Podcast: Building Nations: What Canada’s First Nations can teach us about devolution and development

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Dr Eric Crampton
1 October, 2025

In this episode, Oliver talks to Eric Crampton, the New Zealand Initiative's chief economist, about his latest report Building Nations examining Canadian First Nations' experiences with autonomous land development and what New Zealand might learn from them. They discuss how Canadian reserves transformed from heavily regulated, impoverished areas into thriving self-governing communities that are now solving urban housing crises through major development projects like the Squamish Nation's apartment towers in downtown Vancouver.

Read our report "Building Nations: What Canada’s First Nations can teach us about devolution and development" here.

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