Changing Patterns of Governance in Metropolitan Regions: Australian and Canadian Perspectives
In May 2023, the Ontario government announced that it planned to dissolve the Region of Peel and replace it with three single-tier cities. Meanwhile in Australia, the Greater Sydney Commission had launched a plan that split Greater Western Sydney in two. With this context, IMFG convened a public panel entitled “Changing Patterns of Governance in Metropolitan Regions: Australian and Canadian Perspectives” in the fall of 2023. Although the Province of Ontario reversed course and the New South Wales government abolished the Commission to centralize control, the discussion highlighted emerging trends in regional governance in Australia and Canada more generally, and Peel Region and Greater Western Sydney in particular.
Zack Taylor provided an overview of the increasing need for effective regional governance to manage the many societal pressures facing Canada and explored contemporary models across the country and suggested future directions.
Graham Sansom reflected on how similar issues are playing out in Australia, where state governments, notably in New South Wales, were bringing about significant changes to metropolitan planning and governance.
Janice Baker highlighted the sheer complexity of untangling the Peel Region’s operations, combined with the lack of both a clear definition of the problem dissolution was intended to address and of the due diligence in making the decision to go ahead.
The discussion made clear that in both countries, the balance of responsibility for sound metropolitan governance rests with provincial or state governments. The paper concludes that current approaches to metropolitan governance in both Canada and Australia are falling short and puts forward key themes drawn from the panelists’ insights.