This year’s Co-op Week, on October 12 to 18 2025, carried special significance as the world celebrates the International Year of Cooperatives. Canada’s co-operatives and mutuals used the week to showcase their community impacts and the highlight the ways people and communities can be at the heart of economic progress.
Across the country, members, partners, and allies engaged in a week of events and storytelling that underscored how co-operatives are redefining what success looks like — balancing prosperity with purpose, and growth with shared value.
In Ottawa, co-operatives received meaningful recognition at the national level. Senator Lucie Moncion took the floor in the Senate to spotlight Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) and extend a message of strong support for co-operatives as essential contributors to Canada’s social and economic well-being. Earlier this fall, Senator Moncion and Senator Mary Coyle co-hosted CMC’s Co-operative Networking Breakfast on Parliament Hill, bringing parliamentarians and leaders together to discuss how co-operatives can help build a more resilient and inclusive economy. Their leadership and advocacy reaffirm what CMC and its members know well — that co-operatives play a vital role in shaping a more democratic, sustainable, and equitable future for all Canadians.
This year’s Co-op Week was marked by powerful moments that celebrated the strength and impact of Canada’s co-operative movement. A full-page ad supported by Co-operators in The Hill Times shone a national spotlight on CM50 — a global network of leading co-operative and mutual organizations driving sustainable growth, inclusive prosperity, and resilient communities.
The celebration continued as Gay Lea Foods announced that the Gay Lea Foundation is marking Co-op Week and the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025 with more than $1 million in community impact grants, a remarkable demonstration of co-operative values in action.
The week concluded on a high note at the Cercle canadien in Montréal where leaders from Desjardins, Agropur, and Sollio Groupe Coopératif came together for an inspiring discussion on the economic power of co-operatives and their essential role in building a more sustainable and equitable future. Together, these milestones underscore the collective leadership and growing momentum of Canada’s co-operative and mutual sector — at home and on the world stage.
One standout highlight of the week was the Alberta Community and Co-operative Association’s “Business NOT As Usual: Own Your Future” — a national virtual event that captured the imagination and ambition of a new generation of change-makers. As part of the broader Business Not As Usual campaign and with the participation of co-op associations across the country, the event explored bold new ways to think about work, housing, and ownership — rewriting the rules and showing what’s possible when we choose to do business differently. Rooted in co-operative values, it challenged several hundred Gen Z participants to envision a future that isn’t out of reach, but one that can be built collectively, through innovation, collaboration, and shared ownership.
Throughout the week, CMC actively celebrated and promoted our members, sharing updates, impact stories, and community initiatives from across the country. In total, more than 10 member events were featured and promoted, reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of Canada’s co-operative economy.
Co-op Week 2025 concluded with a defining moment: the public release of the Declaration on the Occasion of the International Year of Cooperatives, formally adopted by CMC’s members at our 2025 Annual General Meeting. CMC’s Declaration builds on those of CQCM and Desjardins, reaffirming the collective leadership of Canada’s co-operative and mutual sector — and its shared commitment to advancing democracy, sustainability, and equity in the years ahead.
Co-op Week 2025 was a powerful reminder of what we can achieve together. As the national voice of Canadian co-operatives, CMC showcased our members from coast to coast to coast and celebrated our collective vision. Together, we’ve shown that co-operatives are not just doing business differently — we’re leading the way toward a more resilient and equitable Canada.