How To: Join a Political Party

by Apathy is Boring — March 25, 2010

I wanted to do more than just hear or read about political issues in the media. I believed it was important to influence the underlying ideas shaping them and felt that the best way to begin was to join with people who shared my views and goals for my community.  I found that a political party was a great way to do this, and my involvement gave me the chance to focus my ideals and explore the ways that they could become laws.

What is a Political Party?

Other than being a group of like-minded individuals, a political party has another goal, which is to influence government policy. They do this by presenting and supporting candidates in election campaigns. Outside of elections, political parties raise public awareness on specific issues through the  volunteer activities of members at the local level, which are funded by Canadian citizens. These activities can include preparing mailings, researching issues, sitting on committees, organizing election campaigns or special events. However, a party and its members can't do everything they want; there are laws and agencies governing political activities,for example, Elections Canada

Investigate

At first, it was not clear to me what each party stood for; because many of them seemed to have similar policies, I had to to do some research. Elections Canada's or Apathy is Boring's website gives lists of political parties. I also explored party activities in the media; Canadian Parliamentary Television (CPAC) is a great place to start. As well, blogs and social networking pages connected to a party are an interesting source of information. However, I learned the most by talking to the members of a party campus club; these are present on many university campuses, offer a friendly introduction to political life and can be linked to the youth wing of a party.

Join

Once I joined my campus club, I decided to become a formal member of my party's youth wing, which focuses on issues of interest to people under usually 25 years old and offers opportunities for youth involvement.  You can join, frequently on line, through a party's main or youth wing website. However, before joining you may be asked to agree to certain conditions, which can require that you:

• Support the aim of the party
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada
• Reside in Canada
• Submit the membership form
• Pay a membership fee
• Meet a minimum age requirement

Conclusion

As a youth member of my party, I found varied opportunities to use my talents, develop new skills, and meet amazing people - including my elected representatives. Through this, I learned about my country's political process from a completely different angle and gained an insight into the contribution an individual can make to their government. Perhaps after a some research you may think the same. If so, why not join? You may learn about a new meaning to the word "party".

Sources

"Apathy is Boring - Political Parties." Apathy Is Boring. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

Christian, William. "Party System." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

"CPAC - About CPAC." CPAC - Home page. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

"Elections Canada On-Line | General Information." Elections Canada On-line -. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

"Elections Canada On-Line | Political Parties, Candidates and Others." Elections Canada On-line -. 13 Nov. 09. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

Party | Definition of Party at Dictionary.com:." Dictionary.com  Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

"Political party -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2 Feb. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2010.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.