About 3,600 students who were set to graduate in November are now invited to attend the spring ceremony in June 2026

By Khushy Vashisht

Fanshawe College has postponed its fall convocation ceremonies as the strike by Ontario’s college support staff approaches its fourth week.

The ceremonies set to be held on Nov. 4 and 5 will now be delayed to June 2026 according to a statement released by the school last Thursday.

They said the decision was made a month ahead so families could have “ample time to adjust their plans and potential travel arrangements.”

Jonathan Patlan, a photography student who was set to graduate in November, says the decision shocked him.

“I was surprised at how long they postponed it for,” he said. “I hope they resolve [the strike] fast so students and teachers can have their classes as we used to...we have almost finished the fall semester.”

In an email statement, Fanshawe College said that roughly 3,600 students will be affected by the decision and that even if the strike is resolved prior to the ceremony, they will uphold the postponement.

About 10,000 full-time support staff represented by the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) went on strike on Sept. 11 after bargaining talks with the College Employer Council (CEC) fell apart. 850 of those are staff from Fanshawe according to Aidan McNally, OPSEU’s communications officer.

A CEC press release from Sept. 10 stated that the union rejected their offer and instead have demands that are “fiscally impossible” to meet. They said the demands exceed $900 million, a figure the union disputes.

In response, OPSEU said it was the colleges’ bargaining agent that walked away from negotiations eight hours prior to the strike deadline.

McNally said union members are advocating for better wages and job security measures. This comes after the union said they saw 10,000 jobs lost in the last year.

“Without these protections, support staff will have no protections against future layoffs and supports that students rely on will be eliminated,” she said.

The CEC said in a statement they offered changes to benefits including on-call pay, bereavement leave and more before talks broke down.

Talks remain stalled between OPSEU and the CEC as McNally said the employer and college presidents “declared an impasse” over job security language.

“College support staff want to get back to work,” she said, adding that the union is calling on the CEC to return to the bargaining table.

The strike, affecting all 24 colleges in the province, has also led to various course cancellations and campus closures.

Patlan, who is now part of Fanshawe’s two-year marketing program, said his co-op preparation class is one of the courses now paused and taught asynchronously due to the labour disruption.

Currently, there are no scheduled talks between the two groups according to McNally.

Beginning Oct. 14, part-time college support staff including student, casual and temporary workers, will also vote on whether to strike.