2021 Massey Cities Summit: Constitutional Space for Cities

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By 1867, the governance of what would become Canada was centuries old, a combination of colonial and Indigenous laws and practices with local governance bodies playing a crucial role. The Dominion of Canada, made up of four provinces, was cemented by a codified constitution, which divided power between federal and provincial governments, leaving out both First Nations and cities.

154 years later, Canada is a very different place. Of the roughly 38 million residents, 5 percent identify as First Nations, Metis, or Inuit and more than 80 percent reside in about 5,200 cities across 10 provinces and 3 territories. Cities across Canada have long been challenged by poor funding arrangements and too few powers adequately to address poverty, inequality, racism, crumbling infrastructure, and more.

But still, the federal and provincial governments govern, with municipalities sitting at the kids’ table, when invited.  Duties owed to Indigenous leaders are often overlooked or ignored, despite the nation-to-nation relationship promised in treaties and unceded lands claimed by Canada. If it was clear before, our new era of COVID-19 has shown more that cities do not have the powers they need to address the problems they face.

The Massey Cities Summit 2021 invites all of us to reimagine the municipal role in Canadian federalism, while also acknowledging the constitutional rights of First Nations. Organised by Massey College and the Canadian Urban Institute, with support from the Maytree Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, all are welcome to attend the Summit. The Summit opens on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The full agenda is available here; consider it your personal invitation to join us at this first-of-its-kind Summit.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, Principal of Massey College will welcome a dazzling and accomplished array of mayor and policymakers, scholars and practitioners, thinkers and doers, including constitutionalists, political scientists, sociologists, urbanists, and more.