FALL 2025, VOL. 65, NO. 3

The range and extent of issues facing Canada – and the planning profession – in these turbulent times are unprecedented. This has blurred the lines between an urgent need to deal with today’s problems and the desire to better understand the longer-term trends affecting Canada’s future well-being. Planners may be trained to develop strategies and solutions, but determining a logical way forward in the current climate has rarely been so difficult. 

Acknowledging these uncertainties, this special issue of Plan Canada challenges readers to look ahead to the year 2100. What role can planners play in delivering a quality of life that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable for our diverse publics? How can we factor in commitments to Reconciliation and solutions for dealing with climate change? Do planners have the skills and expertise to answer such questions, and if not, how do we develop them? 

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In this issue…

Articles

Getting to Big Canada: Attracting and Retaining Immigration Is the Only Path to a Larger Population by Russell Mathew and Jaclyn Hall

Planning in a New Era of Global Urbanization by Maxwell Hartt

Planning Through Changes of the 21st Century by Lisa A. Prime and Daniel Hoornweg

Planning for Uncertain Futures: Skills, Knowledge, and Character Attributes by Mark Seasons and Larry Kotseff

Our Way Back to the Future: Planners as Advocates by Sean Hertel

Who Has the Resources to Plan Well for a Sustainable Future in 2100? by Molly Harris and Gordon Harris

From Telok Ayer to Toronto and Trois-Rivières: How Travel Can Shape Our Vision of Canada’s Future Cities by Emilie K Adin

From Scratch: How Large New Cities Could House Canada’s Rising Population in 2100 by Richard Gilbert

Re-arranging the Urban Building Blocks: An Expanded Role for Urban Design in Canada’s Future by Dan Leeming, Eric Turcotte and Diane Riley

Teaching to 2100 with Practical Empathy by Katherine Perrott and Robin Mazumder

Columns

Editors’ Note | Mot de la rédaction by Glenn Miller and Jennifer Dean

Fellows Corner | De côté des Fellows by Paul Bedford

CIP Honours and Awards | Honneurs et Prix de l’ICU

Planner’s Bookshelf | L’étagère du planificateur

Contribute Your Expertise

We invite submissions of short papers and research reviews, notes on practice, and book or film reviews. We favour articles with a strong policy framework and context, containing clear methodologies pertaining to studies and research, and providing critical reflection or lessons for planning practice. Submissions on planning-related topics are always welcome, regardless of the theme.