Convention 2026

HSA's 2026 Convention will take place in-person on April 15 - 17, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. The convention will be preceded by a full day of education workshops on April 14. 

resolutions

  • The deadline for submitting resolutions for consideration at the 2026 convention is January 16, 2026. All resolutions must be voted on by members at local union chapter meetings before being submitted to the union office.
  • Progress on HSA's 2025 convention resolutions can be found here.

Delegate Entitlement

  • The delegate entitlement for each chapter to the 2026 Convention will be available to stewards by logging into the Steward Portal on January 19, 2026. After this date, chapters may start holding meetings to elect their delegation to convention.

registration

  • Registration for convention will open on January 26, 2026 and close on March 5, 2026.
  • Any delegates without automatic delegate status (i.e., Lead Steward or their designate) must be elected at a local chapter meeting and registered by the deadline for registration.

Pre-convention education workshops

  • Every year ahead of convention we offer a day of educational workshops covering a variety of topic areas. This convention we will once again offer 5 full-day workshops on April 14, 2026. Only members who are approved delegates can apply for these sessions. Information about pre-convention education will be circulated in January. Please note, we always get more applications to attend than there are spots available. Applicants will be notified by union staff the week of March 9, 2026, if a seat has been confirmed. If you have applied to attend a workshop, it is best to book your travel after you’ve received confirmation of a seat.

Equity-denied caucuses

  • Creating meeting opportunities for delegates and members who identify with an equity-denied caucus is an important part of every convention. However, we also know from past conventions that attending caucus meetings during convention can add significant commitment to an already long day. This convention we want to try something different. Instead of holding these meetings over the three days of convention, we will host them virtually ahead of convention. This means that caucus members can meet ahead of convention to review the convention agenda, discuss important resolutions, and prepare for debate and discussion. This also means delegates will have more time to participate in other convention activities and events. This will be the first time we will try this model. Following convention, please share your feedback and experience. We are always looking for ways to make delegates’ experience better and honour the time you give to building our union.

Convention FAQs

Eligible members must be elected as a delegate at their chapter meeting. Delegates must register for the convention here ahead of the deadline of March 5, 2026. 

Note: If a chapter does not fill its full delegation, the vacant delegate spots may be allocated by the Board of Directors to other parts of the region.

Yes. If you were elected to an alternate position you must register before the deadline of March 5, 2026, to be considered for an available delegate seat.  You need to register as your elected position of alternate 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (chapters can elect up to 5 alternates). You will find out after March 5th if you are approved to fill available delegate seats within your region.

Yes. If you would like hotel accommodations provided by HSA, please request a room on your registration form. The rooms are booked by HSA after March 5, 2026. For convention, any delegate has the option to stay overnight for Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16 night and out-of-town delegates can also request accommodation on the evening of Tuesday April 14, 2026.  For more information you can learn about the travel policy here. 

This year we are happy to offer every convention delegate who shares a hotel room $25.00/night. This money would be added to your expense claim at the close of convention.

Again, this year, any delegate who lives in the Lower Mainland and prefers to stay at home instead of the hotel will be able to claim the daily per diems.  This allows all delegates the opportunity to network with other convention delegates. Per diems will start at 12 pm on April 15, 2026.

And finally, for any delegate who uses transit to the hotel, they have the opportunity to enter their name into a daily draw for $100. The draw will be made daily before adjournment, and the money will be added to the delegates expense claim. Please stop by the convention office for further details. 

If you can no longer attend, please inform your Lead Steward immediately. If you have registered for the convention, please inform the Convention Registrar Shannon Chartier.  If you are approved to attend a pre-convention workshop you will need to contact HSA Education at: @email.

 Yes. Childcare will be provided at the Hyatt by a third party.  If you would like to use the childcare services, please indicate on your registration. Please note we will not be able to accommodate requests for childcare after March 5, 2026. 

HSA encourages first-time delegates to attend the New Delegates Breakfast that will be held on the morning of Wednesday, April 15, 2026.  This session will explain some of the rules of order and other basic convention procedures. You must pre-register for this session.  Please indicate on your registration form if you are a first-time delegate. 

Members must travel in the way that is most reasonable and least expensive overall. For members who live outside of the Lower Mainland, this method is typically flying. Once your registration for convention has been approved and your employer has approved your time off, you can book your flights with W.E. Travel. The cost of flights increases the closer you book to your departure date, please try and book far in advance of your departure date. There are instructions on how to contact W.E. Travel in the approval email you received. 

Pre-convention workshops will be held on Tuesday, April 14. We expect there to be more applications for the pre-convention workshops than spaces available. Members who have applied to attend a pre-convention workshop will be notified if they are approved on the week of March 9th and they should wait until they are approved to attend before they book their travel. Once you have received your confirmation for your workshop, please book your travel with W.E. Travel immediately. 

Yes. New for the 2026 convention, we are moving the caucus meetings for equity seeking delegates to take place before the week of convention. If you are looking to attend one of the pre-convention caucus meetings, please fill out the self-identifying questions on your registration. You will then be contacted with an invitation to attend a virtual meeting that will happen ahead of convention. 

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