Types of Co-ops
Co-operatives make a difference in the lives of their members - and they shape our world. People who work in a co-op produce more than a weekly pay cheque. They help small farmers stay in business, they provide low-income families with an affordable place to live, they offer assisted living to senior citizens, and work to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Co-op employees make a difference.
VALUE-BASED. MEMBER-DRIVEN. PRINCIPLE-CENTRED
That is the co-operative difference. Co-ops exist to serve their members. For over 150 years, co-operatives have been a tool for individuals and communities to organize for their common benefit. Co-ops are democratic businesses owned by the people they serve.
They are multi-million dollar corporations, and they are small buying clubs run out of someone's basement. From farmers to nurses and teachers to students, co-operatives help millions of people afford a better quality of life and improve the communities in which they live.
ONTARIO CO-OPERATIVES LISTS
Click here to view a searchable and database of co-operatives operating in Ontario (the e-directory).
Click here to see a listing of all credit unions and caisses populaires registered in Ontario.
TYPES OF CO-OPERATIVES
A co-operative is an enterprise owned and controlled by its members. There are 10 basic types of co-operatives, regulated under Ontario's Co-operative Corporations Act: service co-ops; consumers co-ops; supply co-ops; worker co-ops; marketing
co-ops; producer co-ops; child care co-ops; housing and housing development co-ops; financing; farming and supply; and milk transport.
These are legal definitions only. Co-operatives are as diverse in their structure as they are in members. Like people, it is impossible to create categories and expect every co-op to fit into only one. Consider...
- A consumer co-op buys products in bulk and passes on the savings to the members. The members own their store and make decisions about what products to sell, where products come from and other key issues.
- In a worker co-op the member-owners operate their business together and make decisions about all the important issues including wages, production methods and finances. It is a
co-operative whose prime objectives are to provide employment to its members and to operate an enterprise in which control rests with the members. Generally members must be individuals and employees of the co-operative, however employment of non-members may be permitted.
- A housing co-op gives members secure access to apartment units and houses, which they co-operatively own. It is formed when people join with each other on a democratic basis to own or control the buildings in which they live.
- A producer or marketing co-op allows members to share processing and packaging equipment and pool their marketing to reach more customers. It sells the products of members who may be producers or service providers.
- A multi-stakeholder co-op includes different types of members, with the rights of each class of membership set out in the
co-op's Rules. For example, a produce market co-op may bring together farmers, customers and workers within one co-op.
- A credit union or caisse populaire provides a full range of financial services to members. Credit unions and caisses populaires are provincially-regulated, deposit- taking financial institutions which operate on co-operative principles, are member owned, and are permitted to conduct business only with their members. They are incorporated and regulated under the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act 1994. A caisse populaire is a credit union which conducts its business principally in French.
CO-OP ACTIVITIES
Visit the links below to browse these categories of co-operative activity.
Housing Food Worker Agriculture Service Financial Youth Renewable Energy Aboriginal Community New Generation
Click here for an overview of Non-Financial Co-ops.
Click here to visit the publications area of the federal Co-operatives Secretariat. (Reminder - co-operatives in Ontario are regulated provincially.)