Research corner

As part of the academic component of the Programme, interns complete an original research paper on an aspect of Parliament or Canadian politics. Interns select a topic and conduct their research under the supervision of the Programme Director drawing on their unique access to Parliament Hill and the resources available through the University of Ottawa.

Each June, interns present “close-to-finished” draft versions of these research papers at the Gaboury Research Symposium, named after former Programme Director Jean-Pierre Gaboury. 

Each intern's paper is eligible for the Alfred Hales Prize, which is named after the late MP Alfred Hales, the Programme's co-founder. A $1,000 Prize is awarded for the best paper in each cohort, with the first two runners-up each receiving $500. The prize-winning papers are selected by representatives of the House of Commons, the University of Ottawa, the PIP alumni community, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and the Institute on Governance (IOG), which generously sponsors both the Prize and the Gaboury Symposium.

Prize winners

Congratulations to Jesse Lafontaine (PIP 2024-25), who was awarded the Alfred Hales Prize at the Gaboury Symposium in June 2026! The full list of prize winners is available below:

  • 2026: Jesse Lafontaine – The impact of elected life on the personal lives of Members of Parliament
  • 2025: Cynthia Huo – Committees as a Workplace 
  • 2024: Nathan Kumaranayake Mendel – “Sober Second Thought:” How Senators Understand Their Role in 2023
  • 2023: Charles Bernard – Qu’est-ce qui motive les staffers derrière l’épuisant moulin politique d’Ottawa ?:  Une exploration du concept de loyauté au sein du personnel des partis
  • 2022: Gabrielle Feldmann – Representational Priorities among Members of Parliament in communities with high rates of COVID-19 
  • 2021: Caroline Woodward – National Identity in Crisis: A Case Study of Canadian “nation-ness” During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • 2020: Fregine Sheehy – Where are all the racialized staffers?
  • 2019: Kim Paradis – "We Shape our Buildings and Afterwards our Buildings Shape Us": La présence autochtone au sein des édifices du Parlement
  • 2018: Claire Sieffert – Two-Way Networks: Evaluating the Linkages Between Canadian Senators and Civil Society
  • 2017: Étienne Grand-Maison – Les cheminements de carrières politiques et à l'importance de la politique municipale dans la formation des politiciens fédéraux
  • 2016: Natalie Brunet – The Emergence of Partisan Think Tanks: A Case Study of the Manning Centre and Broadbent Institute  
  • 2015: Christine Guyot – Gendered Partisanship: An Exploratory Study of Party Loyalty and its Impacts in Parliament
  • 2014: Vincent Hardy – From the Knowledge Economy to the Knowledge Government: Members of Parliament and Policy Networks in Canada
  • 2013: François Plante – La limitation des débats à la Chambre des communes: Une perspective historique de son utilisation
  • 2012: Fraser Harland – Codifying Constitutional Convention: The Case for a Canadian Cabinet Manual
  • 2011: Vanessa Cotric – Constituency Town Halls in Canada and the Role of the MP as Representative
  • 2010: Alexander Sculthorpe – Canada’s Coalition Conundrum: An Analysis of Debate on Democratic Legitimacy   
  • 2009: Ceri Au – Mirth and the Canadian Media: Using Humour for the Personalization of Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion
  • 2008: Lindsay Aagaard – Fiduciary Duty and Members of Parliament
  • 2007: Paul Thomas – A Working Minority? What the Minority Government of the 38th Parliament Can Teach About Proposals for Electoral Reform
  • 2006: Jeffrey Bell – Agents of Parliament: A New Branch of Government
  • 2005: Cloë Rowbotham – Is Parliamentary Reform Democratic Reform?
  • 2004: Jane Swann – Majority Politics and Minority Rights: Exploring the Parliament-Judiciary Tension
  • 2003: Alex Mazer – Debating Canada's Anti-Terrism Legislation: What Have We Learned?
  • 2002: Jacquie Steele – An Effective Player in the Parliamentary Process: A Case Study of the Liberal Women's Caucus, 1993-2001
  • 2001: Yves Yvon Pelletier – L' "attribution de temps" à la Chambre des communes: un bâillonnement à la démocratie ou une gestion efficace du temps?
  • 2000: David Gamache Hutchinson – Executive Backbenchers: Parliamentary Secretaries in the 1st Session of the 36th Parliament