Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide in Canada

Read the Latest

• Ep.39: Are Rural Areas Being Left Behind? – Catch Sean Speer and Peter Loewen on Policy Speaking
• Perceptions and reality across Canada’s urban-rural divide, op-ed in Policy Options
• Perceptions and Polarization: Measuring the Perception Gap between Urban and Rural Canadians
• Fault Lines and Common Ground: Understanding the state of the Urban-Rural Divide in Canada

Coming up

• Policy recommendations on bridging the urban-rural divide – Coming soon

About the project

Over the past year, PPF’s Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow Sean Speer has undertaken an exploration of urban and rural differences in Canada and how policymakers, business and community leaders, and the public can work to bridge this growing cultural, political and socio-economic divide. In collaboration with the Policy, Elections, and Representation Lab (PEARL) at the University of Toronto, Sean is conducting quantitative analysis to understand the perceptions Canadians have of one another across geographical lines and breaking down the realities of the urban-rural divide. Two upcoming reports will showcase his findings, and the implications for Canadian policy makers, leaders, and communities.

Sean is Fellow in Residence at PPF and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. During his fellowship, his research has focused on the cultural, economic, and social tensions between urban and rural Canadians, and the potential effects on our politics and society.

For more information, contact: Andrée Loucks, Policy Lead