The realities for rural and regional development across sub-national units of the North Atlantic have changed dramatically over the past years, leaving many rural communities struggling to address their revitalization and sustainability. Governments, both nation state and sub-nation states, have exchanged traditional strategies (i.e.: enhancement to business development, rural investment and service delivery, while trying to ease income and unemployment disparities) with a variety of new strategizes emphasizing innovation, entrepreneurship, and the export of natural resources. This research examines the next direction of rural and regional development policy in two sub-national units of the North Atlantic: Nova Scotia and South Kerry, Ireland. Both Nova Scotia and South Kerry exhibit similar demographic, economic, and policy contexts making them ideal for comparison.