Congratulation to Lucas Berek for successfully defending his Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development thesis titled, "The Living Room of a Rural Community: Economic Development in New Tecumseth, Ontario".
Thank you to members of Lucas' examination committee: Prof. Sara Epp, Prof. Silvia Sarapura-Escobar, and Prof. Nadia Amoroso.
Stay tuned for access to Lucas' thesis.
Rural communities are critical to the country's economic success, yet they remain underrepresented and poorly understood in federal policies. Sarah-Patricia Breen, Heather Hall, Kyle Rich, and Ryan Gibson explore this question in the latest publication in The Conversation. Take a read of "In Canada’s 2025 federal election, is anyone paying attention to rural communities?" The article calls for stronger, evidence-based rural development programs to address
The April 2025 newsletter contains updates to graduate students working with Prof. Gibson and recent alumni. This newsletter shares information about academic programs updates, celebrates receive achievements, profiles an RPD alumni, and share insights on upcoming events. If you have information to share in the monthly update do not hesitate to let Ryan know via email.
The latest issue of the Rural Review: Ontario Rural Planning, Development, and Policy is now available! This issue showcases graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, and community researcher led initiatives on a wide variety of topics related to rural environments, rural economies, Indigenous development, and rural peoples. The oral presentations and poster presentations were shared at the 2025 Rural Research Symposium on March 26, 2025.
A new publication from Alex Petric and Ryan Gibson was published in Regional Studies, Regional Science titled, "Hidden Treasures: Estimating Intergenerational Wealth Transfers in Rural Canada". This study examines how wealth is passed between generations in rural Canada and the potential impacts for local economies. Intergenerational transfers of wealth could play a crucial role in supporting rural communities. Without careful consideration, much of this ...
On March 17, graduate students in the Economic Development class (RPD*6370) at the University of Guelph explored rural economic development in Centre Wellington. Students meet with staff at the Community Futures Wellington Waterloo to learn about their the regional economy, their programs, and their achievements. In the afternoon, students discussed the economic development opportunities and challenges with Centre Wellington Economic Development staff.
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The March 2025 newsletter contains updates to graduate students working with Prof. Gibson and recent alumni. This newsletter shares information about academic programs updates, celebrates receive achievements, profiles an RPD alumni, and share insights on upcoming events. If you have information to share in the monthly update do not hesitate to let Ryan know via email.
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Check out the recent Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health lecture on the Urban Exodus. The presentation features Sara Epp (University of Guelph), Chris Fullerton (Brock University), Ellen Sinclair (Rural Ontario Institute), Scott Taylor (County of Grey) and Ryan Gibson (University of Guelph). The presentation shares recent research on findings from a province wide survey of municipal governments regarding the impacts of the COVID pandemic.
The February 2025 newsletter contains updates to graduate students working with Prof. Gibson and recent alumni. This newsletter shares information about academic programs updates, celebrates receive achievements, profiles an RPD alumni, and share insights on upcoming events. If you have information to share in the monthly update do not hesitate to let Ryan know via email.
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Congratulations to Jayden Cote for receiving Canadian Institute of Planners/L’Institut canadien des urbanistes (CIP/ICU) Student Trust Fund Award! The CIP/ICU Planning Student Trust Fund (CIP-PSTF) is the Canadian planning profession’s national charity, providing a scholarship, bursary, and award program to students in accredited planning programs in Canada. Learn more about Jayden and his interests.
