About Co-ops in Canada

The Key Benefits of Co-operatives

Meeting a Broad Range of Needs and Opportunities

The co-operative model is flexible enough to meet the widest range of needs and opportunities - from housing, health care and employment, to manufacturing, marketing and financial services. The co-op model has a long history and a proven track record in social and economic development, having served thousands of groups in both rural and urban settings.

Helping Producers Compete

Co-operatives help thousands of Canadian producers to pursue their livelihood and successfully compete in the marketplace through collective marketing and other co-op ventures - e.g., in agriculture, the fisheries, forestry and the arts. Thousands more Canadians who work in tourism, the taxi business, home care, communications and other sectors also provide their services through co operatives.

Serving Rural and Remote Communities

Co-operatives offer goods and services throughout Canada, but they are especially important to many rural and remote communities. In some communities, co-operatives are the only providers of retail and financial services, health and home care services, communications and utility services, tourism facilities and other basic amenities.

Developing Community Leadership

Co-ops provide informal schools of entrepreneurship, where members gain business and leadership training through the democratic governance process. More than 70,000 members hold leadership positions in Canada's co-operatives at a given time.

Building Social Capital

Co-ops create productive networks that broaden the base of support and resources available to their members. These networks foster the well-being of individual members, while strengthening community linkages and creating an efficient and co-ordinated approach to sustainable change in the community.

Promoting Local Ownership and Control

Co-operatives are community-based enterprises that build local assets and keep wealth in the community by returning dividends to members - while creating jobs and economic opportunities. Co-ops are rarely susceptible to pull-out or take-over since they are guided by the interests of local stakeholders, not outside investors.