Institute of Democratic Leadership and Participation
This Institute will bring existing programs and initiatives such as the Jarislowsky Democracy Chair, Women in the House, Democratic Engagement Exchange, and Innovations in Democratic Leadership together to focus on unique leadership and democratic participation opportunities for TMU students. Bringing these initiatives together will integrate student and community engagement, experiential learning, and applied research to enhance these existing programs, engage in investment of resources, and explore new frontiers related to democratic leadership and participation.
The Women in the House program is Canada’s first and only experiential for-credit undergraduate and graduate course that equips participants with both a theoretical and practical understanding of women in Canadian politics and intersectional policymaking processes. The centrepiece of the program is the opportunity to shadow a woman MP and her staff in Ottawa, seeing first-hand what it means to be a woman leader. The program is multi-partisan and engages with all main political parties in Ottawa.
The Innovations in Democratic Leadership at Toronto Metropolitan University seeks to engage thoughtful community members who are interested in exploring not only what today’s legislatures look like, but what could be - particularly those from groups underrepresented as legislators today. The program offers intensive, hands-on mentoring and training from current and former legislators, senior civil servants, high-profile journalists and successful advocates.
The Democratic Engagement Exchange (the Exchange), offers two flagship engagement programs Democracy Talks and Vote PopUp. The Exchange drives democratic engagement by building partnerships with academic institutions, community organizations and government agencies to create tools, and champion policies and programs that promote a more inclusive democracy.