The Journal's objectives

The Canadian Journal of Regional Science was founded in 1978 on the premise that it "would fill an obvious void in the Canadian social science literature and contribute in some manner to the development of regional science in the country." As it established itself over the years, the Journal's objectives were broadened to (i) provide an outlet for interdisciplinary research on regional and urban issues, (ii) encourage academics to undertake research on regional issues and (iii) promote the exchange of ideas across different academic disciplines, both in Canada and beyond.

The special features of the Journal

The Canadian Journal of Regional Science is unique in the Canadian context since it provides an important research outlet for interdisciplinary work on regional and urban issues in the nation. Given the country's geographic size, differences in endowments across the provinces, its different cultural groups and the persistence of regional economic disparities, the field of regional science as an interdisciplinary subject is key in providing useful insights into the regional dynamics of Canada. Authors who publish in the Journal come from a wide array of disciplines, ranging from economics, geography, sociology, demography and political science to urban and regional planning.

Origins and evolution of the Journal

The Canadian Journal of Regional Science began publication in 1978 at the Regional and Urban Studies Centre, Institute of Public Affairs, Dalhousie University under the co-editorship of Andrew S. Harvey and William J. Coffey. In 1988 the editorship (and production) moved to INRS-Urbanisation at the Université du Québec a Montréal with Professor Jacques Ledent as editor.

Beginning with Volume 16 (1993), production of the journal moved to the Department of Economics, University of New Brunswick with William J. Milne serving as editor. Christopher Bryant of the Université de Montréal took over as editor with Volume 20 (1997) and continued through Volume 33 (2010). During those years production was overseen by Assistant Editor Doug Woodward.

The year 2010 marked an important milestone for the Journal as the first issue of Volume 33 saw it move to an online, open access format. A year later, Professor John Miron of the University of Toronto Scarborough assumed the editorship with Volume 34 (2011), along with Yann Fournis (Université du Québec à Rimouski) and Jean Dubé (Université Laval) as French co-Editors.

With the publication of Volume 42 (2019), Jean Dubé (Université Laval) and Sébastien Breau (McGill University) have taken the lead as co-Editors of the Journal. While the Journal has been redesigned with an entirely new layout, it’s main objective continues to be publishing high-quality work that advances our understanding of regional issues.