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This paper is concerned with studying the administrative and democratic effects of PPP procurement involved in the realisation of two PPP projects in the Greater Ottawa region: Gatineau’s Robert-Guertin Arena and Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park. First, we review the theory regarding PPPs and democratic municipal governance. Second, we propose a normative framework of good governance in the municipal sector, tailor-made to infrastructure matters. Third, we critically analyze the decision-making process and contractual agreements of both projects in order to identify key issues regarding infrastructure PPPs in municipalities. We conclude by drawing lessons from the analysis of the two projects and discussing the potential implications of our findings.

In this article we present the schools of thought comprising Critical Management Studies (CMS), explore their implications for public administration, and provide an alternate definition of democratic governance. We synthesize and describe the “modern stream,” inspired by the Frankfurt School, and the “postmodern stream,” associated with poststructuralist authors. Despite significant epistemological and ontological differences, these perspectives complement each other and cast new light on democratic governance. We present the respective theories of Foucault and Habermas, explore their implications for public administration, reconcile their views on power as a basis for a normative definition for so‐called good governance, and redefine the concept of “democratic governance.”

Empiriquement, la diversité des réformes de l’administration publique dans les pays de l’OCDE ne fait aucun doute. Or, considérant l’hégémonie des valeurs libérales et l’homogénéité des diagnostics posés, une réponse uniforme du management public aurait pu être espérée. Cet article propose une approche par les tensions de gouvernance publique (TGP) pour expliquer la pluralité du management public.

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