Last week, The Agenda's Steve Paikin interviewed me on the findings of our fourth and final MP exit interview report, "The Outsiders' Manifesto," which summarizes the MPs' advice and recommendations. It's always a privilege to appear on The Agenda, as they always allows enough time for in-depth conversation. Of course, as soon as the interview ended I realized I forgot to highlight that... [More]

In my previous post I introduced Canada25, an organization that facilitated the participation of thousands of young Canadians in public policy between 2000-2007. As I wrote in that post, I now see Canada25 as a precursor to what the internet now enables: a much larger articulation of citizens' desire to be involved in their communities and their countries.  Canada25 existed to help organ... [More]

Last week I was invited to speak to a group of public engagement professionals who work for the Canadian government. They were interested in some of the work I've contributed to that's helped facilitate people's involvement in public service and public policy over the years, and what I've learned about the state of citizen engagement in our public life today. Watchers of this space (we hope!) h... [More]

In Saturday's Globe and Mail, John Ibbitson explored the state of voter engagement in the wake of dropping turnout in the various provincial and territorial elections this fall. The article includes a short preview of our upcoming project, a series of focus groups with Canadians who are not interested in politics.  The results will be released in late November, but as we note in the article,... [More]

We are pleased and proud to share with you our final report of the MP Exit Interview project: The Outsiders’ Manifesto: Surviving and Thriving as a Member of Parliament. With Parliament set to resume next week, The Outsiders’ Manifesto reveals former MPs’ advice to our new Parliamentarians—from what needs to change in Question Period to how to more effectively engage citiz... [More]

This Thursday, September 15th, I'll be a panelist in a seminar exploring how to better connect citizens to the democratic process. It's free and open to the public, so please join us if you can. My bit is entitled "Citizens, Reconnected: What young people and politicians can teach us about reinvigorating citizen engagement in Canada's democracy." In addition to auditioning for the longest present... [More]

It's a sad day in Canada, as we woke up to the news that Jack Layton lost his fight with cancer. Thank you to Calgary Herald reporter Jason Markusoff, who posted the following quote from Mr. Layton this morning: "If I’ve tried to bring anything to federal politics, it’s the idea that hope and optimism should be at their heart." Words for us all to live by. **Update: Here is Jack La... [More]

Throughout July we are interviewing the authors of books on our shortlist for the Best Canadian Political Book of the Last 25 Years. Vote for your favourite here. Andrew Cohen is a professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University and the author of five books. Here he discusses his 2003 book While Canada Slept. Describe the genesis of While Canada Slept. What brough... [More]

On the heels of Samara and the Writer’s Trust's ongoing search for the Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years, we have what is likely Canada’s newest political book: Democratizing the Constitution: Reforming Responsible Government. Notably, and sadly, will be the last book written by one of Canada’s great political scientists, Peter Aucoin, who passed away earlier th... [More]

It'll come as no surprise that we're pretty big fans of The House, CBC Radio's weekly politics show. After five years hosting the show, its host Kathleen Petty is returning to her hometown of Calgary to host their morning show, The Eyeopener. Her parting remarks, roughly excerpted here, are a must-listen for anyone who cares about politics, policy and the quality of Canada's public life. She's th... [More]

This year marks the first year of a very special Parliamentary internship, created in memory of Jaimie Anderson.  A passionate Canadian who believed in the best of our politics (as Susan Delacourt writes in this touching article about the program, "it can be easy to forget that politics also attracts idealists, dreamers and people driven by a need to help others"), this paid internship provid... [More]

As promised, here's the clip to my interview with Steve Paikin on TVO's The Agenda, where we spoke about our third MP exit interview report, "It's My Party": Parliamentary Dysfunction Reconsidered." It's not as stern as the picture above suggests! The show producer, Allison Buchan-Terrell, wrote a terrific blog to accompany the show, which led to a great online discussion. We are extremely gra... [More]

A few interesting events and publications in journalism-land: 1. Meet the minds behind Canada's new media start-ups: On Tuesday May 17, the Canadian Journalism Foundation is hosting a fascinating panel featuring the founders of four online media organizations: The Tyee, Open File, The Mark and IPolitics, 6:30 pm at the University of Toronto. Tickets, or information on how to follow online, a... [More]

**Updated on May 16, following a recount** This morning I was a guest on CBC Radio's Metro Morning with Matt Galloway (pictured here much as he looked at 6:30 this morning!), talking about whether the crop of young NDP MPs from Quebec is good for democracy, and what they can expect when the arrive on the Hill for the first time. It was a fun discussion, and I've summarized it below, but I fail... [More]

Below is the last in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Alexandra Ogden from New Westminster, British Columbia. ***   1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Alexandra Ogden, originally from New Westminster, British Columbia. I study International Studies and Modern Languages at the University Ottawa and am in F... [More]

Below is the third in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Michelle McCullough, a recent university grad and supply teacher in York Region. *** 1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Michelle McCullough. I am a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, and am currently working in the York Region as a supply teacher. ... [More]

Below is the second in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Kathryn Liberta from Montreal, who explains why, despite voting in local elections in the past, she might sit this one out. *** 1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Kathryn Liberta, I am a 22 year-old student at the University of Ottawa in Art History. I was born ... [More]

Below is the first in a series of profiles of first-time voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. First up, 19 year old Nicolas Maharaj. ***   1.  Tell us about yourself. My name is Nicholas Maharaj. I am a 19-yr-old student in the city of Toronto. I also a community volunteer who encourages students to report anonymous violence through the Toronto Police Crime Stopp... [More]

With the our federal election less than a week away, like many Canadians, the mind's turns to voting.  A few updates from our corner, in that regard: 1. Liveblogs and voting: Tuesday night, starting at 6pm, we'll be part of a GlobalNews.ca liveblog on youth and voting. Heather Bastedo, the director of our democracy index project, did her PhD in youth political participation, and we're lookin... [More]

The wonderful team at IPolitics.ca invited us to participate in a livechat today - Wed April 20th - at 1pm EST. The topic will be our recently released MP exit interview report,"It's My Party: Parliamentary Dysfunction Reconsidered," which higlights the frustrations that former MPs feel about the way politics is practiced in Parliament. In it, the MPs raise important questions about the the opene... [More]