STUDENT WIN! UBC-O student passed motions to lobby with their student union to terminate RBC’s on-campus lease.
In November 2025, students at the University of British Columbia Okanagan successfully passed four motions at the Students’ Union Okanagan (SUO) AGM. They called on the SUO to pursue the termination of RBC’s lease to use university space for its on-campus branch and advocate for transparency by disclosing the contents of their contract.
“The Student Union Okanagan will, for the first time, lobby RBC alongside student advocates to leave our campus.“
“The SUO has told us for a long time that they can’t terminate the contract with RBC because of legal issues. Through these motions, we demanded that the SUO actually release information about the contract and have their lawyer explain its legal implications. After talking to their lawyers, the SUO has committed to informing RBC that they will not renew their lease when it expires because of RBC’s investment in fossil fuels and violation of Indigenous rights. The SUO is then expected to get RBC to agree to the early termination of the contract for the on-campus branch. This means the SUO will, for the first time, lobby RBC alongside student advocates to leave our campus. Additionally, the SUO has kept notes about meetings and internal conversations regarding RBC and the contract a secret. As a result of our win, they are now mandated to release summaries of these conversations.”
This win is a testament to the power and efficacy of sustained student organizing and cross-movement solidarity. RBC Off Campus UBCO organizers dedicated years towards building capacity, public pressure, and critical consciousness in both their student body and student union around the role RBC and other big Banks play. Such as financing extractive projects that drive the climate crisis and perpetuate colonial violence against Indigenous communities on the frontlines.
“We made kicking RBC off campus an election-level issue and built relationships with voting board members who would support our cause. In preparation for the AGM, we organized a film screening of Yintah, hosted an art build and banner drop in front of the RBC branch on our campus, and met directly with SUO executives. Collaborating with students advocating for Palestinian liberation also made this win possible. We brought forward motions alongside those supporting divestment and the academic boycott of Israeli universities.By harnessing the power of both of our struggles, we strengthened both of our motions and won.”
The passing of these four motions is significant because it holds the SUO accountable to the students they serve. It demands transparency around contracts, meeting notes, and internal discussions pertaining to RBC’s presence at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.
“Our student union divested its own funds from fossil fuels years ago and has committed to environmental and socially responsible investments in their bylaws, but RBC remains on campus. That makes no sense—even the SUO is beginning to recognize that! Our win at the AGM encourages us to continue raising awareness about the unethical nature of Big Banks and to damage their reputation on university campuses and beyond.”
Wins like these make space for students to imagine what possibilities exist beyond banks like RBC that finance climate chaos, genocide, and land dispossession. Students have continuously demonstrated their power in holding decision-makers accountable—modeling transformative change on their campuses that moves us towards realizing a more liveable and sustainable future. As the students at RBC Off Campus UBCO put it,
“This win is another step forward in the fight for climate justice and collective liberation.”
– written by Students at UBC-O RBC OFF CAMPUS and Change course
Watch students in action at their AGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkEmzwUzPvM (43:35-1:13:33)
Follow RBC Off Campus UBCO on Instagram for updates: https://www.instagram.com/rbcoffcampus_ubco/
4 of the resolutions passed:
| Resolution 13: the SUO task their legal counsel to 1. Review the contracts between the SUO and RBC, 2. If necessary, redact sections that may not be publicly disclosed due to any confidentiality clause, and 3. Write a statement explaining why the redacted sections may not be disclosed and the penalty for disclosure; the SUO shall then make the statement and the redacted documents prepared by the legal counsel available to Members upon request in physical or digital format, no later than one month after the 2025 AGM. |
| Resolution 14: the SUO, after consultation with legal council, shall release a statement, no later than one week after the 2025 AGM, to be published on the SUO social media, website, and bulletin boards, and delivered to the RBC Branch Manager and RBC Regional Manager, stating that the SUO will not renew the RBC On Campus’ lease upon expiry and will explore its rights to early termination due to RBC’s investment in fossil fuel extraction projects which cause environmental harm and violate Indigenous rights and sovereignty. |
| Resolution 15: the SUO shall lobby RBC to consent to the early termination of the RBC On Campus’ lease based on mutual agreement and with no penalty, and lease the space to a suitable Credit Union alternative that is divested from fossil fuels. The SUO shall provide updates on its actions pertaining to this resolution, at the Board of Directors’ meetings held in February 2026 and April 2026, and then annually at a Board of Directors’ meeting held every October and February until the termination of the RBC On Campus’ lease. |
| Resolution 16: the secrecy of the summary of the in-camera sessions of the Board of Directors’ Meetings held on October 23, 2025; April 11, 2025; and March 26, 2025 be lifted and these summaries be made available for public inspection. |
