Sen. Don Oliver Internship

Senator Donald Oliver Internship Program

About

The Senator Donald Oliver Internship Program offers young Canadians a significant political opportunity. This internship focuses on outreach specifically within the Black Canadian Community as a community that is underrepresented within parliament. This internship program is designed for solid and mindful individuals who desire to make a difference in the political landscape. The program also allows every intern to meet lifetime mentors, foster professional relations, and build friendships.

With the hope to make positive changes in Ottawa, this program seeks to equip determined individuals with various analytical and political tools. Our interns will learn how to cherish radical hands-on training, distinction in parliamentary work, and more importantly, intellectual development.
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CBCC also hopes to expand its mission through this internship program while providing practical political training for young Canadians interested in expanding the ethic outreach.

 

Senator Donald Oliver

The Honourable Donald H. Oliver was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in September 1990. His appointment made him the first Black man to be appointed to Canada’s upper house.

During his time as a Conservative Senator from Nova Scotia, he chaired committees, worked on multiple Private Members’ Bills, and was named Senate Speaker pro tempore in March 2010.

Senator Oliver retired in November 2013. To honour his legacy, a promise was made to him at the founding meeting of the Conservative Black Congress of Canada that an internship program for young Canadians, named in his honour would be created with a mission of encouraging diverse participation in Politics.

Due to the challenges and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the launch of this internship had to be postponed to 2022.

Program’s Components

The Senator Donald Oliver Internship Program is made of three essential components:

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A) Political Training

This is a practical component that aims at teaching interns how to campaign like experts, which will involve:

  • Fundraising activities
  • Door-to-door campaigning
  • Selling political memberships

Practicing traditional campaign techniques will be part of a regular schedule for the intern. During this time, Interns will be taught some of the advanced campaign techniques listed above.

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B) Parliamentary Work Experience

This component involves allowing each intern to learn from diverse aspects of parliamentary duties, which may include:

  • Constituent communication
  • Preparation of question period
  • Parliamentary committee duty
  • Legislative drafting
  • Research and speech writing

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C) Personal and Intellectual Development

To be successful in a political environment, superior guidance and knowledge are the main recipes, and in this component, we provide that and more. Our sessions are geared to improve interns’ practical strategies while giving the ideal mind-frame to encourage success. We will focus on Personal Development, Conservative Ideas, and Winning Practices.

2024 CBCC Internship Application

Application deadline is January 26, 2024

Please complete the contact form below. All fields are required. Your progress is automatically saved, so you can resume your application at any time prior to the deadline. Please include your essay answers in your zip file.
Please be advised, only candidates who purchased or possess a Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Membership on or before January 26th, 2024 will be taken into consideration during the application process.


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