Canadian Parliamentary Exchange

"As the saying goes, 'Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well-informed about the United States.' Being well-aware of this long-standing imbalance of understanding and interest, our gracious Canadian hosts set out to enlighten us..."
_{Darcia Harris Bowman, Political Scientist Fellow 1998-99}

This longstanding exchange between the Fellows and their parliamentary counterparts in Canada provides an intensive comparative study of Westminster versus U.S.-model parliamentary systems. The one-week study tours, organized by the Fellows and the Interns respectively, allow participants to examine the relationship between the United States and Canada from an institutional perspective.

Each year since 1973, the Fellows have planned a comprehensive, weeklong introduction to the Congress for 10 Canadian Parliamentary Interns in Washington, DC. The Canadians in turn host a select group of Fellows in Ottawa for one week. The bilateral exchange is funded by the Canadian Department of External Affairs, APSA, and the United States embassy in Ottawa. Participation in the exchange is selective and dependent upon available space and funding.

The sustained nature of this exchange is probably one of its greatest strengths and it continues to serve the objective of in-depth comparative parliamentary analysis. Specifically, it promotes increased understanding between each country's major trading partner of the other's distinctive culture, as well as examine the few areas of disharmony between neighbors.

Under the aegis of the Canadian Political Science Association, and since its founding in 1969, the Canadian Parliamentary Intern Program has annual selected 10 of Canada's most promising university graduates to spend a 10-month internship in offices of Members of Parliament in Ottawa. While a large number of their interns go on to graduate and professional schools, a number have remained as career parliamentary public servants or gone on to currently be some of Canada's leading journalists.