“What do we want and how do we get there”: A comparative content analysis of First Nations Comprehensive Community Plans in British Columbia

Abstract

First Nations are important regional development actors, and yet their development ambitions and goals have often been ignored or poorly understood by settler governments. Since 2004, the Canadian federal government has supported First Nations governments and Tribal Councils to develop Comprehensive Community Plans (CCPs)-community planning documents that are meant to set priorities and guide development in the medium to long term. This study employs a quantitative content analysis of all publicly available CCPs and related strategic planning documents in British Columbia in order to understand development priorities and in doing so, reveals a mismatch between the interests of First Nations and settler governments. Sommaire Les Premières Nations jouent un rôle important dans le développement régional, et pourtant, leurs ambitions et objectifs de développement ont souvent été ignorés ou mal compris par les gouvernements colonisateurs. Depuis 2004, le gouvernement fédéral canadien a encouragé les gouvernements et les conseils tribaux des Premières Nations à