Fiscal Austerity and Urban Innovation: Canadian Municipalities in Global Context

How has the fiscal condition of Canadian local governments shifted in recent decades? How do patterns vary across metro areas that are more or less unitary, and that have changed in these years? Our research report discusses a national survey of Canadian municipal administrators. The surveys have been facilitated by the International Fiscal Austerity and Urban Innovation Project based at the University of Chicago, thus permitting international comparisons of specifics. The project focuses on salient local government problems, including spending priorities, activity and impact of multiple local groups, and major policy and management practices. We find a greater utilization of innovative budgeting techniques to manage fiscal conditions, and a rise in multiple participants on matters of fiscal austerity and urban innovation at the local government level. Downloading of service delivery by senior levels of government and the challenges of globalization are clearly affecting local government fiscal conditions in Canadian municipalities.