Author: Dr. Loleen Berdahl
It is often said that municipal governments are the closest to the people and the most efficient form of government. By and large, urbanites in the West and the Toronto area appear to agree with this assessment: a large number of urban residents report that their municipal government has more impact on their daily lives than their provincial government or the federal government, and a large number also report that their municipal government is the least wasteful with its money. In addition, the majority feels that big cities should be treated differently than smaller municipalities. However, urbanites are not convinced that their municipal government needs more money, and public perceptions of urban priorities tend to focus on “conventional” local concerns such as crime, roads and traffic.