"New Kids on the Block": A Look at Rookie Members of Ontario's Provincial Parliament‪.‬

While academics have produced a plethora of research on rookie Members of Parliament not much has not been written on the challenges and perspectives faced by rookie politicians at the provincial level. This article seeks to examine the impact and efficacy of such "newness" on good governance at the provincial level. It is based primarily on interviews with rookie and veteran MPPs, legislative staff members, and others directly involved with the political process in Queen's Park after the October 2007 provincial elections. The key questions addressed in this paper are: how much vitality and new energy do rookie MPPs inject into the provincial legislature? How are their efforts manifested and differentiated from MPPs that preceded them? Indeed, what challenges do rookie MPPs with innovative ambitions face by those veterans seeking to uphold and maintain the traditional practice and status quo? **********