Canberra, 2002  

The inaugural meeting of the Capitals Alliance was held in March 2002 in Canberra, Australia. Representatives from Canberra were joined by delegates from the three other founding capitals—Ottawa, Brasilia, and Washington, D.C. They discussed commemoration, security, symbolic function, and the challenge of balancing local and federal planning jurisdictions.

During the first official meeting, delegates adopted Terms of Reference to establish the Capitals Alliance organization and to provide for its future expansion. Following this initial gathering, NCPC offered to host the next meeting of the Capitals Alliance in fall 2003 and to work on attracting new capital cities to participate in this important forum.