The Quebec student movement centered in Montreal had very impressive victories in 2012 against the provincial government which was intent on raising tuition and outlawing student demonstrations. This article attempts to analyze why and how they succeeded in contrast to other campuses in the rest of Canada and the US.
It appears to me that the basic ingredients are one-day strikes, general student assemblies which are limited in size, maintaining an activist core, and the hiring of more permanent key staff funded by student fees. You might glean other elements that contribute to their success. He concludes his article with this statement:
As the impact of the Great Recession drags on, the time is ripe for student unions across Canada, and the United States to take a page from the Quebec students’ playbook and take back their campuses.