‘Left Behind Places’: Examining the Evolution of a Concept With an Application to the Canadian Regional Development Context

Abstract

‘Left-behind places’ (LBPs) are generally defined as places experiencing economic stagnation and decline, typically reflected in post-industrial regions and rural areas. In recent years, the concept has gained increased popularity within urban and regional studies in the United Kingdom (UK) and other European countries. Research on the topic in the Canadian context, however, remains limited, with few studies specifically discussing how LBPs are defined in Canada, and even fewer attempting to empirically assess where they may be located across the country. The paper's objectives are twofold: (i) it examines the evolution of the concept of LBPs through an extensive literature review and (ii) explores its application to Canada. The paper employs Statistics Canada's 2021 Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) dataset as a proxy for identifying LBPs across the country and examines their spatial dynamics at the census subdivision (CSD) level using local indicators of spatial association (LISA) statistics. A multinomial logistic regression model is also developed to explore regional factors. The analysis finds high clustering of CSDs with high levels of deprivation in rural, northern, and remote areas of Canada, as well as high clustering of CSDs with high levels of economic dependency in and around major Canadian cities.