The Theory, Practice and Potential of Regional Development: The Case of Canada

Canadian regional development today involves multiple actors operating within nested scales from local to national and even international levels. Recent approaches to making sense of this complexity have drawn on concepts such as multi-level governance, relational assets, integration, innovation, and learning regions. These new regionalist concepts have become increasingly global in their formation and application, yet there has been little critical analysis of Canadian regional development policies and programs or the theories and concepts upon which many contemporary regional development strategies are implicitly based.

This volume offers the results of five years of cutting-edge empirical and theoretical analysis of changes in Canadian regional development and the potential of new approaches for improving the well-being of Canadian communities and regions, with an emphasis on rural regions. It situates the Canadian approach within comparative experiences and debates, offering the opportunity for broader lessons to be learnt.

This book will be of interest to policy-makers and practitioners across Canada, and in other jurisdictions where lessons from the Canadian experience may be applicable. At the same time, the volume contributes to and updates regional development theories and concepts that are taught in our universities and colleges, and upon which future research and analysis will build.

Kelly Vodden is Associate Vice-President (Grenfell) Research and Graduate Studies and Professor (Research) with the Environmental Policy Institute at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, Corner Brook, Canada.

David J.A. Douglas is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph, Canada, and has extensive experience in rural development across most Canadian regions, the EU, and other contexts (e.g., Indonesia, Iran, Ukraine, Pakistan).

Sean Markey is a Professor, and registered professional planner, with the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, Canada.

Sarah Minnes is a Research Associate and registered planner, with the School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Bill Reimer is a Professor Emeritus at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. From 1997 to 2008, he directed a Canadian research project on the New Rural Economy which included 13 universities, 35 partners, and 32 rural communities from all parts of Canada.