Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, Western’s LGP is Canada’s only graduate public administration program specializing in local government

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is one of Canada’s leading graduate public administration programs. Available in full-time or part-time formats, the MPA is designed for both mid-career local government officials aiming to broaden their perspective and advance their skills and future professionals seeking careers in municipal government.

Targetted at working local government professionals, our Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (GDPA) program provides specialized education in local administration and policy analysis.

Come learn with us!

Applications for the 2024 intake are now closed.

Program and Alumni News

October 18, 2023

2023 Award Winners

Following this year’s convocation ceremony we proudly celebrated our graduates and award winners.

  • Andrew Sancton Award: Kelly Sutton
  • Robert Young Award: Tyson Cragg
  • Carol Agoçs Award: Heather Kepran

November 9-10, 2023

2023 LGP Alumni Society Conference: Municipal Government - The Next Generation

The Local Government Program Alumni Society held its annual conference on November 9 & 10, 2023. Following a lively keynote address by longtime Ottawa City Clerk Rick O’Connor, panel discussions discussed council-staff relations and the changing legislative environment for local government professionals.

July 12, 2023

Congratulations to Julie Matthews, 2023 CAPPA/IPAC National Student Thought Leadership Award Winner & Bronze Medalist

Julie Matthews was selected as the LGP's 2023 recipient of the National Thought & Student Leadership Award, a joint initiative of CAPPA and IPAC. Julie has the highest cumulative average among Full-Time MPA students. In addition to winning the award, Julie competed in an e-poster competition with the other winners and was awarded the bronze medal.

Faculty Research News

November 15, 2023

Instructor Jesse Helmer releases major research paper

LGP instructor and Western doctoral student Jesse Helmer produced an analysis for Smart Prosperity entitled Less is More: Where We Build 5.8 Million Homes Matters. The report shows how more than 2,000 communities in Canada have built housing over the past ten years and modelled scenarios for the next ten years in terms of the climate impact depending on where and how these homes are built. The paper has been presented to national media and is being released from Smart Prosperity. 

September 10, 2023

Profs. Horak and Taylor Launch Canadian Municipal Attributes Portal 

Martin Horak and Zack Taylor are pleased to announce the launch of the Canadian Municipal Attributes Portal (CMAP), an interactive app that presents information on how governance is structured in major municipalities across Canada. CMAP includes data on dozens of key institutional attributes – ranging from electoral systems and council structure to the governance of service provision – for nearly 100 municipalities. The portal’s functions allow users to compare institutional characteristics across municipalities of their choice, making it a useful tool for both research and classroom applications.

April 4, 2023

New Article by Prof. Joe Lyons

Prof. Joe Lyons has co-authored a new article with Zachary Spicer (PhD’13) and Morgan Calvert (MPA’19) in Canadian Public Administration, entitled “Preparedness and crisis-driven policy change: COVID-19, digital readiness, and information technology professionals in Canadian local government.