CIVIX’s annual Rep Day initiative saw 133 meetings take place from January to June 2023, between 109 MPs and their youngest constituents — students from grades 3-12.
From coast to coast, Rep Day took place in 10 provinces across Canada, reaching more than 7,700 students with the goal of demystifying politics and humanizing the role of an elected representative.
These non-partisan, educational meetings are designed to address some of the issues facing Canadian democracy, including developing a better understanding of and sense of trust in the people and institutions within our democracy, and providing opportunities for youth to voice their opinions and concerns through constructive discussions.
To prepare for the meeting, classes learned about government and elected representatives, examined their constituency and current political issues, and generated questions to ask their Member of Parliament.
During the meeting, students were able to learn more about the House of Commons, bills their MP has contributed to, local projects and ways to help their community, and any plans for the future. They also had the opportunity for their individual concerns to be directly addressed about topics such as the economy, environment, Indigenous issues, and foreign policy.
Popular questions to MPs included topics such as previous jobs, values and reasons for running for elected office, what their daily role as an MP looks like in Ottawa and in their riding, as well as challenging and rewarding aspects of the job.
“I enjoyed getting to know our MP and getting a deeper understanding of our government’s rules and laws,” said one Grade 6 student in Ontario following the visit.
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On a post-program survey, Rep Day teachers indicated the value of the program:
- 95% agree it increased students’ knowledge of government
- 90% agree it increased students’ interest in politics
- 88% agree that Rep Day improved students’ attitudes toward being active and informed citizens
Rep Day will resume in September 2023, and CIVIX looks forward to welcoming more schools and MPs to be part of this program.
For more information visit repday.ca or email rep@civix.ca.