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 2026 intakes will be accepted between October 1, 2025 and February 1, 2026. Click the program links below for more information on the MPA & GDPA.

About the MPA Program

 

About the GDPA Program

 

Program and Alumni News

February 28, 2025

Mayor's Challenge 2024/2025

Two teams of full-time MPA students presented their ideas for downtown revitalization to City of London Mayor Josh Morgan and his Chief of Staff, Nathan Smith on Friday, February 28, 2025. One team focused on postsecondary students as an untapped tourist market and the other considered various measures to enhance public safety in the core. A very sincere thank you the Mayor and his entire staff for giving students the opportunity to gain some firsthand exposure to the local policy process.
Mayor's Challenge

June 21, 2024

Congratulations to Thomas Thayer, Recipient of the 2024 AMCTO EA Danby Award

Thomas Thayer, CAO of the Municipality of Bayham and a current MPA student was awarded the 2024 EA Danby Award for innovative service delivery in the Municipal Administration stream (municipalities under 20,000 residents). This award is to recognize the Municipality of Bayham’s shared service agreement with the Township of Malahide for Building and By-law Enforcement services, which has received sector-wide recognition in Ontario.
T-Thayer-AMCTO-Award-Picture.jpgPhoto left to right: Allison Adams (Malahide Clerk), Stephen O'Brien (AMCTO President), Thomas Thayer (Bayham CAO).

June 19, 2024

Congratulations to Jacob Sookraj, 2024 CAPPA/IPAC National Student Thought Leadership Award Winner

Jacob Sookraj was selected as the LGP's 2024 recipient of the National Thought & Student Leadership Award, a joint initiative of CAPPA and IPAC. Jacob has the highest cumulative average among Full-Time MPA students. In addition to winning the award, Jacob has been invited to compete in an e-poster competition with the winners from the other CAPPA universities.

March 20, 2024

LGP Partners with City of London: MPA Students Carry Out Municipal Issues Research

The LGP has a new partnership with the Office of the Mayor to be part of research projects for the City of London. Read the whole Western News article. 

 

Faculty News

June 28, 2024

Prof. Taylor appointed journal editor-in-chief

Journal coverProf. Zack Taylor has been appointed to a five-year term as editor-in-chief of Territory, Politics, Governance, an international, interdisciplinary journal published by the Regional Studies Association. The journal is committed to the development of theory and research on territorial politics and the governance of space and the publication of original, high-quality international scholarship that advances this growing field of research. 

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.”