Communities collaborating together in community development processes can increase their capacity to improve quality of life, better manage change and sustain long-term well-being. The Community Collaboration Project (CCP) Empowering Communities & Building Capacity project (hereafter referred to as the CCP Model Project) provides opportunities for new forms of collaboration and governance. With access to the appropriate tools, resources and information, individuals living in rural and northern communities can engage in self-sustaining, informed, local decision-making and meaningful dialogue between and among communities, organizations and governments. The CCP in Manitoba and Nunavut, initiated in 1999, was a collaborative arrangement between communities in four regions of Manitoba and the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, federal, provincial and territorial government departments and agencies, non-government organizations and Rural Development Institute (RDI) of Brandon University. Four regional round tables (RRTs) emerged from this process, each with unique and different priorities goals and projects, yet similar in how they underwent community collaboration. Outcomes of the CCP experience in Manitoba/Nunavut included: the building of relationships among CCP stakeholders; the development of trusting relationships and increased communication between the community members and government officials; leadership development within the RRTs and the steering committee; capacity building among the RRTs and steering committee members; and exploration into new models of decision-making and governance among communities and governments.