McMaster’s full-time undergraduate students voted 1966 – 1300 against adding a $20.00 annual fee to fund “Homecoming & Large Events.”
The on-campus homecoming events were key to maintaining public order this year during McMaster’s annual homecoming.
In the coming weeks, the McMaster Students Union’s student council (the Student Representative Assembly) will need to determine whether and how it will fund homecoming and on-campus events.
As noted during the MSU presidential debate: the student union ran a $400,000 to $500,000 deficit this year.
Next year, McMaster projects a decline in full-time enrollment. Lower enrolment means lower revenue for the MSU.
Low Voter Turnout on Referendum – HSR UPass Could be in Jeopardy come 2026
McMaster students vote every three years on renewing their agreement with the City of Hamilton for a flat-rate universal bus pass
The next vote is in January 2026.
In 2023, 10.5 percent of students cast ballots in the UPass referendum. Ten percent turnout is required for a referendum to be valid.
Had 128 fewer students voted, the HSR-MSU UPass would’ve been cancelled.
The MSU UPass accounted for approximately 10 percent of HSR fare revenue in 2018. It now accounts for a higher percentage. [Overall HSR fare revenue has decreased since 2019, while McMaster enrolment has increased.]
MSU referendum turnout this year was 13.1 percent. (22.2 percent of students voted in the presidential election.)
If the 2026 MSU HSR pass referendum fails, Hamilton City Council would need to increase the property tax levy by approximately 0.5 percent to compensate for the lost revenue.
In 2018, the Ontario Conservative government imposed restrictions on mandatory non-educational student fees. Under the new rules, new “transit passes may only be implemented on an opt-out basis.”
Related: In my post-MSU debate blog post, I noted that recent service improvements have improved student opinion of the HSR.
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Published: February 2, 2025
Last updated: February 2, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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