News/Nouvelles : Rural Canada News Scan - April 2011

Source: Compiled by the Canadian Rural Research Network.
This month, the News Scan focuses on the coverage of rural issues as presented during the 2011 election campaign. Click on the heading to access the online article.


N-QW Votes 2011: Harper To Strengthen Essential Services In Rural Canada
Northumberland View – April 5, 2011
To combat the shortage of health care professionals in rural and remote communities, a re-elected Stephen Harper Government will forgive a portion of Canada Student Loans for new family physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses who practice in under-served rural or remote communities.

Guns or health care: How do you win over the rural voter?
The Globe and Mail – April 5, 2011
The question all parties are trying to answer is how best to target the rural voter. Rural issues tend to get short shrift in election coverage, but they hold a potentially significant payoff.

Rural Broadband: Bloc vs. Liberals
Newswire.ca – April 4, 2011
Following the Bloc Québécois Leader's announcement on high-speed Internet access for rural areas, Marc Garneau, Michael Ignatieff's representative in Quebec, reminds voters that only the Liberal commitment to broadband connectivity can lead to a real investment…

WiMAX Network Switched on in Rural Canada
Cellular-News – March 31, 2011
A new WiMAX network has gone live in rural Ontario, Canada after Barrett Xplore - through its Xplornet brand - activated its network today. The fixed wireless network, which will comprise about 1,200 towers, will be capable of network speeds of 40 Mbps, improving to over 100 Mbps by next year.

N-QW Votes 2011: Michael Ignatieff commits to Liberal “Rural Canada Matters” strategy
Northumberland View – April 6, 2011
A Liberal government’s “Rural Canada Matters” strategy will provide Canadians living in small town and rural Canada – especially our farmers – with the tools to succeed, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today at the Compton Agricultural Co-op.

Bloc’s rural road trip continues
Decision Canada – April 9, 2011
The Bloc Québécois continued its road trip through the rural areas of Quebec on Friday, starting things off in Chicoutimi with a promise to push for more federal support for the province’s forestry industry.

FCM WELCOMES LIBERAL COMMITMENTS TO RURAL CANADA
Federation of Canadian Municipalities – April 8, 2011
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) welcomes the Liberal Party´s commitments to rural Canada, in particular for its support for volunteer firefighters as well as its commitment to roll out rural broadband and its plan to increase access to medical services.

Layton pledges streamlined federal aid for farms
CBC News – April 20, 2011
Jack Layton brought his NDP campaign to southwestern Ontario on Wednesday to focus on agricultural issues and to try and boost the party's chance of ousting a local Conservative incumbent.

Election 2011 Issue: Rural Broadband
Bread and Curcuits (Blog) – April 3, 2011
Today Michael Geist tweeted that the Liberals have released their party platform [pdf], and with it a strategy for the Canadian Digital Economy. One of the issues they discuss is access to broadband Internet for rural Canadians. Here are the relevant sections…

The Urban-Rural Factor
Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy – April 19, 2011
A demographic correlate of partisanship that many election observers know from simply looking at a map is the urban-rural distinction. Anyone who has seen an Elections Canada map know that the presence of Liberal red is largely concentrated around the big cities, and much of the rest apart from Quebec is coloured Conservative blue.

Ignatieff hammers away at message of rural equality
The Globe and Mail – April 6, 2011
“Equality is the key word in the Liberal campaign ... equality between regions,” [Ignatieff] said. “I don’t want Canada with two speeds – rural and urban,” he added…