ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the principal obstacles and resistance regarding municipalization of rural communities in New Brunswick, one of Canada’s most rural provinces. In this province, rural communities are often left to themselves in terms of basic management of community life and development. Approximately one-third of the province’s population resides in non-incorporated areas, which do not have a local government. Basic services such as waste management, road and street maintenance, and snow removal are provided by regional commissions or directly by the provincial government. Most of these non-municipalized territories are rural. In 2005, the provincial government adopted a regulation that permits non-incorporated communities to band together or merge with a village to form a “rural community”, a form of municipality that can choose the responsibilities it wants to progressively assume. Referendums on municipalization are a divisive experiment for many communities and several have failed. Since the adoption of this regulation, only seven rural communities have been established. Local forms of government in rural areas do not seem to be considered essential for part of the population. On the provincial side, this form of territorial organization has proven to be costly and ineffective.