From the outset, Northern Ontario has existed as an exploited natural resource region, vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a "boom and bust" verity. This has had profound effects on its ensuing political patterns and political processes. This thesis describes how and why the politics of Northern Ontario are different. This thesis demonstrates that the politics of Northern Ontario, unlike Southern Ontario, are distinguished by disaffection, dependency, domination, pragmatism, and parochialism. This thesis also argues that the North's divergent development and natural resource based economy, as well as pernicious provincial government policies and extensive interventions, provoked the differences apparent in its politics. These differences are evinced in the North's disparate political culture, political priorities, and political structure. Furthermore, this thesis confirms that Northern Ontario politics feature a low level of political efficacy which is primarily the result of its "centre-periphery" connection with Southern Ontario.

The move toward establishing regional government in Ontario reflects the recognition by both local and provincial governments of the inadequacies of the present governmental structure to deal with development issues of a regional nature. The requirements of a rapidly urbanizing and growing population are those whose discussion and provision is most efficiently made by a form of government larger than the existing municipality and smaller than the provincial government. The hypothesis states that altering the provincial departmental organization is a necessary prerequisite to successful establishment of the planning function within the regional government. It is based on the argument that with the creation of regional government throughout the province, the existing operational framework of the departmental organization of the provincial government is not sufficiently coordinated to deal with planning issues for regional development. To defend the argument, documentation and analysis is made of the development of both local and provincial government. This gives a back ground upon which to establish how and why there may be problems in coordinating the implementation of planning policy for regional development and to make suggestions of possible changes. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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