Understanding Network Governance: A Case Study Exploration of Active Canada 20/20

Consistent with the governance shift towards network forms of governance, a number of new social movements have formed in response to the declining levels of physical activity in the Western world. One such movement is Active Canada 20/20: A Physical Activity Strategy and Change Agenda for Canada. Network governance is employed as the theoretical framework for this case study exploration of Active Canada 20/20 and the political landscape surrounding its development and implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in addition to document/policy analysis and direct observations. Analysis of the data resulted in three overarching themes – the defining characteristics of network governance, the political landscape, and intersectoral linkages – that interconnect multifariously based the nature of the Canadian federal government and its relationship with the voluntary sector for physical activity. Despite progress in driving Active Canada 20/20 forward, entrenched dynamics of power need to be navigated within the political landscape surrounding network governance.

Power of Attorney of Colonel John Butler for Robert Hamilton and Robert Addison, January 4,1797

John Butler (1728-1796) was originally from Connecticut but settled with his family in the Mohawk valley of New York around 1742. His father was a Captain in the British army and well acquainted with William Johnson (superintendent of Northern Indians). Butler impressed Johnson with his aptitude for Indian languages and diplomacy. He began to work with Johnson in 1755, and received several promotions in the department, until his apparent retirement in the early 1770s. At the onset of the Revolutionary War in 1775, Butler relocated to Canada to join the British forces, settling in Niagara. During the War, Butler was instrumental in maintaining the alliance with the Indians. After the War, Butler became prominent in local affairs in Niagara, but failed to secure any important offices when the province of Upper Canada was formed in 1792. In an effort to recoup some of the financial losses his family suffered during the War, Butler illegally attempted to supply trade goods to the Indian department with his son Andrew, his nephew Walter Butler Sheehan, and Samuel Street, a Niagara merchant.