The Library of Parliament is at the heart of democracy

Émilie Bourguignon took her first tour of Parliament Hill in elementary school and remembers being wowed by the grandeur and importance of the historic buildings. So, it feels particularly fitting that she’s now in charge of the tours that captured her own young imagination as the parliamentary tour manager for the Library of Parliament.

Bourguignon joined the Library more than three years ago, after several years at the Senate of Canada. Her job involves recruiting and managing tour guides and supervisors, and making sure the tours of East Block, West Block and the Senate of Canada go off without a hitch. Her team also welcomes visitors to the immersive experience that allows Canadians to explore Centre Block while it is closed for rehabilitation. She says working for an institution at the “heart of democracy” gives her a sense of pride and fulfilment in her work.

“I love working on the Hill. I think Parliament as an institution is so important,” she says. “The Library is a non-partisan institution and we work with the House and the Senate; you get to contribute to the work of Parliament and facilitate access for Canadians.”

The Library is Parliament’s knowledge centre; it collects and stores historical information, maintains a comprehensive collection developed to meet the evolving needs of parliamentarians, and its employees support parliamentarians with research and analysis on current policy issues. But the Library is more than just a library — it also manages the public tours program, provides educational resources to Canadian teachers and students, and runs the parliamentary boutique.

“People hear library and assume you have to be a librarian to work here but that’s not the case,” says parliamentary librarian Christine Ivory, the organization’s chief executive, who notes that she herself isn’t a librarian by training. Ivory began her career in international affairs, working for a non-governmental organization that did parliamentary development work in emerging democracies before returning to Canada and joining the Library of Parliament.

“We are a national library, we do have librarians, but it’s also a very diverse and eclectic workforce,” Ivory says. She notes that the tour guide program, which recruits bilingual university student-aged Canadians from across the country, is the “entry point into Parliament for many people,” and is often a springboard into full-time positions such as researchers, clerks and staffers in the offices of members of Parliament.

One thing that this diverse workforce has in common? “There are a lot of people who are parliamentary enthusiasts,” Ivory says. “There’s a lot of curiosity in this organization; you’ll overhear people spontaneously talking about policy issues.”

Being a knowledge organization, the Library invests in professional development through internal training programs and more informal “food for thought” sessions that are either employee-led or bring in external guest speakers, Ivory says.

Bourguignon says she appreciates that within her first year and a half at the Library she was offered the opportunity to become a manager, and values the mentorship and support from her own managers.

“It’s a great work environment and there’s room for growth,” she says. “I see myself staying here.”

Unsurprisingly, Bourguignon isn’t the only one still wowed by the buildings that Library staff work in.

“Everyone still feels the trepidation and excitement of being here, being able to go into the chamber and listen to question period if you want, walk down the corridors and see ministers or maybe the prime minister going by,” Ivory says.

“Whether you’re someone on their first day or someone who’s spent 35 years working here, walking up those steps, entering that space, it doesn’t get old.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's National Capital Region's Top Employers winners, published March 4, 2025 in the Ottawa Citizen. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.