July 12, 2019

Morse acclaimed president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, Wozney acclaimed vice-president 

Nova Scotia Teachers Union past president Shelley Morse has been acclaimed as the president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and NSTU president Paul Wozney was acclaimed as a vice-president at its 2019 Annual General Meeting held in Ottawa July 10-12. 

“This is a great honour for me,” says Morse. “I am proud to be leading the collective voice for all public school teachers in Canada, and will continue CTF’s work in improving the working lives of teachers and the learning environments of students. My priorities will be gender equality; social justice; and teacher welfare—in terms of working conditions and violence in the classroom.” 

Morse was appointed interim President-Designate by the CTF-FCE Board of Directors in May. She was elected as vice president of CTF in July 2018, and served two other one-year terms as CTF vice-president in 2016-17 and 2014-15. In that capacity she chaired the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Human Rights and Advisory Committee on the Status of Women. She also served on the AGM Resolutions Committee; CTF Finance and Negotiations Committee; Advisory Committee on the Teaching Profession; the ad hoc Committee on CTF membership and as a CTF Trust Fund trustee. She served as NSTU president from 2012 to 2016 and as its past president in 2016-17. 

Most recently Morse was a school guidance counsellor at Aldershot and Glooscap elementary schools. Morse’s career in the teaching profession spans 35 years, including 31 as a classroom teacher and nine as a teaching vice-principal. She relinquished her administrative role in 2018 when administrators were removed from the NSTU through Bill 72. She has volunteered with the NSTU her entire career holding numerous positions at the local, regional and provincial levels, including president of the Kings Local on two occasions; AVRRC Chair; and NSTU’s First Vice-President from 2008-2010. Morse becomes the seventh NSTU past president to serve as a CTF president. Mary-Lou Donnelly was the most recent past president to do so, from 2009 to 2011. 

Wozney is also excited about his new role. “I look forward to working with teacher leaders from across Canada in advancing and advocating for students, teachers and public education, ” says Wozney. He is one of five CTF vice-presidents acclaimed for one-year terms. 

Founded in 1920, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation is the national voice for the teaching profession. As the national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations, the CTF/FCE represents over 273,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also a member of Education International, the global body of national education organizations in 173 countries.