Scholars and practitioners of intergovernmental relations in Canada have tended to concentrate on federal-provincial matters. But now there is a growing interest in big cities and municipalities more generally - as engines of growth, providers of important functions like culture, public health, protection and recreation, sites of social inclusion (or not), and as the democratic governments that are ‘closest to the people.’ As well, cities have become better organized collectively and have increased their demands upon provincial governments and the federal government too.

In this context, the Institute is mounting a conference to expand its traditional focus and to broaden the intergovernmental research agenda. We will first contemplate municipal-federal interactions in a couple of policy fields and types of community. We will then explore the changing distribution of functions within major provinces and also the trend towards amalgamations: these developments have altered the structure of the system and the players within it. Third, we will examine how tripartite intergovernmental relationships work, both financially and in terms of policy making. This is a foray onto a new and more complex intergovernmental landscape, and we anticipate that the conference will stimulate a wide ranging dialogue among scholars and practitioners.