Organizing Canadian Local Government

There is no one-size-fits all approach to organizing local governments in Alberta. Ultimately, communities will decide on the governance model that best suits their needs. A number of factors must be considered when determining which municipal governance arrangement works best for a given community. It’s not a straight- forward decision where one model stands out over another. This paper examines the three main models, using examples from across Canada, to look at their pros and cons. Those in decision-making roles about municipal governance in Alberta should consider the comparative perspective presented in this paper if they’re concerned with reforming their own models. The broad municipal governance models examined are single-tier, two-tier and self- organizing. However, they are not mutually exclusive. Self-organizing mechanisms are widely used throughout Canada in both single-tier and two-tier governments. Single-tier models have a single local government that is responsible for providing all municipal services within a geographic boundary. While this provides for equity in servicing and set lines of authority and accountability, it is rarely the case that a single-tier government encompasses its entire metropolitan region. This results in fragmented systems that require co-ordination and co-operation to control externalities. Toronto does not even cover all of its metropolitan or economic region. Two-tier models have an upper tier government that shares responsibility with lower tier governments. This allows the different governments to provide services for which they are best suited. However, multiple levels of government can result in inefficiencies and confusion when it comes to electing officials. Both Ontario and B.C. offer good examples of two-tier governance. Self-organizing models involve interlocal co-operation and co-ordination, allowing municipalities to partner for servicing or to work together on projects that benefit all participants. While research has shown that this works well for larger municipalities, more research is needed, particularly in Alberta, on the effectiveness in smaller communities outside of the major metropolitan areas. This comparative analysis provides examples from Canada that work well for those particular communities and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each model based on a set of standard political and economic factors to ensure the comparisons are equitable. Policy-makers must take into consideration each community’s unique features to determine which governance model would be best suited for the municipality in question.