Rep Day: Connecting Students and MPs

CIVIX is coordinating Rep Day visits between Members of Parliament and high school classes, and the 2014-15 program began during Canada’s Democracy Week.

Rep Day is a civic education initiative that connects schools with their local MP for a dialogue on government, the electoral process, and issues that interest them. The program aims to help students develop a better understanding and sense of trust in the people and institutions within our democracy.

CIVIX is delivering Rep Day with support from Elections Canada.

Canada’s Democracy Week aims to connect Canadians with activities that celebrate our democratic values and traditions in communities across the country. The fourth annual Canada’s Democracy Week ran from September 15-21 and will encourage Canadians, particularly young Canadians, to learn more about the importance of democracy and voting and to become more involved in the democratic process.

During the last school year, CIVIX coordinated 85 Rep Day visits with 66 Members of Parliament representing eight provinces and four political parties. The feedback from MPs and schools has been extremely positive and CIVIX hopes to expand its reach this year.

 “I think it is a very valuable opportunity for young people to meet their representative in a small classroom setting. It puts a ‘real face’ on politics. It engages them in a way that a textbook or news clip cannot. And, ultimately, hopefully, it will encourage them to be more engaged citizens in their democracy in the future,” says Diane Ballantyne, a teacher at Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus, Ontario.

The 2014-15 Rep Day program will run throughout the school year with visits coinciding with Parliamentary break weeks. Interested schools are invited to contact CIVIX to take part and receive free curriculum resources to help guide the visit.

Want to see Rep Day in action? Watch a clip of Niagara West-Glanbrook MP Dean Allison’s Rep Day visit to Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School:

You can view all participating schools from last year on our interactive map. Photos from last year’s Rep Day visits can also be found on our Facebook page.

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