Planning for and delivering the 2025 CMC Congress in June did not prevent CMC from continuing to build relationships with stakeholders across the co-operative movement throughout the month. On June 2, Dan Brunette, Director of External Affairs, had the pleasure of meeting with the leadership team from Éconocoop, a CMC member, along with others from their network, in Ottawa. Éconocoop was established to maintain, strengthen, and expand spaces in Early Childhood Centres across Canada.
On June 9, prior to the start of the Congress in Regina, Dan joined a group of CMC Board members, along with Jeroen Douglas, Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance, for a tour of Sherwood Co-operative Association Limited, hosted by its CEO, Troy Verboom. A member of Federated Co-operatives Limited and the Co-operative Retailing System, Sherwood Co-op is one of the largest non-financial co-operatives in Canada. Based in Regina and serving several surrounding communities, it operates more than 30 locations, including grocery stores, home centres, agricultural centres, pharmacies, liquor stores, bulk petroleum facilities, gas bars, and cardlock fuel stations.
On June 12, following the Annual General Meeting and the conclusion of the Congress, Dan accompanied another group of stakeholders on a new series of familiarization visits.
The first stop was at Conexus Credit Union, whose leadership team generously took the time to host our group despite ongoing discussions regarding a merger with Cornerstone and Synergy Credit Unions. The vote concluded the following day, and members approved the merger, which will create a new province-wide credit union in Saskatchewan effective January 1. The new organization will serve more than 200,000 members through 57 branches and have combined assets of $15 billion, making it one of the ten largest credit unions in Canada.
As the roof of the Conexus building houses one of their facilities, a great example of co-operation among co-operatives, the group remained on site to attend a presentation by the Wascana Solar Co-operative (WSC). This renewable energy co-operative designs, finances, and operates solar power generation projects across southern Saskatchewan. Members can also participate in the Solar Way program, through which the co-operative supports the installation of privately owned and operated solar panels on residential, commercial, and agricultural buildings.
The visit concluded with a driving tour around part of the perimeter of the impressive Co-operative Refinery Complex (CRC). An essential part of Federated Co-operatives Limited, the refinery was the first in the world to be owned by a co-operative. It was founded in 1935, during the Great Depression, by eight farmers who believed that, by working together, they could meet their fuel needs collectively.
Since then, the CRC has grown into one of Canada’s largest integrated refining and upgrading complexes. It spans an 800-acre site and employs more than 1,000 people. The facility produces gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, butane, sulphur, heavy fuel oil, metallurgical-grade coke, and asphalt, in addition to manufacturing oils and lubricants sold under private-label brands.
On June 13, Dan travelled to Toronto, where the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) was holding its Annual General Meeting. Along the way, he stopped at the constituency office of Ryan Turnbull, Member of Parliament for Whitby and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, as well as to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions). The purpose of the visit was simply to thank Mr. Turnbull for the video message he kindly provided for the Congress.
That same evening, Dan had the opportunity to meet with several leaders from the co-operative sector, including Wendy Carruthers, Associate Vice-President, Member Relations and Co-operative Business Development, East Region, at The Co-operators, as well as Tim Ross, Chief Executive Officer of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada). CHF Canada is the national voice of the co-operative housing sector, currently representing 2,200 housing co-operatives that are home to more than 250,000 people across the country. The organization continues to build strong momentum and has ambitious plans for the future of co-operative housing in Canada.
On June 13, a breakfast reception bringing together the CHF Canada Board of Directors and political representatives highlighted the growing interest among stakeholders in the development and expansion of co-operative housing. The event also provided an opportunity for a productive discussion with Doug Sider, CEO of the Golden Horseshoe Co-operative Housing Federation, about opportunities to raise the profile of the co-operative model.
As participants at the CMC Congress will know, a replica of the commemorative plaque from Parks Canada was unveiled to mark the founding of the Co-operative Union of Canada in 1909. The official plaque will be installed in Gore Park in Hamilton, just a few hundred metres from the site of the very first meeting, making this discussion with the Golden Horseshoe federation particularly relevant and timely.
The day concluded with the Annual General Meeting, where the Confédération québécoise des coopératives d’habitation (CQCH) warmly welcomed Dan to their table. As the provincial umbrella organization and driving force behind Quebec’s co-operative housing movement, the CQCH plays a central role in promoting all forms of co-operative housing while coordinating the efforts of housing co-operative federations across the province.
We look forward to continuing these collaborations and advancing co-operatives and mutuals across the country.
Would you like to see Daniel in your community soon and have your co-operative featured? Get in touch with him to find out when he’ll be visiting your province or territory so that your organization can be highlighted in a future edition of Dan‘s Adventures! Send him an email at: : dbrunette@canada.coop.