Co-operatives First, a development agency for western Canada, says it helped launch 27 co-ops last year, including investment co-ops and childcare co-ops.
The agency, which is supported by the Co-operative Retailing System (CRS) and Federated Co-operatives Ltd (FCL), is now in its tenth year of operation and has just released its annual report for 2025.
Writing to members in the report, chair Sheldon Stener and executive director Audra Krueger said: “In 2025, many of the people who came to us to create a co-op wanted to use it to invest in their community.
“The two most popular co-ops for our clients in 2025 were investment co-operatives and childcare co-operatives – created by groups dedicated to keeping their communities vibrant.
“We met our goal of creating 15 childcare co-ops, an initiative funded by Prairies Economic Development Canada. The matching grant we received for that project was only possible due to the ongoing funding of FCL and CRS.
“These kinds of investments show how important it is for people to understand what co-ops are and how they can use them to address local issues head-on.”
Co-operatives First also continued to increase its educational offerings, partnerships, and reach, they added.
“We officially launched the complete Introduction to co-ops course with a pathway for co-op advisors – training people who support co-operatives to understand the co-op ecosystem and how to help them grow.
“We also built a new partnership with Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Interior First Nations, equipping them to talk about co-ops and our organisation to their audiences and clients, largely in Indigenous communities in the BC interior.
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“With these initiatives, we continue to expand our reach, ensuring that people across Western Canada have the opportunity to hear about – and create – co-operatives.”
As the organisation marked its tenth anniversary, the team established a set of values to guide its work going forward, wrote Stener and Krueger – “practicality, integrity, social responsibility, accessibility, and continuous improvement”.
They added: “In 2026 we will undertake internal research to assess our impact so far, being honest about success and challenges along the way.
“We’ve also noticed that among our clients and other co-operatives there is a need for additional services to help them stay sustainable. As we enter our tenth year, we will be taking a closer look at how we can continue to provide the most impactful services possible.”
The report highlighted the value of the five investment co-ops established last year – “financial mechanisms that allow people to invest money directly into community initiatives and infrastructure”.
It added: “People have been noticing that wealth exists in their communities, but there was no formal or organised way to use it for community growth. So, people across Western Canada have formed these co-ops so people can invest locally rather than globally.”
The model is versatile, the report said. “Some communities want to pool investment dollars from local people into a fund that local businesses or initiatives can apply to. The co-op then decides which projects will be loaned or awarded money from the pool for things like start-up or expansion.
“But investment co-ops can have more targeted purposes as well. Their founders might have a specific project in mind – like a café they want to save from closure, or a housing project to ensure people have affordable places to live.”
The launches included Ituna Community Investment Co-op in Saskatchewan, a for-profit co-op created to successfully rescue a much-loved, 80-year-old local theatre from the developers after it was put on sale.
Meanwhile, the agency hit its target of 15 new childcare co-ops, a year ahead of target.
“As our team learned more about the childcare sector,” said the report, “the difficulties of navigating provincial policies became apparent. Our childcare team became diligent experts in this sector, not only assisting groups in rural communities to start their co-ops, but helping to shape government policies and procedures based on their experience working with our clients.”
The work includes success in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and now the federal government has asked Co-operatives First to submit a report based on its observations and experiences.
“In it, we proposed federal policy changes that would benefit not-for-profit childcare operators, including our co-ops, with appropriate financing options to help offset the high financial burden faced by these organisations.
“We have done all this work with the goal of making childcare co-op creation easier for our clients and other dedicated groups of volunteers like them. We’ve been on the ground with our client co-ops throughtheir entire start-up phase, trying at each step to clarify, support, and make in-roads.”
Examples include Tiny Taters Childcare Co-op in Shilo, Manitoba, founded by seven volunteers to fill a gap in service provision in a bid to support the local economy. Lack of childcare options had been identified as a barrier to recruitment for local healthcare facilities, schools, farms, and small businesses.
“Despite having full-time jobs and families of their own,” the report said, “they have diligently worked to navigate the planning process and government requirements. Once operational, this centre will provide eight infant spaces, 32 preschool spaces and 15 before and after school care spaces to the community.
“We’ve been proud to offer our expertise and guidance, providing them with the support they needed and eliminating barriers where we can along the way.”
