Laurier MAP grad wraps up Ontario Legislature Internship Programme

Every year, the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP) welcomes ten interns to serve as team members to backbench Members of Provincial Parliament. These ten highly sought-after internship positions are selected based on academic excellence, personal maturity and a demonstrated interest in parliamentary government. This past year, 2019 Laurier Master of Applied Politics graduate Meaghan Irons was among the 2019-2020 OLIP selected interns.

Irons learned of OLIP during her undergraduate degree in political science at Western University. Though it peaked her interest, she opted to complete her master’s prior to making application, which brought her to Laurier. “I chose the Master of Applied Politics program at Laurier because the goal of the program was to provide students with practical experiences and opportunities to help the wider community” says Irons, who came with strong interest in social policy.

While at Laurier, Irons continued to pursue her interest in policy, while benefiting from the practical skillset development the program offers. Practice writing briefs, presenting to senior officials and performing qualitative and quantitative research would especially prove useful in her future responsibilities as an OLIP intern.

In addition to her studies, Irons was also selected as head TA for a first year, 600 student class. Associate Professor Yasmine Shamsie highlighted Iron’s proactive work ethic as a great strength. “She is super organized and very smart” says Shamsie, “but what I found distinguished her from all the other head TA’s I have had in the past is that she anticipated problems and resolved them on her own.”

Also during this time, Irons attended an OLIP information session at Laurier, which ultimately persuaded her to apply. “I thought it was a great opportunity to work with elected politicians without being in a partisan role” says Irons. Along with working aside elected officials, the programme also includes comparative study trips to other legislatures in Canada and the UK, and meeting with policy and industry leaders. After submitting a 600-word statement of interest, resume, and three references, she received news that she had been selected as one of 10 2019/2020 OLIP interns.

OLIP would be a full-time, September to June commitment for Irons. Throughout these 10 months she, alongside her nine other fellow interns, would complete two placements: one with a governing party Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and the other with a member of the opposition.

Irons was assigned placements with two MPPs from different regions of Ontario, one from the GTA and the other from Northern Ontario. This has given her the opportunity to learn about the province’s diversity and the unique issues among these communities.

In addition to these placements, the programme also consists of committee responsibilities, meetings with prominent leaders, study tours and the completion of an original paper on an aspect of the Legislative Assembly. 

The variation of responsibilities and the opportunities that come with them has been a highlight for Irons. “Each day you get to learn more about the legislative process through working with your MPP, seeing the policy making happen in person, and contributing to their legislative role. You also get to go on study tours to places that you may not have been to before. For me, Yellowknife was a truly incredible experience. I had never been to Canada’s north before, and we were able to meet with leaders who were solving policy issues very different to what we have in Ontario.”

Despite the fact that COVID-19 did have some effect on her OLIP internship, Irons is grateful that she has been able to continue with adjustments. “We work in our MPP’s offices still from home – connecting over email and video chats to stay in touch” This has actually given us a chance to work on very different work than if we were at Queen’s Park, such as more involvement with the constituency office. In terms of our meetings, we have been able to hold those virtually using video conferencing. So, while it’s not the same as working in-person, we have been able to transition fairly well.”

As the programme wraps up at the end of June, Irons hopes to continue her work in policy. “My goal is to contribute to policy that positively impacts society” says Irons, “During OLIP, I enjoyed attending the stakeholder meetings with my MPPs and learning about the different organizations and policy options that they are advocating for. This really propelled my interests in advocacy and government relations. For my next step, I’d be interested in a role that combines my interests in social policy with research, communications, advocacy, and government relations.”

Irons recommends that those interested in the OLIP check out the programme’s social media platforms (@olipinterns) and the website, where interns post application information, tips and dates for campus and online information sessions.