Les politiques publiques de développement des milieux ruraux : la Politique nationale de la ruralité du Québec revisitée

Abstract

This article describes the process of developing rural public policies and their evolution. Their relatively recent emergence occurred with the ending of the belief that sectoral policies, particularly agricultural policies, could solve rural problems. The Quebec experience to support the development of rural territories with the National Policy on Rurality (NPR) of Quebec is subsequently discussed in depth. The focus is on the innovative aspects of such a policy, to draw lessons from its implementation from 2001 to 2014. As recognized by the OECD, this original policy has shown on several accounts the relevance of focusing on intangible factors such as collective mobilization, civic engagement and local governance, that are often decisive determinants of socio-economic development in rural areas.