The challenges and opportunities of localizing the sustainable development goals in Canadian cities – a subsidiarity check

Since the emergence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there has been a growing body of knowledge to support the application of the SDGs in local municipalities (a process known as localization). Those localization attempts have so far been heterogeneous and disconnected. This study explores the governance and operational challenges of localizing the SDGs in Canadian cities. This investigation assesses SDG localization from the perspective of the subsidiarity principle (the imperative that political issues should be managed at the local scale). The study argues that the localization of SDGs is not possible via decentralization of authority alone. Instead, localization requires support from upper levels of government to overcome jurisdiction and capacity challenges. In addition, the study confirms that the localization of the SDGs in Canadian municipalities requires both horizontal and vertical stakeholder collaborations in order to be successful. The findings also indicate the need for a more holistic theory of SDG localization that integrates the subsidiarity principle with place-based policy and innovation theory.