How It Works

Brain & Boot runs each year from the beginning of September until the end of August.

All training offered to interns is free of charge, as our goal is to provide an intensive, training experience for top applicants.

During the internship year in Ottawa, interns will be provided with a salary to cover basic living expenses, such as room and board.

The Parliamentary calendar is unpredictable, and interns will, from time to time, be asked to participate in training and campaigning activities in other parts of the country. When outside of Ottawa, interns will have travel and basic expenses covered directly.

Brain & Boot includes 3 key components:

Interns will be placed in a participating Members of Parliament’s office, and have an opportunity to experience the different aspects of parliamentary work. This may include Constituent Correspondence, Parliamentary Committee Work, Research, Legislative Drafting, Speech Writing and Question Period Preparation.

As part of the regular schedule, interns will learn and practice cutting edge campaign techniques, including door-to-door canvassing, political membership sales, and fundraising. This component of Brain & Boot will instruct interns on how to be campaign experts.

An important component of Brain & Boot are training sessions, geared at empowering our interns. These sessions teach political strategies and encourage the frame of mind that is required for success in politics and life. Some of the following ideas will be covered during these sessions:

a) Conservative Ideas: What is the intellectual foundation and substance of conservative ideas – socially, culturally, and economically? Sessions will examine a range of different thinkers and ideas to give greater depth to conservative convictions.

b) Winning Techniques: What are the strategies and techniques that facilitate campaign success at the level of both the a local campaign, as well as at the national level? These sessions will compliment the practical political training portion of the internship by teaching the kinds of techniques that inform effective political strategy.

c) Personal Development: What are the characteristics of thought and behaviour that lead to excellence? The program is ecumenical, in that it will not seek to advance one particular ideological or faith perspective, but it will invite interns to explore the connections between their personal values and political activism.