 AM on Saturday, November 29th for our second Speaker Series Event for 2025-2026. In this virtual session, we welcome Kim Verwaayen, Associate Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, University of Western Ontario, as she explores the topic of Patriarchy from a historical and modern perspective. This will be a thoughtful discussion of patriarchy and how society can overcome this social convention rooted in bias. Our Speaker Series events are free, virtual sessions held on our Zoom platform. After the speaker and panel discussion, there will be time to share and chat with other attendees.

Petition to the Government of Canada: Single Senior Women and Federal Tax Equity

CFUW individual members are encouraged to support this petition put forward by BPWCanada regarding Single Senior Women and Federal Tax Equity. Here is some background to that petition:

Single senior women face disproportionate economic vulnerability: they live longer than men and are over four times as likely to experience poverty compared to their coupled peers (Auditor General, 2024). Furthermore, research indicates that a single senior may pay up to 9.6 times more in taxes than a senior couple (SSTF, 2024). Addressing these disparities aligns with Canada’s commitments as a signatory to the Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) sessions and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), reinforcing the country’s obligation to promote gender equity and economic justice for all seniors.

The petition closes on December 28, 2025.

GWI Update - November 19th, 2025

Do you want your Club’s newsletter shared in the CFUW Club Action newsletter? Send your newsletter to Elizabeth Malcolm at memberservices@cfuw-fcfdu.ca

MLUWC - November 2025

CFUW Kanata - November 2025

CFUW Guelph - November 2025

CFUW South Delta - November 2025

CFUW Moncton - December 2025