Featured Report Archives

The State of Rural Canada

The State of Rural Canada report provides a comprehensive overview of the diverse challenges and opportunities facing rural, remote, and northern communities across the country. While each region has its unique context, several overarching themes emerge from this fifth version of the report that paint a picture of rural Canada as a complex mosaic of…

Keeping it Clean – Video

The forested watersheds of British Columbia’s Interior are a primary water source for aquatic ecosystems and human populations. The mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestation and associated salvage harvesting have the potential to affect the amount, timing, and quality of water originating from these watersheds. Watch the video on the MPB Hydrological Impacts and Watershed Management…

Study on Supply Chain and Community Benefits of the Forest Sector

A new economic study focusing on local communities across BC was released today by the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI). This study highlights the vital role of British Columbia’s forestry industry, as it touches so many communities across the province and employs British Columbians in a wide array of jobs. In 2022, the forestry…

Rural Resident Retention and Attraction Guidebook

Introduction to Rural Resident Retention and Attraction What is Resident Retention and Attraction? Resident retention and attraction (RRA) initiatives position communities to address issues associated with population size (e.g., low or declining number of residents) or population composition (e.g., aging population) — whether that be a shortage of skilled workers, low school enrolment, or a…

Real-Time Virtual Support

Relational Work Is the Work: Virtual Healthcare Transformation for Rural, Remote, and First Nations Communities in British Columbia The healthcare crisis across unceded First Nations territories in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in British Columbia (BC) is marked by persistent barriers to accessing care and support close to home. This commentary describes an exceptional story…

Framework for Creating a Smart Growth Economic Development Strategy

A Tool for Small Cities and Towns Many small and mid-sized cities around the United States are struggling because their economies were built largely on a single economic sector that has changed significantly. For example, jobs might once have been heavily concentrated in industries like logging, mining, or manufacturing, but technology and market forces have…

StrongerBC for everyone – Investing in Rural Communities

The B.C. government has released StrongerBC: Good Lives in Strong Communities, a new vision that outlines investments to help build a brighter future for rural communities and the people who call them home. “If you’re looking for people to help cut through the noise and get a job done, my bet will always be on…

Digitalization and Housing

Framing Paper for “Bringing Digitalization Home: How Can Technology Address Housing Challenges?” OCTOBER 2022 | DAVID LUBEROFF, CHRISTOPHER E. HERBERT To stimulate these discussions, the Joint Center for Housing Studies, with support from Qualcomm, Inc., commissioned eleven papers by leading researchers familiar with how digitalization is changing (or could change) practices in five key areas:…

A Post-Pandemic Policy Agenda for Rural and Smaller Canadian Communities

Many of us know someone who, at the height of the pandemic, picked up and moved from an urban centre to a smaller, more rural Canadian community. Though small and rural communities face unique challenges across this country, we know one thing: inclusive and sustainable growth principles are becoming foundational to economic decision-making across the…

Territory Acknowledgment: A Guide

Acknowledging traditional territory is, for many First Nations, a long-standing practice and a regular aspect of governance relationships and ceremony. In recent years, territory acknowledgments have become common across Canada as an act of respect and reconciliation at formal meetings, conferences, or public events. Fundamentally, a territory acknowledgment is a relational process, which means that…