In Quebec, the term "local development" has replaced the term "community economic development", which was related, during the 1970s, to initiatives having a double objective, social and economic, put forward by stakeholders who were affected by economic circumstances and who were willing to assume a greater responsibility for their immediate future. We aim to demonstrate, through the analysis of three decades of writing contributions from Quebec activists and academics, that, while they have affinities and closely related objectives, they can be divided in two categories. In one category are the advocates of community economic development, considered as a “progressive approach”, with the cooperative and voluntary sectors as building blocks. In the second category are the supporters of private local entrepreneurship, who represent the so-called “liberal approach”. We also attempt to provide a progress report on theorizing or modeling efforts.