Towards an Alternative Theory of Resource-Based Town Development in Canada

Some of the gaps in the literature on Canadian resource-based settlements are discussed and an alternative framework of analysis is posed. Resource-based towns are discussed in the context of capital accumulation, the internationalization of capital, and the law of uneven development. A case study of the Iron Ore Company of Canada and the mining town of Schefferville in Quebec is presented. It is concluded that Canadian resource towns and their socioeconomic problems can only be understood when they are viewed as integral and dependent parts of what has become a global system of resource extraction.