Understanding the new rural reality is paramount to planning the future of rural and northern communities. On April 30, Dr. Ryan Gibson delivered the keynote address to the Forum for Colleges and Institutes Serving Rural, Remote, and Northern Communities at the 2017 Colleges and Institutes of Canada conference. The session brought together leaders from community colleges and institutes from across Canada to discuss rural opportunities.

Dr. Gibson spoke about the new realities encountering rural communities throughout Canada, pulling on the recent 2015 State of Rural Canada report and the 2016 data from Statistics Canada. The presentation also identified as series of implications of the new rural realities and key opportunities for Colleges and Institutes Canada in moving rural forward. A copy of the presentation can be found below.

 Rural Matters: Realities, Implications, and Opportunities (Gibson)

 2015 State of Rural Canada (Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation)