If your organization is looking to advance a policy goal, build relationships with key decision makers or raise its profile at Queen’s Park, a Lobby Day can be one of the most effective tools in your advocacy arsenal.
Also known as Queen’s Park Days, Advocacy Days or Fly-Ins, they are coordinated events where members of an organization hold a series of meetings at Queen’s Park with MPPs, Ministers and staff to advocate for policy or legislative changes.
When done well, a Lobby Day builds crucial relationships with key decision makers, raises awareness and builds momentum around your issue.
When done poorly, they lead to frustrations on both sides, give a bad impression of your organization, and leave your policy goal dead in the water.
The following are some common mistakes you should avoid when organizing a Lobby Day:
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Failure to Plan Ahead
MPPs are busy people so make sure there is a workplan in place to avoid the stresses of tight scheduling and scrambling to cram in meetings. Make sure you have a strong project manager equipped with a critical path. A disorganized lobby day will leave your participants and meeting targets frustrated.
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Choosing the Wrong Dates
There are good days to hold Lobby Days when you can meet as many elected officials as needed and then there are days where Queen’s Park feels like a ghost town. Avoid scheduling during a constituency week, summer break or anytime the Legislature is not in session. There may be external events such as conferences that have key MPPs away from the precinct. Do your homework or your organization’s representatives risk walking in with high hopes but walking out with nothing.
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Communicating Too Much Information
Elected officials have a lot on their minds, and they are usually juggling multiple priorities. You may be one of several similar meetings the MPP will have that day, so stand out. Come prepared with a simple message and a straightforward, motivating ask. Avoid flooding them with information that drowns out a two-way conversation. Put more detailed or technical information on a leave-behind or save it for a follow up meeting if requested.
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Bait and Switch
There is nothing that bothers elected officials more than the bait and switch trick. Picture this—you invite an elected official to meet local constituents from your group —but instead, the room is packed with outsiders. They just won’t trust you going forward and good luck winning enthusiastic support for your goals.
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Lack of a Follow-Up Strategy
A successful Lobby Day starts the conversation, but a follow-up strategy keeps it going. Build on the connections you made and turn warm conversations into lasting influence. Expand your connections with an MPP to their staff and transform sympathetic responses into genuine champions of your cause. Without a follow-up strategy, the gains you made will be steamrolled by the next group that knows how to play the long game.
Lobby Days are high-stakes advocacy. Done right, they build relationships open doors and drive change. Done wrong, they waste time and turn opportunity into loss. The Legislature is out for summer, so now is the perfect time to start organizing your next Lobby Day. With decades of experience organizing successful Lobby Days, Counsel Public Affairs will make yours count.
