Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP)

🎉 Big news! The 50th OLIP cohort has arrived at the Ontario Legislature!   We can’t wait to share the highlights, lessons, and behind-the-scenes moments from our time at Queen’s Park.  Join us on our ten-month journey and head to the OLIP Unplugged Blog for deeper insights and stories from our cohort!  _________________________________________ 🎉 Bonne nouvelle! La 50e cohorte du PSALO est arrivée à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario!    Nous avons hâte de partager les moments marquants, les leçons apprises, et les scènes en coulisses de notre stage à Queen’s Park. Joignez-vous à notre périple de dix mois et visitez notre Blogue OLIP Unplugged pour des lire des récits de nos exploits!

The OLIP interns greatly appreciated meeting with global communications leader, Burson, and speaking with Shanice Scott, Senior Account Director; Mik Opolski, Senior Consultant; Hailey Budgell, Consultant; and Stefanie Di Cosmo, Consulting Intern. Over the course of our conversation, we had the opportunity to explore the unique ways in which the organization builds, protects, and reinvents the reputational management of clients. Burson use of brand imaging, corporate and public affairs consultancy, creative content, and AI innovation is how they produce effective service. It was fascinating to discuss how Burson’s operations stretch from America to Asia, and the large-scale productions they have contributed to – including the Super Bowl! (football emoji) Thank you Shanice, Mik, Hailey, and Stefanie for taking the time to meet with us, and share their perspectives into their ranging portfolios. We look forward to seeing further content roll out! To read more about our meeting, check out our blog, OLIP Unplugged, for further details into our conversation.

This past week, the interns met with the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA), and welcomed President Krista Scaldwell and Erich Schmidt, Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs, back to Queen’s Park. We explored the CBA’s role in leading Canada’s sustainable and collaborative non-alcoholic beverage sector. From representing over 60 brands of non-alcoholic beverages to maintaining more than 250 facilities across the country, CBA is a leader in the regulatory environment. President Scaldwell also shared her wealth of experiences in leadership and government, as well as her views regarding navigating international corporate decision-making at executive levels. We sincerely appreciated the candid nature of our talk, and her many words of wisdom. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Canadian Beverage Association for partnering with our programme, as well as Krista and Erich for taking the time to host such a riveting fireside chat! To read more about our meeting, check out our blog, OLIP Unplugged, for further details into our conversation.

This past week, the interns “checked the box” and met the team at Elections Ontario. 🗳️ It was a pleasure to speak with Greg Essensa, Chief Electoral Officer, and Chrishane Dilkumar, Executive Assistant, and learn about the complex work that goes into running an election. With over 20 registered political parties, 11.1 million electors, and a land mass that takes over 24hrs to drive across, Ontario elections are no easy feat to organize, but the over 55, 000 employees at Elections make these endeavours possible. The interns had the opportunity to learn about technological innovations in voting, threats to democratic elections, and methods to evaluate the success of an election and facilitate ongoing procedural improvement. Following our meeting, we had the opportunity to tour the organization’s warehouse, which has served as the central resource for Ontario elections for decades. We would like to share a huge thank you to Chrishane and Greg for your generosity, time, and dedication to supporting our learning. See you at the polls!

We were honoured to visit the offices of Ontario Power Generation, the crown corporation responsible for over half of Ontario’s electricity generation. It was a pleasure to speak with Timothy Gopaul, Senior Provincial Government Relations Manager, and two of our energy expert alumni, Jake Sikora and David Donovan! ⚡️☢️ It was wonderful to continue our journeys exploring Ontario energy as we learned about OPG’s ongoing projects and future goals, as well as how these projects have adapted over the years with different governments and policy priorities. It was also a delight to hear Jake and David’s OLIP recollections, and their transitions from Queen’s Park to energy policy. With Ontario serving as a leader in sustainable energy across the globe, OPG’s work presents direct examples for us to learn from as we move forward in our careers. Thank you, Tim, Jake, David and Shawn, for welcoming us to your office, and to OPG for your longtime support of our programme! To read more about this meeting, check out our OLIP Unplugged Blog at olipinterns.ca!

It was a pleasure to meet with and learn about the Ontario Nurses Association (@ontario.nurses ) this past week. The interns had the opportunity to chat with Imreet Kaur, Government and External Relations Specialist; Andre Fast, Government and External Relations Specialist; and Leanne Cooke, Senior Advisor at the Office of the President and Board of Directors.🏥⚕️ Starting as a nurses’ union, ONA now represents thousands of healthcare professionals across the province, ranging from an amalgamation of medical technicians, social workers, respiratory therapists, and administrative staff. With Queen’s Park positioned in the heart of Toronto’s hospital corridor, it was enlightening to discuss the issues impacting the healthcare workers neighbouring us. We spoke to the policy changes ONA lobbies for, and the effects employee welfare has on patient outcomes. Thank you Imreet, Andre, and Leanne for sharing your time with us, and thank you to ONA for your generous support of our OLIP experience!

