Contact your Member of Parliament (MP)

Your MP was elected to bring their constituents’ priorities to Parliament and they care about what their constituents think because they want to stay in office, but most people do not take the time to write about and share their perspectives with them directly.

Writing to your MP is a great way to express your opinion on a specific issue and:

• Increase awareness and understanding of an issue or concern
• Let them know what their constituents’ priorities are

Email template

[Form coming soon]

If you want, call your MP’s office and tell them exactly what you emailed. Phone calls are more impactful.

Copy the Prime Minister, Ministers, Parliamentary Assistants, and Critics responsible for the issue

• Ministers
• Parliamentary Secretaries
• Shadow Ministers (opposition critics)

For example, regarding age restrictions on social media, AI chatbots you could email or copy:

• MPs on the Industry and Technology Committee, the Justice Committee, and your local MP
• Minister of Public Safety
• Minister of Women and Gender Equality

If you receive a response and would like others to see it, forward it to us at [email protected] and we might publish it to make it publicly available.

Here’s how to do it:

Confirm that the federal government is responsible

Confirm that the federal government is responsible for the topic you’re contacting them about here: Which government is responsible?

Letters (may) get more attention than emails, and personalized emails more attention than form letters or templates.

Find your MP

• Search your postal code here

Why write to your MP?

You can contact your MPP for a variety of reasons, for example:

• To ask how they will be voting on an upcoming issue
• Encourage a specific action or outcome (e.g. encouraging increased public investment)
• Discourage a specific action or outcome (e.g. discouraging cuts)
• To provide information that does not seem to be well understood about a current issue
• Increase awareness and understanding of an issue or concern (e.g. the value of postsecondary education and research)
• Make sure they know that an issue is important to their constituents

How to write to my MP?

Structure

Use the EPIC format The acronym ‘EPIC’ is a useful way to remember how to structure the main part of your letter. After the introductory paragraph, your letter should follow this structure:  

• E – Engage! Get your MP’s attention with a dramatic fact or short statement.  
• P – Problem clearly stated. Present the causes of the problem you just introduced.  
• I – Inform them about solutions. Develop your solution by giving examples of how and where it has worked, how it is cost-effective and how it has benefited Indigenous Peoples.
• C – Call to action. Let them know what you want them to do about it.  

What to include

• Include your name and contact information (eg. email, address and phone number) to provide a way for the elected official to respond.
• Introduce yourself as a constituent and provide your address – representatives tend to put much more stock in letters from inside their municipalities
• State your objective or the issue and whether you support or opposite it at the beginning.
• Follow with a brief introduction outlining your concerns. Explain how the issue may impact you and our communities.
• Give a short explanation of how the issue affects you personally. Describe your interest in and any experience you have with the issue.
• Share personal stories and anecdotes about why the issue you are writing about matters to you.
  • Ways [issue] affect you and your family.
  • How [issue] affects your organization or the industry you work in.
• Include credible sources of facts and figures to highlight the issue you are focusing on.
• Ask questions that prompt a response. Ask for clarification on your councillor’s position.
• Request a commitment to a specific action, and give rationale for your request.
• Thank them for any positive action they have taken in the past on your issue.
• Thank them for their time and consideration and politely add that you look forward to hearing their response. Remind them you will be discussing the matter with your neighbours, and voting to support the issue at hand.
• Mention specifically if you want a written response, then follow up with them in two weeks if there has been no reply.

Ask for a response

Most MPs will usually respond to letters from constituents and will forward your letter to the relevant Minister, even if they disagree with you. In turn, the Minister is obliged by Parliamentary convention to respond to the letters sent to them by MPs.

If you receive a response and would like others to see it, forward it to us at [email protected] and we might publish it to make it publicly available.

Tips

• Stay on topic. Cover only one issue and stay on topic, emphasizing two or three major points.
• Be concise. Try to keep the letter to one page and do not exceed two pages.
• Keep a respectful tone. The purpose of a letter is to share your perspective with the elected official.
• If you have more information to share, include any materials in the envelope or attach it to your email.
• Keep a copy of the letter you send to refer to it when you receive a response.

If you’re an advocate or community organizer, consider creating a template letter that others may use and customize.

What approach will get the most attention?

In general, from most likely to get attention:

1. Phone call
2. Mailed letter
3. Personalized emails
4. Form/template emails
5. Social media posts and messages

One phone call can be more effective and memorable for an MP if you show that have some knowledge about the issue, that you respect their time, and that this issue is important to their constituents.

How to use AI to draft a letter

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can create content based on patterns it has learned from existing data. A prompt for generative AI is a set of instructions that tells it what kind of content to create. Here’s how to write a generative AI prompt you can use to draft written correspondence.

You can draft a letter using the generative AI tool of your choice (eg. Gemini, Claude or ChatGPT) using the prompt and template below.

Legislators can tell the difference between AI and human letters (source), so don’t outsource your voice, just outsource the heavy lifting of drafting the letter, then flesh it out by writing like you talk and adding your own experience and anecdotes.

Prompt

Letter to MP example

It’s free to mail a letter to your MP

Mail can be sent without postage to and from:

• Member of Parliament
• Members of the House of Commons (see the Parliamentary mailings using Neighbourhood Mail™ section) 
• The Governor General
• The Speaker or Clerk of the Senate or House of Commons
• The Parliamentary Librarian or the Associate Parliamentary Librarian
• Members of the Senate
• The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner or Senate Ethics Officer
• The Director of the Parliamentary Protective Service
• The Parliamentary Budget Officer

The mail is sent for free if both the sender and receiver are in Canada.

What to do next

• Share on social media – Share your letter on social media.
• Word of mouth – Talk to persons in your circle such as colleagues, friends, and family to encourage them to participate in these actions.
• Follow up with your MP – If you have not received an acknowledgement of your letter after a few weeks, give your MP’s office a call to confirm that they have received your letter.