"Since the early 1980's most peripheral regions of Eastern Canada have seen their population and employment levels stagnate, then decline. However, these trends - ilustrated by the first results of the 2001 census - are characterised by strong discontinuities (mine closures, collapse of fish stock), but also by counter-trends (dynamic entrepreneurship, success in some regions). In this book the authors examine the economy and geographic processes which underlie these trends, and address the following questions: are these processes specific to Eastern Canada, or are they more general? Are all p