Co-ops in Ontario
People in Ontario have been participating in co-ops for more than 140 years. Co-operatives flourished particularly in the agriculture sector, where they were a powerful marketing and business supply tool helping farmers compete with powerful suppliers and processors. From the early 20th century, co-operative leaders in Ontario were provincial and national leaders. E.C. Drury, a founder of the Ontario agricultural co-operative movement, was Premier, and Agnes Macphail, an early director of that same movement, was Canada's first female Member of Parliament.
THE ONTARIO CO-OP EXPERIENCE
Ontario has significant areas of co-operative strength in the marketplace and the social arena. The three top non-financial cooperatives in Ontario, as identified by the federal Co-operatives Secretariat, are Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Ltd., Hensall District Co-operative Ltd. and Sincere Trading of K.B.A. Co-operative Ltd. In 2004, HEPCOE Credit Union Ltd., (now Alterna Credit Union) which serves Southern and Central Ontario, and The Co-operators were named among the 50 best employers to work for in Canada by The Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine.
Ontario farmers are at the forefront of the so-called 'new-generation' co-operatives. The new generation concept is evolving as a new co-operative enterprise model for agricultural producers to retain ownership and control of their products beyond the farm gate and to invest in ventures that add value to those products. The model offers farmers the opportunity to join together to move up the value chain and capture some profits from processing.
The co-op business model has also found fertile ground in Ontario's financial sector, witnessed by the rapid growth of the credit union and caisse populaire sector. Today, 1.6 million Ontarians are members of credit unions that span the province. In 42 of those communities, the local credit union or caisse populaire is the only financial institution.
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
Co-operatives are corporations incorporated under Ontario's Co-operative Corporations Act. They are member owned and controlled businesses which operate on co-operative democratic and financial principles:
- One member, one vote, regardless of the amount invested
- Distribution of surplus to members, based on their use of the co-op
- Limited appreciation of capital. (That is, interest on loan capital and dividends on share capital are limited to a percentage fixed by the CCA Act or the articles of incorporation of the co-op)
Other than a statutory requirement that the majority of their business must be conducted with their members (the 50% Rule), the CCA Act does not regulate the day to day business of a co-operative or the member-established by-laws under which it operates.
Some co-operatives issue securities to their members, and to restricted categories of non-members. There is no market for these securities. People who invest in co-op securities usually do so for the value the co-operative will provide them as members in making available goods, services, facilities or jobs rather than seeking income or appreciation in the value of their investment.
Co-ops can be incorporated with share capital, without share capital, as a worker co-op (with or without share capital) or as a non-profit (necessarily without share capital). Where co-operatives are incorporated with share capital, no offering statement is required for the basic membership share. For other classes of securities (subject to certain minimum statutory exemptions), before the security may be sold each prospective investor must be provided with an offering statement describing the security and containing disclosures required by the CCA Act.
PROVINCIAL ASSOCIATIONS
There are a number of associations who will assist co-ops and their members with day to day operating or corporate governance issues and in some cases with dispute resolution.
Since 1989, the Ontario Co-operative Association (On Co-op) has served co-ops, credit unions and co-operative federations in Ontario. Francophone co-operatives are represented by the Conseil de la Cooperation de l'Ontario (CCO). On Co-op and CCO are partnering to deliver co-operative development services in the province, with funding from the federal Co-operative Development Initiative.
A variety of sectoral federations represent and serve groups of co-operatives in Ontario, including the Ontario Worker Co-op Federation, Organization for Parent Participation in Childcare and Education Ontario, Ontario Student Co-operative Association, Ontario Sustainable EnergyAssociation, and six regional co-operative housing associations. Almost all are members of On Co-op.
The Co-op Census and Map
In 2002, On Co-op undertook to identify each of the co-operatives, caisses populaires and credit unions in the province. In 2007, On Co-op, in association with Imagine Canada and the Social Economy Centre, launched a comprehensive survey of every co-op, credit union and caisse populaire in Ontario. These extensive undertakings led to the creation of a map depicting all of the co-ops in Ontario (found in the related documents at the top right of this page), as well as our e-directory of Ontario co-ops. More information can be found on our census page.
