From June 8-10, CMC Congress brought co-operative and mutual leaders, practitioners, researchers, and emerging voices to York University in Toronto for three dynamic days of dialogue, learning, and connection. Under the theme Power the Economy, one message came through clearly: co-operatives and mutuals are not on the margins of Canada’s economy. They are actively shaping its future.
Congress opened on June 8, with a full day of focused gatherings across the sector, creating space for in-depth conversations and early connection across communities.
The Indigenous Cooperators’ Gathering, Youth Session, Canadian Black Co-op Network and many other partner sessions created space for dialogue grounded in lived experience, leadership, and collaboration. Across all gatherings, participants were not just sharing ideas—they were building relationships and identifying ways to work together beyond Congress.
June 9 brought everyone together for the most intensive day of Congress, shifting from smaller gatherings to a shared, sector-wide conversation.
Juliet Kego Ume-Onyido delivered a powerful poem that earned a standing ovation, grounding the day in purpose and setting an emotional foundation for the week ahead. The opening session moved from inspiration to action, with a global panel on building a more co-operative economy and scaling impact, followed by discussions on economic pressures, capital access, and the tools needed for growth.
Sessions throughout the day highlighted the range of co-operatives across Canada, from Highlight Reel – Canada’s Co-ops to Finding co-ops where you did not expect, alongside Valuable insights into public opinion, which pointed to growing interest in more stable, equitable economic models.
The afternoon focused on solutions. The Ideation workshop on addressing national issues tackled real sector challenges, while governance sessions like Getting out of the weeds – How to Ask Strategic Questions and When Co-op-minded Governance Fails : Learnings from the Economical Demutualization examined leadership in practice. Sessions on AI and the clean economy pointed to where co-operatives must lead next.
The day closed with a focus on visibility and identity, including the unveiling of CMC’s new name and logo, with a direction on how the sector could present itself across Canada from CMC’s Director of Communications, Lisa Zentner.
The Awards Gala recognized leaders and organizations making a lasting impact, including Hazel Corcoran (Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation), Roseline Roy (Sollio Groupe Coopératif), Caisse Alliance, United Farmers of Alberta, and the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative. It was a powerful reminder of the depth, diversity, and leadership within the sector, with additional details on the winners available in the accompanying blog.
June 10 brought members together for the Annual General Meeting, grounding the week’s discussions in governance and future direction. Site visits to organizations like The Co-operators’ zero-carbon headquarters in Guelph and Gay Lea Foods’ LEED Gold-certified facility offered a look at co-operatives in action.
Looking ahead
CMC Congress 2026 made one thing clear: the sector is organized, ambitious, and ready to lead.
Power the Economy was not just a theme—it reflected what Congress made possible. Ideas moved forward. Partnerships took shape. And co-operatives stepped more fully into their role in Canada’s economy.
Together, we are powering the economy.
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CMC Congress 2026 was made possible through the support of partners and sponsors across the sector, including Co-operators, Desjardins, Gay Lea Foods, the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund, Realize Solutions, Sol‑Air Consultants Inc., Hawkeye Strategies, the Canadian Worker Co‑op Federation, Sollio Co-operative Group, SOCODEVI, Agropur, the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, La Siembra Co‑operative Inc., Arctic Co‑operatives Limited, Co‑op Camp Challenge, Chapman’s, York University Bookstore, Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada, the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation, the Ontario Co‑operative Association, the Canadian Black Co‑operative Network, Co‑operatives and Mutuals Canada’s Canada’s Emerging Co-operators, as well as CoopZone, SEIZE, CoActive Developments Worker Cooperative, Impact Consultations, and Impact ON.