The Canadian Federation of Students Nova Scotia (CFSNS) took a bold initiative on Oct. 20, voting in favor of a province-wide student strike. The strike, slated for March 16-21, 2026, would be the first province-wide student strike outside of Quebec, and a huge step forward for the Canadian student movement as a whole.
The central demands of the strike are a 20 per cent reduction in tuition and the demand that universities divest from the arms industry. These are exactly the correct type of demands we need to be fighting for. Affordability of post-secondary education has steadily eroded for decades. And over two years since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, universities remain financially intertwined with the war machine.
This strike is correct to link the struggle against deteriorating social services here to the struggle against militarism. The same Carney government that is embarking on an austerity program is also promising an unprecedented military spending spree. The very universities which are raising tuition while cutting classes and supports for students are also benefitting from genocide in Palestine and investing in the arms industry more broadly.
The Revolutionary Communist Party wholeheartedly supports the initiative of the CFSNS. The mood is present amongst the students for a struggle. Most youth are appalled by the situation in Palestine and furious at the complicity of their universities. Meanwhile, their rent and tuition keep increasing, adding to their frustration. In this context, mass struggle is the only way forward.
But the same conditions exist in every province. That is why we say that this movement must spread. Unity and numbers are the greatest strengths of the student movement. With the ruling class rallying around Carney for their regressive program, we can create a counter weight in society of a massive student strike, shutting down campuses across the country.
We call on the Canadian Federation of Students and its provincial chapters, as well as the student federations in Quebec to take up this strike campaign and mobilize for the strike on March 16-21. General assemblies must be organized to discuss and vote on the matter. The next step would then be to energetically bring the campaign to every classroom and lecture hall in the country. As many students as possible must be mobilized in order to make the strike a success.
Recent struggles in Italy, France, and Spain have shown the way forward. In these countries, workers, students and youth are taking matters into their own hands. They’re fighting against militarism and austerity and for the liberation of Palestine through strikes and mass mobilizations. In Canada, there’s a growing appetite for similar bold action. The students have an opportunity to take the struggle to the next level.
Block Everything!
Books Not Bombs!
Forward to a Pan-Canadian Student Strike!
