This year’s report on Canada’s co-operative sector has been released, revealing that it contributes CA$61.1bn to the national GDP.
The report, Power The Economy, was compiled by apex body Canada Co-op as the country celebrates national Co-op Week (11-17 October).
It shows that the sector supports 745.946 jobs – 3.6% of Canadian employment – and contributes $12.3bn in tax.
There are 6.173 co-ops, credit unions, caisses and mutuals operating in every province and territory, across more than 20 sectors.
Total membership is more than 14 million, with one in three Canadians belonging to a co-op and another third interested in joining one.
And the public view of the sector is a positive one, the report finds: 83% saw co-ops stabilise communities, and survive tough times better; 84% say collective ownership helps build stability ad security, and 86% view co-ops as accountable.
There is also public support for co-ops in specific sectors, the report finds. When given an equal choice, 41% of Canadians would choose co-operative housing, its survey revealed, while 72% say housing co-ops should be part of the affordability solution.
And Canadians are significantly more likely to view co-operatives, compared to private businesses, as organisations that strengthen communities and put people first: 52% say co-operatives invest in the long-term success of communities, compared with 31% for corporations; 51% say co-operatives do the right thing for employees, compared with 31% for corporations; and 46% believe co-operatives give employees a say in how businesses are run, compared with 25% for corporations.
The report also notes that co-ops are more likely than SMEs to be women-owned (27.3% vs 17.8%) and Indigenous-owned (3.3% vs 1.5%).
Resilience and growth are also a factors, says the report. Between 2019 and 2023, the GDP contribution of the sector rose 17.5%, more than double the increase recorded for Canada’s overall economy (7.7%).
Despite a shrinking of the number of co-operatives and mutuals by 2.8%, revenues rose 20.5%, assets rose 25.7%, salaries rose 24%, and supported employment rose 26% compared with just 5.6% nationally, it adds.
There is also a ranking of the country’s biggest co-ops and mutuals by revenue, topped by Federated Co-operatives Ltd ($11.7bn), followed by Agropur (£8.8bn), Sollio ($7.8bn), Co-operators ($7.3bn) and United Famers of Alberta ($2.1bn).
“Canada is facing a stability challenge,” the report warns, pointing to affordability concerns and “a deeper sense of precarity about whether the systems and institutions people rely on will continue to provide security, opportunity, and control”.
Co-operatives can answer these challenges, the report argues, “because they provide aproven mechanism for delivering many of the outcomes Canadians are seeking: housing affordability, economic resilience, local ownership, community stability, and trusted service delivery.
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“They are not a theoretical alternative. They are already operating in communities across Canada.”
However, the public and policy profile of co-operatives remains low, the report adds, urging co-operators to “seize the moment” and make their case.
“We have a clear opportunity to strengthen the role of co-operatives in building one Canadian economy that reflects our many regional realities,” write apex president John Kay and CEO Michael Toye in their executive summary. “No sector offers more tangible benefits for Canadians.
“As governments look for ways to improve productivity, affordability, competition, and service delivery, Canada’s more than 6,100 co-operatives, credit unions, caisses, and mutuals are a proven business model that can complement existing market structures while delivering broader value across the economy.”
The Co-op Week celebrations also saw the apex, formerly known as Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, rebrand to Canada Co-op, taking “a name and visual identity that are clearer, more memorable, and more closely aligned with the organisations we represent”.
It added: “As the national business association for Canada’s co-operative sector, we want our identity to convey both the strength of the co-operative model and the scale of its economic contribution. The new name is clearer, more accessible, and more recognizable, but it is also more ambitious.
“It reflects a sector that is growing, increasingly influential, and making a substantial contribution to Canada’s economic and social wellbeing.”
Meanwhile, the apex’s new legal name – Canada Co-operative Business Association – “reinforces the fact that co-operatives, credit unions, caisses, and mutuals are businesses that create jobs, generate economic activity, build local wealth, and help power Canada’s economy”.
And a new logo has been introduced “to better represent a dynamic and growing sector while creating a stronger, more consistent presence across our communications, government relations initiatives, events, publications, and digital platforms“. It reinforces the values of collaboration, community, and collective impact that have always been at the heart of the co-operative model”.
