Does Quebec’s Rural Policy Facilitate Synergistic Territorial Governance?
In recent years, new social and institutional dynamics have contributed to the emergence of new forms of territorial and community management. To assess this situation, we conducted a critical analysis of three generations of Quebec Rural Policy (QRP) introduced by successive governments in Quebec; we assumed that the 2014-2024 QRP was unlikely to be called into question by the government elected in the Spring of 2014. Our approach was based on the concept of synergistic governance, understood as being the combination of different political, social and organizational factors that enter into strategic planning carried out by the stakeholders in a given community or territory, with a view to establishing the needed bases for the study, analysis and establishment of mechanisms for better management of the territorial development process. We looked particularly closely at how Quebec governments, through the QRP, endeavour to stimulate the emergence of new approaches to regional development in rural communities. It would seem from our analysis that the two main players in this process, the government and community stakeholders, have indeed developed a working relationship through the implementation of the Rural Pact, itself a key component of the QRP. However, given the limited involvement of the private sector, and the inconclusive results achieved to date, there seems to be good reason to question the governance system adopted by the QRP. Much still needs to be done before a truly synergistic territorial governance process can be established.