Vancouver Island University students have been organised since 1969. Realizing the importance of having a voice on campus, students at Vancouver Island University (formally Malaspina University-College) decided to form a campus-wide organisation to represent their interests. Since its inception, the recently changed Vancouver Island University Students’ Union has been providing students with advocacy, services and events that they would otherwise not have.

In 1989, students at Vancouver Island University decided that as well as being organised locally, working with other students across British Columbia and the rest of the country was just as important. In a referendum of all students, members voted overwhelmingly (92%) in favour of joining Canada’s national student movement, the Canadian Federation of Students.