The recent Rural Symposium brought together 160 participants, both in person and online, for a dynamic exchange of ideas focused on rural research and policy. The event featured 17 presentations and 11 posters, highlighting the depth and diversity of work being done by graduate students at the University of Guelph. These projects explored a wide range of rural issues and offered practical insights for policymakers and practitioners.
The Rural Symposium is
At this year’s Good Roads Conference in Toronto, a presentation on rural and northern transit offered a clear reminder that transportation planning in Canada is not one-size-fits-all. Ryan Gibson, on behalf of Sarah-Patricia Breen and Ela Mastej, highlighted how distance, low population density, and limited infrastructure shape transit systems outside urban centres. In many rural and northern communities, transit is not about convenience—it is about access
On February 26, 2026, Sarah-Patricia Breen (Selkirk College), Ryan Gibson (University of Guelph), and Ashleigh Weeden (Brandon University) delivered a workshop to Government of Canada staff titled Harnessing the Power of Place: Practical Strategies for Federal Policy and Program Success. The workshop focused on a simple but important idea: place matters in policy and programs!
Place-based approaches challenge assumptions that programs work the same ever
Rural communities have significant strengths as well as challenges. Ryan Gibson recently participated in the 42 Canada Podcast with Laurie Cook on rural community development. Check out the podcast below or online.
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The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation recently hosted a webinar as part of the New Researcher Forum series titled "Mobilizing Knowledge for Stronger Rural Futures". Prof. Ryan Gibson explored what he called the “knowledge paradox" - while more research exists than ever before, it often fails to reach the people who can use it most. Too often valuable rural research is locked behind technical language, paywalls, limited internet access, or simply doe
Congratulations to Louis Helps for successfully defending his Rural Studies PhD dissertation titled "Migrant Stories, Industry Narratives: A Critical Discourse Analysis on Migrant Labour in Canadian Agriculture". Stay tuned for electronic access to Lou's PhD dissertation.
Prof. Ryan Gibson offered a timely look at how communities can navigate an increasingly unpredictable world as part of an event recently hosted by the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia. The presentation painted a picture of the complex pressures facing local regions today—from economic instability and government cutbacks to climate change and shifting societal values. These overlapping challenges, he explained, have created a new landscape where traditio
On November 4, 2025, Dr. Ryan Gibson delivered a presentation titled “Local Governance in Canada” at the Department of International and Regional Studies, Hokkaido University of Education in Hakodate, Japan. The session brought together students, faculty, and community partners to explore how Canadian approaches to local governance and rural revitalization could inform Japan’s regional development strategies.
During his talk, Dr. Gibson compared the geogra
Rural communities across Western Ontario are facing ongoing workforce challenges — from labour shortages to attracting and retaining new workers. At the 2025 Western Ontario Wardens Caucus (WOWC) Conference in London, Ontario on October 17, Dr. Ryan Gibson, Libro Professor of Regional Economic Development at the University of Guelph, delivered a presentation titled “Place Matters – Lessons in Workforce Development.”
Drawing on research and collaboration w
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF) and Brandon University’s Rural Development Institute recently hosted the Foundations for the Future of Rural conference, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to explore opportunities and challenges facing rural Canada.
Students, alumni, and faculty from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) made strong contributions to the event through a series o...
