ABSTRACT
Canadian rural policies and programs followed different approaches and frameworks from the epoch of Confederation which presented the first attempts to modernize rural Canada, to the Rural Action Plan of the past decade. In this context policy strategies were aimed to respond to a number of challenges and changes affecting rural and northern places. They include changing technologies, rural infrastructure, broadband internet communications, globalization, new governance arrangements, changing industrial structures and employment, changing demographics and lifestyles, as well as settlement changes, immigration, and the growth and reconciliation initiatives relating to Indigenous peoples. This chapter aims at understanding the evolution of rural policy in Canada, discussing the major policy strategies and highlighting the current problems of rural development policy design. Special consideration is given to the province of Quebec in recognition of its unique approach to rural and regional development, as manifested by the importance of local governance and by the development of rural policy programs.
