Canada’s largest cities have faced exponential growth, with the trajectory rising further still. Due to their high density, cities are the primary sites for opportunities in economic prosperity, green innovation, and cultural activity, and also for critical challenges in homelessness and extreme poverty, air pollution, Indigenous-municipal relationship-building, racial injustice, and transportation gridlock. While city governments are at the forefront of mitigating the challenges of urban life, they are given insufficient power to effectively attend to public needs.

Cities and the Constitution confronts the misalignment between the importance of municipalities and their constitutional status. While our constitution is often considered a living document, Canada has one of the most complicated amending formulas in the world, making change very difficult. Cities are thus constitutionally vulnerable to unilateral provincial action and reliant on other levels of government for funding. Could municipal power be reimagined without disrupting the existing constitutional structure, or could the Constitution be reformed to designate cities a distinct tier of government? Among other novel proposals, this groundbreaking volume explores the idea of recognizing municipalities in provincial constitutions.

The first volume of a complementary pair, authored by renowned Canadian legal and urban studies scholars, Cities and the Constitution suggests contemporary solutions to one of our most pressing policy dilemmas.

Canadian municipalities oversee the country’s most urgent policy areas, yet the constitutional authority of cities to manage their increasing obligations has not kept pace. This volume considers how policy, law, and the constitution can be reimagined to resolve the mismatch between powers and responsibilities.“Written by a diverse group of acknowledged, experienced experts, Cities and the Constitution advances the emerging Canadian and international literature on the constitutional (in the legal and political senses of that term) status of cities.” Peter Oliver, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution“The question of constitutional status for Canadian cities is not new – but it is salient as never before. This timely volume explores the options for addressing this gap in cities’ power. Contributors provide a diverse and useful overview of some traditional arguments, as well as a range of creative and novel ones.” Cherie Metcalf, Queen’s Law

Alexandra Flynn is associate professor in the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia.
Richard Albert is William Stamps Farish Professor in Law, professor of government, and director of constitutional studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Nathalie Des Rosiers is a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

CA

Series editors: Kristin Good and Martin Horak

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in local politics and the governance of cities - both in Canada and around the world. Globally, the city has become a consequential site where instances of social conflict and of cooperation play out. Urban centres are increasingly understood as vital engines of innovation and prosperity and a growing body of interdisciplinary research on urban issues suggests that high-performing cities have become crucial to the success of nations, even in the global era. Yet at the same time, local and regional governments continue to struggle for political recognition and for the policy resources needed to manage cities, to effectively govern, and to achieve sustainable growth.

The purpose of the McGill-Queen’s Studies in Urban Governance series is to highlight the growing importance of municipal issues, local governance, and the need for policy reform in urban spaces. The series aims to answer the question “why do cities matter?” while exploring relationships between levels of government and examining the changing dynamics of metropolitan and community development. By taking a four-pronged approach to the study of urban governance, the series encourages debate and discussion of: (1) actors, institutions, and how cities are governed; (2) policy issues and policy reform; (3) the city as case study; and (4) urban politics and policy through a comparative framework.

With a strong focus on governance, policy, and the role of the city, this series welcomes manuscripts from a broad range of disciplines and viewpoints.