Learning From What Works: Leveraging local solutions to make better places

Foreword

We are delighted to produce and share this volume showcasing local, place-based solutions to many of Canada’s most challenging issues. Our motivation in lifting up these initiatives is to shift the focus of Canadian communities and policy-makers from lamenting seemingly intractable problems to celebrating what’s working now. These solutions make the case that social innovation comes from place, building on local assets and community trust.

To identify the innovators, we ran a competition in late spring 2025, which garnered 120 submissions from communities large and small, representing every province and territory. The initiatives described were led by a wide range of entities: national non-profits, municipal governments, neighbourhood organizations, universities, businesses of all sizes, and even individuals, from experienced community leaders to schoolchildren. Ultimately, 89 were profiled in the report, including 16 finalists: exceptionally promising examples from across the country that are already showing results.

Many of our most outstanding submissions address the basic need for better access to food and shelter in Canadian municipalities. In this vein, the competition surfaced many great ideas on housing financing, construction, and governance. Another key theme was youth and civic engagement, and we were excited to find many young people sharing their ideas with us. Efforts to mitigate climate change were also well represented, particularly in British Columbia, which provided numerous examples of integrating community-led sustainability initiatives into municipal policy and city-building generally. Another common thread was the importance of maintaining the kinds of civic infrastructure – parks, libraries, civic centres, etc. – that enable collaboration and spark great ideas. Many organizations are making “meanwhile” use of spaces – such as vacant lots or community parks – while waiting for infrastructure upgrades. In some cases these “temporary” solutions proved surprisingly effective, generating community support for making them permanent.

To complement the local solutions contest, the Canadian Urban Institute held a series of roundtables in different provinces. These conversations identified many of the concerns that the contest solutions are responding to. One theme that recurred across the country was the inability of existing physical and civic infrastructure to keep up with Canada’s robust population growth. Another was that funding systems are fragmented, creating inefficiencies and competition among organizations for limited resources, which can discourage collaboration. But multiple bright spots offer encouragement, including the mobilization of business improvement areas, the return of activity to many a downtown, and the growing recognition of the need to support our libraries and other community infrastructure as they increasingly deal with societal challenges like the mental health crisis.

Local solutions “move at the speed of trust.” Each of this year’s contestants conveyed their desire to co-create with their communities, and to be responsive to their needs. We hope the approaches profiled here will inspire other communities to create their own solutions, and that collectively we can tackle our common challenges, place by place. We look forward to expanding our reach in future efforts, and receiving submissions from even more sectors and communities from coast to coast to coast. The many inspiring ideas celebrated here reveal the deep talent embedded in Canada’s places, and point the way forward to a stronger, kinder Canada.

– Karen Chapple and Mary W. Rowe