By Zanoah Plummer

It’s no secret that the last few years have been tumultuous for the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU). The union’s previous elections have seen candidates rack up hundreds of demerit points, with votes have been delayed or declared void entirely. 

After the winter 2025 general election was declared null and void following an investigation launched in January of that year, two interim executive directors were appointed to steer the ship pending a fair election.

Now, after the winter 2026 general elections were executed largely pain-free (save for a one-month delay),  a new executive team is taking the reins—and for the first time in more than a year, the TMSU will be led by a student.   

Candidates from the Team Justice slate swept the winter 2026 general election and Zain Baig, a fifth-year business technology management student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) was elected president of the union.

The Eye sat down with Baig to discuss his goals for his term and his plans to address the woes facing the union. 

Q. How do you feel about being elected president?

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to represent TMSU members and address their needs at an organizational level. 

I plan to do my absolute best to ensure students receive an efficient and effective union after that has not been the case for far too long. It’s definitely a challenging role and can be intense sometimes, but in a good way.

I learn something new almost every day. I’m glad I get to be here to solve all the complex problems that have still not been addressed. A lot of the full-time staff, part-time staff and volunteers at TMSU are amazing people and great to work with.

Q. The TMSU has had a difficult few years. What change do you hope to bring during your term?

I will rebuild TMSU into a union that actually prioritizes students and addresses their needs. A union where every student is aware of their rights, responsibilities, freedoms and services available to them. A union that functions efficiently and effectively.

A union with up-to-date policies and bylaws that are relevant to students in 2026 onwards, with permanent safeguards and governance guidelines against corruption and fraud that last beyond my term. I think it is going to be hard to earn students’ trust, but I want TMU students to hold us accountable.

[The union is] in charge of millions of dollars of tuition fees, and a lot of that money has gone to waste in the past. The union has long promised to serve students, and that hasn’t happened for years. I’m ready to turn the union around to truly serve students and use their money wisely.

At the end of my term, I plan to look back on a year where we made students feel truly involved and empowered by their union.

Q. One of your big initiatives is creating a nap space on campus. What inspired this? 

TMU is a big commuter school, and many students spend one to two hours commuting to and from campus daily. Having multiple classes in a single day can mean students are very often on campus from early morning to night.

This takes a large toll on your energy, productivity, mental health and ability to focus. 

These negative effects can increase drastically if you aren’t getting eight to 10 hours of sleep every night. Which, honestly, not many students are getting, if they’re working part-time to pay off their tuition or involved in extracurriculars. 

I was introduced to the concept of a napping space to boost productivity and support wellness at one of my co-op placements, where I used it almost every day as I was working nine to five doing night classes and involved in extracurriculars.

I also noticed other students struggling with this. I see students sleeping in uncomfortable public spaces on campus almost every day, and people are always asking about napping spots on the TMU Reddit.

Q. How can students reach the TMSU to ensure their voices are heard?

There are numerous ways for students to reach the TMSU. All of the executives, including myself and the vice-presidents’ contact information, including our email, is on the TMSU website.

There’s also the committees. We have regularly scheduled meetings for the Social Justice Committee, the Student Action Committee, and the Events Committee. 

These are opportunities for students to really voice their concerns, because those committees are the decision-making tools of the union.

Any decision that the union makes is done through a committee. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.