Senate page program made 'huge difference' for this Islander

A P.E.I. woman now working for the House of Commons is encouraging Island students to consider the Senate page program.

Sarah Crosby worked as a page from 2016-18, and was the most recent Islander to take part in the program. With applications down during the pandemic, the former Sherwood resident has been asked to encourage Islanders to apply.

"For me, it made a huge difference," Crosby said in a phone interview from Ottawa. "I never expected to be living here still, a number of years after I finished the program.

"I think one of the things that's really great about it, especially for students who are just going into first year university, is that there's a really strong sense of community within the Senate and within the page program."

The 105-member Senate is much smaller than the 338-seat House of Commons, she said. As well, the upper house of Canada's Parliament has a higher proportion of Maritimers (the region has 24 Senate seats), and Crosby thinks that might help Island students feel more at home.

Applications down in pandemic

Crosby is now working for a House of Commons team that advises MPs on their role as employers, and assists consultants who give HR advice with regard to staff in the MPs' offices. Without her experience at the Senate, she said it is unlikely she would have even applied for the job.

It's difficult to say why applications to become Senate pages are down during the pandemic, but Crosby said she expects with Carleton University and Université d'Ottawa classes being held virtually, there are likely fewer students actually living in Canada's capital city.

"You notice it on the street; just walking downtown, the median age on the street has gone up," she said.

There is a stereotype that pages are all political science students, Crosby added, but that is not the case.

Her fellow pages were from a variety of programs including history and English. She said they all shared a general interest in what's going on in the world, but not necessarily in politics as a field of study.

More from CBC P.E.I.