It was wonderful to chat with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and learn more about contemporary issues facing students in universities across the province. We had the opportunity to speak with Omar Sayyed, VP Finance of the Steering Committee, and Octave Andrade-Dixon, Executive Director. Representing both the student-led and the executive leadership sides of the organization, Omar and Octave had a wealth of knowledge to share with the group. 🍎📚 Representing around 160,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students at nine student associations across Ontario, we learned about how OUASA engages in research, lobbying and educational campaigns to reach their goal of an accessible and high-quality post-secondary education for all. Thank you Omar and Octave for sharing your passion and time with the group, and a big thank you to OUASA for your continued support of OLIP! To read more about our meeting, check out our OLIP Unplugged Blog!

It was a pleasure to welcome Kim Wright, founder of Wright Strategies and a longtime public affairs advisor, to Whitney Block. 📝 From working her first campaign at 13 to now being an expert in municipal policy, Kim’s career is one the interns were delighted to learn more about. It was fascinating to hear about the contrast between provincial politics at the beginning of Kim’s career until now, where you’ll often find her arranging meetings with MPP’s on behalf of the various key stakeholders she represents across the country. We spoke about strategies to crafting memorable messaging, the inner working of City Hall, and the importance of gender representation in the world of politics. Thank you Kim, for taking the time to meet with us and share your stories. It was a pleasure to meet you!

This past week, the interns had the pleasure of speaking with the Honourable Bob Rae, the 21st Premier of Ontario. It’s not every day you meet one of the subjects of a portrait in the Legislative Building in real life, so it was truly an honour to welcome Mr. Rae to our space! Mr. Rae has been a stronghold in Canadian politics for decades, serving as leader of the provincial NDP, Premier of Ontario, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada as an MP, and most recently, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations. From the ups and downs of his impressive career, he had a wealth of lessons and stories to share with the interns. His insight into political strategy, creating strong public policy, and using one’s passion to help others are certainly lessons the group will bring forward in their future careers in policy and leadership. Thank you Mr. Rae, for sharing your time with our group year after year. We truly appreciate your honesty, kindness and leadership!🌐 To learn more about our meeting, check out our OLIP Unplugged Blog on our website.

It was wonderful to meet Alain Brandon from Loblaw Companies Ltd, the parent company that operates some of Canada’s most well-known retailers, including Loblaws, NoFrills, Shopper’s DrugMart, and their associated independent brands. It was fascinating to hear about Alain’s experience at Loblaws over the years as they’ve navigated growth, new governments, and competitive global markets. The interns learned about the intricate process of product sourcing and pricing, their innovations in sustainable packaging, and issues like retail crime and product storage facing grocers across the country. Thank you to Alain for sharing your knowledge and snacks, and educating us on the ins and outs of Loblaw Companies!🍎🛒 For more information about our meeting, go check out our OLIP Unplugged Blog!

The interns “geared up” for a meeting with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineering, one of the only provincial advocacy bodies for engineers in Canada⚙️ It was wonderful to speak with Paola Cetares, Director of Public Affairs, and Lydia Batty, Public Relations Coordinator, about their experiences before joining OSPE and the work they do translating technical engineering information to digestible non-partisan content for their political audiences. OSPE’s work brings together engineers from across the province to continue creating innovation in energy, water management, infrastructure, transport, and any sector that could benefit from engineers (hint: it’s all of them!) It was also wonderful to hear about efforts for further inclusion of women and newcomers in the field as the profession grows. Thank you Lydia and Paola for your time and kindness, and OSPE for your continued support of our program! Learn more about our productive discussion by checking our OLIP Unplugged Blog- link in bio.

This past week, the interns met with Ryan Clarke, Executive Director of Noviscend Inc🔬 Bridging the gap between patients and emerging medical technology, Noviscend aims to “deliver health through innovation” through advocacy, marketing and education. It was fascinating to hear about Noviscend’s efforts in the healthcare industry, especially how they connect high-level medical work to the average person. We shared a wonderful discussion surrounding Ryan’s experience working in law and politics, and how our own time at Queen’s Park could help us become better advocates in the future. A huge thank you to Ryan for spending time with us, and to Noviscend for their generous support as one of OLIP’s key sponsors! To read more about our meeting, check out our OLIP Unplugged Blog!