This year's Convention, taking place in Vancouver from September 28-30th, will feature an exciting range of informative workshops that make up our 2018 Campaign School. Whether you are a first time candidate or an experienced campaigner looking to hone your skills, we have the training you need to run a great campaign in 2019!
Greens can register for either full weekend or single day Convention passes to take part in the Campaign School workshop stream. Sign up soon — space is limited!
Saturday Workshops (September 29th)
So You Want to Run A Campaign
Sonia Theroux
This workshop will outline the key elements you need to get started planning your first campaign from the ground up. Experienced campaign manager Sonia Theroux will walk you through setting goals and timelines, managing resources effectively, air and ground game essentials, and volunteer stewardship.
Campaign Finance
Wendy Larose-Marois, Nick Carter
Led by Elections Canada’s Wendy Larose-Marois, this workshop will provide an overview of campaign finance rules. We’ll cover everything from contributions and fundraising to advertising and expenses, as well as what’s changed since the last federal election. Green Mobilizing Operations Manager Nick Carter will also be on hand to answer your questions about Green Party finance rules and compliance. This workshop is a must for anyone considering taking on a financial role in their local campaign.
Media Training
Robin Marty, Rod Leggett
If you are interested in becoming a candidate or getting involved in campaign communications, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn how you can effectively deliver your Green message! We’ll teach you how to prepare for interviews and public appearances, the importance of body language and tone, and how to get your point across in a clear and compelling manner. This workshop will be presented en francais, with simultaneous translation into English.
Effective Communications
Jo-Ann Roberts, John Chenery and Jeff Braunstein
You’ve got a solid strategy, strong volunteers and fundraising is going well. Now it’s time to think about your message and how you communicate it to voters. In this workshop, we’ll talk about earned and paid media, websites, GOTV literature, social media and other ways you can convince voters that you should be their MP.
Making the Connection
Mike Schreiner
Newly elected Ontario Green MMP (and door-knocking wiz!) Mike Schreiner will share his secrets to establishing strong connections with voters on their doorstep and over the phone, and communicating a message that resonates.
Canvassing to Win
Robin Marty
Canvassing is one of the essential elements of a winning campaign. Quebec Organizer Robin Marty will show you how to prepare a successful canvassing strategy — from training volunteers and planning your routes, to developing scripts and capturing voter data. This workshop will be presented en francais, with simultaneous translation into English.
Elevating Your Campaign
Sonia Theroux
For Greens with prior election experience and well established EDAs ready to scale up, this workshop will move past the basics and dive into the finer points of professional campaign management and how you can maximize your impact on Election Day 2019.
Building Your Campaign Team
Eryn Sylvester
An energized and motivated volunteer team is the heart of any successful campaign, so keeping your volunteers inspired and feeling appreciated is crucial. National Volunteer Coordinator Eryn Sylvester will share her tips and tricks for recruiting, training and retaining volunteers, boosting campaign morale, and ensuring that your volunteer team feels engaged in meaningful work.
Sunday Workshops (September 30th)
Campaign Research — Knowledge is Power!
Angela Rickman
This workshop, hosted by Political Director Angela Rickman, will show you how to turn Google into an effective campaign tool for investigating the electoral context, assessing the competition through opposition research, and vetting yourself using self research. You’ll also learn how to get informed about the issues on the minds of voters in your riding so that you are prepared to answer any question, whether it’s in a debate, an interview, or at the door.
GVote 101
Randi Ramdeen
GVote is the indispensable tool for getting in touch with voters over the phone and through email. Ontario Organizer Randi Ramdeen will walk you through the basics, including onboarding, user invites, inputting voter data, searching and editing contacts, sending bulk emails, setting up a phone canvass... and much more!
Advanced GVote
Matthew Clarke
Led by Tech Director Matthew Clarke, this workshop will dig deeper into the many features GVote offers to support your campaign. We’ll talk about lawn sign management, GOTV tools, voice-over-IP calling, volunteer management, and managing electoral data. For those who have used GVote before, this is the workshop that will take your skills to the next level.
Your Name’s on the Ballot — What’s Next?
Jo-Ann Roberts
Deputy Leader Jo-Ann Roberts will discuss the importance of defining yourself and your message to voters, building strong relationships with your campaign team, and the unique challenges of being a woman candidate. She’ll also cover debate prep, stage fright, wardrobe choices for a big event or hours of door-knocking… not to mention remembering to eat! Whether you are already committed to running in 2019, or just thinking about putting your name on the ballot, you won’t want to miss this workshop on what it takes to be an effective candidate.
Inclusive Organizing
Coming soon!
Nuts and Bolts of Getting Out Your Vote!
Eryn Sylvester, Nick Carter
All the hard work that goes into a campaign culminates in Election Day and ensuring that your candidate’s supporters get out to vote! This workshop will teach you the essentials of identifying your vote, collecting data, and planning and implementing a get out the vote (GOTV) strategy for success on the big day.
Planning Winning Events
Marlene Wells
Want to host a fundraising event, engage new volunteers through a social event, or hold a meet-and-greet with your candidate? Creating a strong event plan — including goals, budget, task distribution and timelines — is key to making your event a success for both your campaign and your guests. This workshop, led by Atlantic Organizer Marlene Wells, will give you the tools to create and execute your event plan from start to finish.