This report extends to 1995 the analysis presented in the authors' earlier study The Changing Role of Rural Communities in an Urbanizing Saskatchewan 1961-1990. Major changes in the economic and institutional environments occasioned by the rapid movement toward much freer trade, coupled with a dramatic shift in the fiscal framework of governments at all levels, suggested the need for an update in what otherwise would appear to be a relatively short time in calendar years.
In many ways, the period studied (1990-1995) represents the interval during which the balance of market, institutional, and governmental influences shifted unequivocally from the more equity-oriented framework of the post World War II era (epitomized by the 1970s) to the more efficiency-oriented, competitive framework that will prevail into the twenty-first century.