This dissertation examines how evolving economic geographies shape political cleavages in the United States and Canada. Through three papers, it analyses the political ramifications of place-based economic transformations.

The first paper demonstrates that homeowners in high-cost urban areas oppose both redistributive policies and housing supply reforms. It reveals how geographically concentrated, knowledge-led growth creates new wealth divides, which in turn fuel political polarisation between homeowners and renters.

The second paper investigates Canada’s energy transition, showing how the anticipated economic impact of decarbonisation generates electoral backlash in carbon-intensive regions, where local employment shocks drive opposition to the incumbent Liberal Party. The paper demonstrates how the energy transition is creating new place-based cleavages between regions whose economic fabric is heavily reliant on extractive industries and those whose growth is driven by low-carbon, service-based sectors.

The third paper connects declining internal labour mobility to right-wing populism in the American context. It argues that workers in vulnerable sectors who face limited alternative employment opportunities at the regional level and high housing costs impeding relocation to thriving regions of the country increasingly turn toward right-wing populism.

Collectively, these papers document how post-industrial economic restructuring, characterised by the geographic concentration of growth around major knowledge-driven hubs, fossil fuel phaseouts, and reduced geographic mobility all create durable place-based political divides that transcend traditional class-based coalitions.