Local Government

Stu­dents will learn to com­pare and con­trast the fea­tures of the local gov­ern­ment sys­tems across Cana­da, exam­ine inter­nal gov­ern­ing struc­tures along with some of the key respon­si­bil­i­ties of local gov­ern­ment, and assess future chal­lenges and prospects. Local gov­ern­ments will be placed with­in Canada’s fed­er­al sys­tem and will trace the foun­da­tions of the sys­tems and their evo­lu­tion through var­i­ous reforms and restructuring.

Course at a glance
  • Aimed at individuals interested in moving into higher level responsibilities in the local government field; our student body includes municipal government employees in planning, corporate services, economic development, operations, finance, and more.
  • Fully online asynchronous course, accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
  • Participate in online discussions with peers from all over Canada and expand your professional network.
What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Provide timely introductory information about local government in Canada.
  • Have acquired an informal, online student local government community of interest.
  • Describe current issues and trends in local government.
  • Identify a variety of approaches and models for organizing local governments and their services.
  • Have an enhanced personal understanding of the legislative, leadership and service roles of local governments.
This course has no prerequisites

Students from all educational backgrounds welcome. You can register for this course without applying and enrolling in a program.

Take note:

  • A textbook is required for this course.
  • Additional learning materials are provided through eClass.
  • For those interested in pursuing the NACLAA Level I certificate, this course is recommended to be taken at the beginning of the program.
  • This course also fulfills 39 of the required elective hours for the ALUP certificate program.
Currently counts towards:

Applicants intending to enrol in a program are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to lock in their course requirements since they are prone to change.

*If you are already enroled in this program, please refer to your specific program requirements as outlined at the time of your admission: Bear Tracks > Academic Advisement.

When will
this course be offered?

New course schedules are released each June and November.

Course not yet scheduled

This course is not currently scheduled, but may be offered in an upcoming term.

New course schedules are announced each June and November.


Sign up for updates

Interested in future offerings of this course? We can let you know when this course becomes available.