Short Pants, Public Interest: The Appeal of Political Staff Positions to Young People in Canada

Why do young people choose to become political staffers in Canada? Political staffers play an influential but controversial role in Canadian policymaking. In this research note, we utilize a mixed-methods approach to examine a likely group of future political staffers: university students studying political science. Drawing on data from an original survey, we find strong evidence that the majority of young people who say they want to become political staffers in Canada are motivated by serving the public good, while those who say they do not want to work in politics tend to provide justifications rooted in self-interest.