Initial email template
Use this template as a starting point for sending a letter or email to a decision-maker. You can replace the placeholders in brackets with your own information. Feel free to edit the template to sound more like you.
If you’re not sure how to address an elected official or other government contact, check out the Government of Canada’s
Styles of Address resource, which gives you this information for federal, provincial/territorial and Indigenous dignitaries.
[Date]
[Decision-maker name]
[Decision-maker title]
[Street address]
[City], [Province/Territory] [Postal Code]
Dear [decision-maker name],
My name is [your name] and I am one of your constituents in [name of riding/community]. I am reaching out about [summarize your issue in one sentence].
[Paragraph with more detail about the problem you are facing, the choices you have had to make, and the impact of those choices]
I am not alone in this issue. [Summarize if there are others in your community/province/territory or across Canada who are facing the same issue.]
I would very much like to work with you to resolve this issue. I know that you are committed to [share something that you know they have committed to that is related to this topic]. To that end, I would like to request [insert your request: a meeting with the decision-maker, an action you would like the decision-maker to take, etc.]. My hope is that this can take place [insert a realistic timeline].
Thank you for the opportunity to share my perspective. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your contact information]
Follow-up email template
Use this template as a starting point for sending a follow-up email to a government decision-maker. You can replace the placeholders in brackets with your own information. Feel free to edit the template to sound more like you.
Dear [decision-maker name],
Thank you very much for speaking with me on [date] about [summarize your issue]. I appreciated the opportunity to share my concerns about [more detail about your issue].
As discussed, this issue is something that many others are facing in our [community/province/territory/country]. I very much encourage you to [summarize actions you wanted them to take]. I look forward to hearing from you with an update soon.
In the meantime, please let me know if there is anyone else I should be connecting with about this issue.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your contact information]
