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Communications and Policy Researcher (12 Week Internship)

Canada Summer Jobs #5424675

Start Date: Monday June 1st, 2026

End Date: Friday August 21st, 2026

35 Hours per week

$22.60/hour

Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) is a not-for-profit advocacy and policy development organization. Our membership is composed of the Mayors of Ontario cities with a population of 100,000 or more, which is currently 29 cities. Collectively, OBCM municipalities represent nearly 70% of Ontario’s population.

OBCM is a powerful voice on issues that directly impact Ontario’s big cities. Through policy development, advocacy, discussion and partnerships, Ontario’s Big City Mayors work with all orders of government, and other municipal sector partners, to help put in place the tools required for robust and effective management of Ontario’s municipalities.

OBCM achieves this through:

- Forging relationships with federal, provincial and regional governments, municipal organizations such as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO) the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and other key stakeholders.
- Creating working groups focused on policy development in areas that impact municipalities.
- Meeting with government officials, party leaders and elected representatives to voice the perspective of big cities and collaborating with them to achieve shared goals.
- Taking public positions on key issues and opportunities that affect big cities.
- Sharing information, data, research, and resources among members and with other governments, stakeholders, and organizations.
- Participating in government policy consultation processes as the voice of Ontario’s big cities.
- Media engagement and a developing social media presence

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, City of Burlington is the current Chair and Mayor Alex Nuttall, City of Barrie is the current Vice-Chair.

What will you be doing?

Reporting to the Executive Director and the Communications and Policy Researcher, this position is an opportunity for the successful candidate to gain valuable experience in the municipal sector, while contributing to the development and communication of current and future advocacy work.

The Communications and Policy Research Intern will also help support some administrative needs of the organization. As a Not-For-Profit organization,



all OBCM staff are engaged in the logistical and administrative needs of the organization.

Due to the nature of working with multiple levels of government, there may be times where you will be working outside of regular working hours. You also must be available to attend the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in-person in Ottawa, Ontario from the morning of Sunday August 16th to Tuesday August 18th.

What skills and qualifications do you need?

You should be:

- Interested in working in the municipal sector
- A self-starter
- A strong initiative-taker
- Trustworthy with a high level of integrity
- Able to properly handle confidential and privileged information
- Able to work effectively and autonomously with minimal supervision
- A strategic and creative thinker
- Able to pay meticulous attention to detail
- Highly organized
- Highly computer literate with capability in email, MS Office, Google Workspace, communication tools, and social media management
- Knowledge of website management and experience with Wordpress is also an asset

You must be:

- Residing in Ontario at time of employment
- Currently enrolled or graduating from a post-secondary program in municipal government, political science, communications, public relations, or have a combination of education, training, volunteer work and/or work experience deemed equivalent
- A strong critical thinker and problem-solver
- Able to complete specific time sensitive projects as they arise
- An individual with excellent interpersonal skills
- A clear and effective oral and written communicator
- Able to work well under pressure and meet tight deadlines

What will you be responsible for?

Policy Researcher Responsibilities Include:

- Cross-jurisdictional reporting on key OBCM policy priorities
- Researching emerging information on priority files
- Supporting the creation of policy notes and other materials for policy discussions
- Summarizing reports and papers specific to OBCM advocacy work
- Other projects as assigned

Communications Responsibilities Include:

- Assisting with communications documents and social media posts,



including but not limited to: letters to key stakeholders and provincial and federal political leaders, twitter and linkedin posts
- Assisting with internal communications responsibilities, which could include:
- Assisting with agenda and material preparation for OBCM meetings and working groups
- Note Taking
- Preparing summaries on meetings or events to share with our membership and/or online
- Supporting the growth of OBCM’s social media presence
- Preparing daily news highlights

Further Details:

- Salary: $22.60 per hour
- Hours of Work: 35 (with some flexibility for when those hours are worked)
- You will be provided with a laptop to use, or you may choose to use your own, during the 12 week internship and will have a google workspace account, including an OBCM email address, with OBCM for sharing files with other staff
- This position is mostly remote, with minimal travel to in-person OBCM meetings, staff meetings and conferences throughout Ontario. Must be able to attend the AMO Conference in Ottawa, ON in person from Sunday August 16th - Tuesday August 18th

The Fine Print:

- OBCM is an equal opportunities employer
- Ontario’s Big City Mayors will be using email to communicate with you for all job communications. It is your responsibility to include an updated email address that is checked daily and accepts emails from unknown users.
- Should it be determined that any background information provided be misleading, inaccurate, or incorrect, OBCM reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of your application.
- As this job is funded by the Canada Summer Jobs Program we must abide by their employment rules, in order to qualify for this position the applicant must be: 15-30 years of age, be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment and have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations

HOW TO APPLY: Please apply by emailing with a resume and cover letter attached

DEADLINE TO APPLY: Thursday, May 7th at 11:59pm EST

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted

Apply on Kit Job: kitjob.ca/job/2j77xb

📌 Communications & Policy Researcher (Summer Intern) - ontario
🏢 Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM)
📍 Ontario