What is OYP?

Real debate, real reflection, and real connections

Everything at OYP comes back to these three pillars

Speak your mind

At OYP, debate happens in the House, a model parliament setting where delegates discuss issues that matter to them: education, mental health, the environment, the economy. Each bill is drafted in advance by youth leadership, designed to open up discussion from a variety of perspectives. What matters most is showing up willing to say what you think and listen to what everyone else thinks too.

You don't need to already know politics, and you don't need a fully-formed argument walking in. Most delegates say the same thing: they found their voice because they were in the room, not before arriving.

"I gained a lot of confidence over the four years. My first year, I spoke in house once and I had to really push myself to do that. By the end, I was able to stand up and speak with a lot more confidence."

-- Ruth Bryce, 2017-2020

70% of alumni say OYP directly built their public speaking skills, and 75% say it built their leadership.

Know your heart

"OYP felt like a safe space to share things that I hadn't shared in other social groups."

-- Maggie Hutchinson.
2013-2019

Every OYP weekend includes vespers - three evenings of reflection, activities, and small group discussion, designed by the youth leadership to explore their chosen theme. Whatever form it takes each evening, it's a space to sit with questions that don't usually come up at school, and to say what you actually think and feel without worrying about being judged for it.

OYP has faith roots and welcomes any belief you bring with you - or none at all. Alumni consistently describe vespers as one of the most personally meaningful parts of the program.

83% of alumni say they felt genuinely supported within OYP, and 72% say it gave them confidence in their own abilities.

Find your people

At OYP, you don't have to be anyone but yourself to belong. Delegates come from towns and cities across Ontario, bringing a real mix of backgrounds and perspectives - and the connections that form here tend to run deeper than surface-level, because you're accepted for who you actually are, not who you're pretending to be.

Those connections tend to stick.

"My youth parliament friendships have been the strongest and most sustained friendships in my life."

-- Sarah Hopper, OYP ARC
& BCYP/NYP alumnus

77% of alumni say the friendships they made at OYP added real value to their life, 88% say they're still in touch with people they met here, and 91% say they could reach out to another OYP alum for support - even years later.

"The first time I came back was because the little public speaking and interacting I did with others was both frightening and exhilarating.
It also gave me a place to explore my faith, and to feel that I wasn't alone in some of the feelings of isolation that I felt.
After a while, it was for the friends that I developed."

-- OYP Alumnus, 1985-1992

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