| Ontario Young Liberals | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | OYL |
| Location | Ontario |
| Parent organization | Ontario Liberal Party Liberal Party of Canada |
| Website | www.oyl.org |
The Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) is the official youth wing of the Ontario Liberal Party, and the Ontario wing of the Young Liberals of Canada. All members of the Ontario Liberal Party, or the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario), who are aged 25 and under are members of the OYL. The OYL is the largest provincial young liberal organization Canada.
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OYL was known as the Ontario New Liberals until the mid 1980s.
OYL (and its predecessor) has proven to be a training ground for budding politicians and political organizers. Many elected officials played a prominent role in the party’s youth wing. They include:
Since the Liberal Party allocates specific number of delegate spots for campus liberal associations at its national convention, key players of the OYL wielded unique influence in the party’s leadership selection as its has the largest number of campus associations under its jurisdiction. OYL had been a fierce battleground during federal leadership races from the early 80s to 2006.[1][2][3][4] The Paul Martin leadership campaign was particularly notorious for hostile take over of campus liberal associations leading up to the 1990 and 2003 contests.
The OYL executive is made up of 16 OYL members elected to one-year terms by the membership at the OYL Annual General Meeting. The structure of the Executive consists of a President, Executive Vice-President, Vice-President of Federal Affairs, Vice-President of Provincial Affairs, Treasurer, Riding Director, Student Director, Policy Director, Communications Director, Recruitment Director and 6 Regional Coordinators.
The OYL is composed of riding and student clubs. Riding clubs are based in each federal or provincial electoral district. Student clubs are located at universities and colleges in Ontario.
Each club has a constitution that follows the constitutional requirements of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Ontario Liberal party and the OYL. Each club has executive, members and conducts activities such as social events, policy meeting and assists in campaigns during federal or provincial elections.
In the summer of 2002, the OYL created a new signature event in Summer Fling, which was held at Wilfrid Laurier University the inaugural year. OYL Summer Fling includes a volunteer appreciation dinner, the annual policy conference and many guest speakers.
Summer Fling locations
| Year | Location | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Wilfrid Laurier University | South Western Region |
| 2003 | University of Ottawa | Eastern Region |
| 2004 | McMaster University | South Central Region |
| 2005 | University of Western Ontario | South Western Region |
| 2006 | Trent University | Central Region |
| 2007 | Nipissing University | Northern Region |
| 2008 | University of Guelph | South Western Region |
| 2009 | Brock University | South Central Region |
| 2010 | Queens University | Eastern Region |
| 2011 | Laurentian University | Northern Region |
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