From path dependency to path renewal? The reinvention of local economies in rural resource communities in Newfoundland and Labrador through partnerships

Rural areas are predisposed with rich natural assets which are attractive to resource-based sectors, ranging from renewables, such as fishery to forestry, to non-renewables, including mining and oil and gas. Despite the potential benefit of these sectors to the local economy, rural communities often entrench themselves in a path dependent relationship with these commodities, creating barriers to facilitate economic diversification opportunities, paired with the cyclic nature of the boom-bust cycle. Using Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, as a case study, this paper highlights ways that rural communities can reinvent their local economies by redefining their path dependency arrangements and experience path renewal. The Towns of Fogo Island, Bonavista, Grand Falls-Windsor, and the Great Northern Peninsula have been effective in utilizing economic development partnerships to help transform governance in their communities that has helped break path dependency. These findings have potential to assist resource-dependent communities in their rural economic development activities.