Canada West Foundation lays out blueprint for a new provincial/big city partnership Print this page

September 29, 2005

EDMONTON September 29, 2005 — The Canada West Foundation today released Rationale for Renewal: The Imperatives Behind a New Big City-Provincial Partnership, which outlines the basic strategies that ought to guide a renewed relationship between big cities and their provincial governments.

The report states as a basic premise that big cities in Canada have vaulted to a level of importance that renders archaic the intergovernmental debates of the past. Recent discussions about the "urban agenda" highlights, according to the report, the need to shift the conventional intergovernmental focus of Canadian politics from federal-provincial relations to provincial-municipal relations.

Senior Policy Analyst Casey Vander Ploeg says "It is time to begin a comprehensive exploration of how big cities fit into the political fabric of Canada in the 21stCentury."

Rationale for Renewal begins this exploration by outlining the basic principles that ought to guide a renewed relationship between big cities and their provincial governments. The study goes on to set out the detailed rationale behind these principles and the reasons for re-working the current relationship into a true partnership. This exploration takes place within the context of the West's six big cities — Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.

Rational for Renewal was released today at a media conference in Edmonton. Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier attended the media conference.

To download your copy of the the report, click here.

To download a hi-res picture of Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst and author, click the image.