Revisiting rural economic development: New Localism’s potential in Canadian local government

For decades, the role of local government has evolved, where the expectation has moved beyond the provision of local services towards developing innovative approaches to enhance the socioeconomic livelihoods of citizens. Devolution and downloading have exacerbated the growing expectations of local government, as local and regional governments are given new roles and responsibilities, including local economic development. Rural local governments are particularly at risk, as many do not have the capacity to manage these new roles, nor have there been appropriate governance approaches designed. Through a systematic review of three dominant and one emerging literature on rural development, this article addresses gaps in existing research and practice through creating a framework for rural local government. This framework can be used to further examine the practice and theories in public management as it applies to rural local governments.