What does a comparative approach add to our understanding of Canadian municipal government, city governance, and municipal policy-making? Canadian Urban Governance in Comparative Perspective, brings together experts in the field to situate Canada within global debates about the place of municipalities in democratic constitutions and systems of (multilevel) governance.

The contributors offer a comprehensive coverage of Canadian municipal government and governance. The book explores the conceptual and institutional foundations of Canadian municipal systems by placing them in a comparative perspective, highlights seminal works by Canadian scholars to show how comparison adds to our understanding of municipal institutions and city governance, and conceptualizes the place of municipal governments in Canada’s multilevel system. It analyzes comparisons of major elements of municipal systems and examines some of the most important urban and global policy challenges of our time, including the politics of growth and development, climate change, immigrant settlement, addressing racism, municipal-Indigenous relations, and tackling poverty and social polarization.

Ultimately, the book invites readers to reflect upon and assess the extent to which Canada’s current municipal systems are up to the task of contributing to effective and equitable responses to contemporary urban challenges and to enriching democratic life in Canada.

Bringing together leading subject experts, this book compares and situates Canadian municipal institutions, urban governance systems, and policy-making in global debates about democratic governance.

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements

Part One – Introduction: A Global Perspective on the Canadian City

1. Positioning the Canadian City in the Global Context and Debates
Kristin R. Good and Jen Nelles

Part Two – Conceptual Foundations: Comparative Methods, Theory, and Rooting the Canadian Case

2. Situating the Constitutional, Legal, and Historical Foundations of Canadian Municipal Government: Historical Roots and Contemporary Challenges
Kristin R. Good

3. Understanding Canadian Urban Governance Comparatively: Methods, Theories, and Contributions
Kristin R. Good

4. Multilevel Urban Governance in Canada
Martin Horak

Part Three – Comparing Local Institutions

5. Metropolitan Governance and Institutional Responses to Urbanization
Jen Nelles

6. Municipal Finance
Enid Slack

7. Local Leadership and Forms of Municipal Government
Kristin R. Good, Kate Graham, and Jesse Helmer

8. Municipal Elections and Political Incorporation
Anne Mévellec, Brandon Bolduc, Guy Chiasson, and Veika Donatien

9. Municipalities, Public Services, and the Government-Citizen Interface in Comparative Perspective
John B. Sutcliffe and Sarah Cipkar

Part Four – Urban Policy Issues in a Global Canada

10. The Politics and Governance of Growth and Economic Development
Zachary Spicer

11. Municipalities, Urban Governance, and Climate Change
Tristan Cleveland and Elizabeth Schwartz

12. City Governance and Local Immigration Policy-Making
Kristin R. Good

13. Indigenous-Municipal Relations in Canadian Cities
Doug Anderson and Alexandra Flynn

14. Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Cities
Tari Ajadi and Kristin R. Good

15. Addressing Poverty and Social Polarization
Mara Sidney and Adam Straub

Part Five – Conclusion: Exploring the Tensions

16. The Possibilities and Limitations of Local Politics and Comparative Urban Research
Jen Nelles and Kristin R. Good

Contributors
Index