It Takes a Region: A Case Study of Growth and Governance in the St. John’s city-region of Newfoundland and Labrador by Brian Butt B.Comm. (Co-op.), Memorial University, 2003 Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Urban Studies in the Urban Studies Program Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Brian Butt 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2014 Approval Name: Brian H. P. Butt Degree: Master of Urban Studies Title: It Takes a Region: A Case Study of Growth and Governance in the St. John’s city-region of Newfoundland and Labrador Examining Committee: Chair: Peter V. Hall Associate Professor, Urban Studies Program Patrick J. Smith Senior Supervisor Professor Urban Studies Program and Department of Political Science Karen Ferguson Supervisor Associate Professor Urban Studies Program and Department of History James Lightbody External Examiner Professor Department of Political Science University of Alberta Date Defended/Approved: November 20, 2014 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract This study is about understanding a less typical Canadian response to metropolitan regional governance in the St. John’s city-region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Governance of city-regions has become a prominent concern of urbanizing areas around the globe, yet the political dynamics of the local context significantly impact adoption of regional solutions to this challenge. In this research, content analysis of policy reports and consulting studies were combined with interviews of provincial and municipal leaders, planners and regional organizations. The study found that despite a number of operationally effective single-purpose regional bodies there is a high level of power imbalance, distrust of the centre city, and a history of relations that are not conducive to advancing regionalism. Still, there are ongoing forums that continue to advance the region as a legitimate scale for action and participants see value in the regional approach. This study concludes that Provincial intervention is necessary to steer the leadership of the region toward workable regional solutions. In order to enhance inter- municipal collaboration in regional governance the Province needs to act as a facilitator to move beyond historical power dynamics and build trust. Furthermore, in order to improve relations with its neighbours, the City of St. John’s has to seek collaborative solutions and put the amalgamation ghost to rest. Keywords: City-region; regional governance; regionalism; multilevel governance; provincial-municipal; St. John’s; Newfoundland and Labrador v Dedication I would like to dedicate this research project to my family. To my wife, who tirelessly supported me throughout this program and specifically during an extra long summer of analysis and drafting. Christina ensured I had the time and space to think and write while in the midst of the madness of work, parenthood and school. To my three children, who have been an important part of this journey. Thank you for your patience in my absence and for being there to have fun when we all needed it. I owe you lots of undivided attention. To my parents, both biological and those I was lucky enough to gain through marriage. Thank you for coming from Newfoundland to live in Vancouver and support us for several months at a time. I owe it to my future grandchildren to be as strong a support and place of steadfast love as you are for our children. vi Acknowledgements While my name emerges as the author of this project, several other individuals deserve credit as well. Thank you first and foremost to my thesis advisor, Patrick Smith. Always an encouraging person to talk to, he believed in me and in the research project as it took formation and developed over the course of several semesters. I also want to thank Peter Hall who was an excellent resource as I first began to give shape to this project in his research methods class. An expert in research design and analysis, he was always willing to provide additional support through the research development and analysis stages. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert Greenwood and the Harris Centre for Regional Policy and Development in St. John’s, NL. Rob was very supportive from the first email I sent to him from across the country and was essential in both the initial conceptualization of my topic and as a connector during the field work in St. John’s. His desire to engage researchers with the community in order to create meaningful research is inspiring and has aided in producing an impressive body of work via the Harris Centre. I also want to acknowledge all of the local, regional and provincial leaders (both elected and unelected) who dedicate so much time and effort to their communities in the Northeast Avalon region and to the Province of NL, several of whom dedicated time for this project. It is as a result of the contributions and influence of these individuals (alongside the support of my family) that I have completed this research project, which I believe makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing academic dialogue on city-region governance. vii Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ........................................................................................................................... v Dedication ...................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xi List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.1. Context - Canada ................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Context – St. John’s City-Region ............................................................................ 3 1.2.1. Governance, Regionalization and Amalgamation in St. John’s City- Region ........................................................................................................ 5 1.2.2. Collaboration ............................................................................................... 8 1.2.3. Northeast Avalon Regional Planning ........................................................... 9 1.3. Purpose ................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2. Literature Review .................................................................................... 12 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 12 2.2. Government versus Governance .......................................................................... 12 2.3. Deconstructing the Region and Regional Identity ................................................. 15 2.4. Old versus New Regionalism ................................................................................ 17 2.5. Multilevel Governance .......................................................................................... 20 2.6. Attributes of Collaborative Governance ................................................................ 22 2.7. Literature Review Summary ................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3. Methodology ............................................................................................ 26 3.1. Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 27 3.2. Data Analysis ....................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4. Findings ................................................................................................... 37 4.1. Regional Parks ..................................................................................................... 37 4.1.1. East Coast Trails Association .................................................................... 37 Background ............................................................................................... 37 Success .................................................................................................... 38 Tourism ............................................................................................................. 38 Engagement and collaboration ......................................................................... 39 Cultural heritage and regional identity ............................................................... 41 Challenges ................................................................................................ 43