A Regional Conference on New Economics for Rural Canada

The second conference in the Local Prosperity conference series, November 3-6, 2016 in Miramichi, New Brunswick was a resounding success.  Note that presentations from the conference will be uploaded over the coming weeks, so check back on a regular basis.

In the face of rapid global change, new business models, tools, projects and policies are needed to assist local communities in the 21st century. Global financial and consumer markets, climate change, and a multitude of international trends have impacted the economic and cultural health of our communities. The past decade or more of evidence-based studies, practical local experimentation, and innovation point to two undisputable facts: (1) the higher the density of locally owned businesses in a community or region the higher the local job growth; and (2) the higher the degree of localization, the higher the per capita income growth.

Local Prosperity 2016: A Regional Conference on New Economics for Rural Canada focused on how individuals, businesses, and communities can begin to design and then implement local business strategies, individual, family and community planning ideas, and municipal and provincial policy alternatives that begin to put Atlantic Canada’s communities on the road to prosperity and long-term health.

This conference was a follow-up to the first and highly successful Local Prosperity Annapolis Royal Conference held in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia in April 2015. That conference drew over 240 participants and presented topics, working sessions, and speakers focused on practical examples and strategies for local economic development. This conference was a working partnership with the town of Miramichi, New Brunswick, and the Centre for Local Prosperity and built on the success of that initial conference.

See materials from the Local Prosperity Annapolis Royal Conference, April 2015.