Creating Digital Opportunities for Canada Rural and Remote Regions: The Wrong S ide of the Digital Divide? Dr. Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, Johnson-S hoyama Graduate S chool of Public Policy, University of S askatchewan
Research Question and Key Finding • Research Question: How are small towns, rural areas and Indigenous communities responding to the digital opportunities and challenges in the 21 st Century? • Key Finding: Maj or digital divides have been created between southern and urban centres and northern, rural and Indigenous communities. Responding to the growing gaps in opportunities for work, business development, and economic engagement will require the “ inversion of digital innovation.”
Research Findings mall towns and rural areas are poorly prepared for 21 st century • S digital engagement; • Canada’s regional digital infrastructure is inadequate; • Few smaller Canadian communities (Olds, Alberta, Kaslo, B.C., Whitehorse, Yukon) have well-developed digital strategies; • Indigenous communities have severe deficits in almost all aspects of the digital economy; • S mall towns, rural and remote communities are being affected by digital disruptions, particularly in terms of retail dislocation, j ob loss, and disengagement from the national economy.
Policy Implications • 1. Canada needs a rural, small t own and nort hern digit al st rat egy and invest ment plan; • 2. S maller cent res lack t he local t alent needed t o develop, inst all, maint ain and capit alize on digit al t echnologies. Will t his be addressed t hrough regional educat ion and t raining or from dist ance-delivered services and assist ance? • 3. Rural, nort hern and Indigenous communit ies lack t he economies of scale t o at t ract commercial at t ent ion and t ypically lack t he knowledge of nat ional and int ernat ional market s t o exploit commercial opport unit ies. S pecialized mid-size cit y responsdes have been bet t er. • 3. Rural and Indigenous ommunit ies have t ypically lacked ready access t o invest ment capit al. The recent growt h of Aboriginal Economic Development Corporat ions has changed t his realit y for some Indigenous communit ies. • 4. Canadian research and development relat ed t o rural and small t own communit iesand t he diogit al economy is embryonic and lacks t he scale and connect ivit y t o advance regional int erest s. • 5. The digit al divide has exacerbat ed t he social and economic challenges of rural, small t own, Indigenous and nort hern t owns in Canada. The impact on current and fut ure workforce has been part icularly not iceable.
International Lessons and Insights • Policy-driven developments in other countries (S candinavia, Japan, and the US A) provide positive examples of digital adaptation in rural and remote regions; • The situation in less developed nations (S outh and Central America) shows the employment, commercial and societal implications of being “ left out” of 21 st century digital developments; • The core element in the digital policy strategies of the leading nations has been national commitments to uniform infrastructure standards, high quality educational outcomes, and targeted policies for small town and rural economic development.
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