Co-ops Were Made for Hard Times

Co-ops have never been big in central Canada, particularly in urban areas.

Sure, there are credit unions and caisses populaires all over town, and sure, Mountain Equipment Co-op is a popular place for people looking to buy outdoor gear.

But MEC excepted, retail co-ops aren't among the big retail players in town, even though co-ops can offer shoppers a number of advantages with regard to sourcing, pricing and ethical behaviour.

Maybe, if the economy goes into a deeper funk, central Canada's city folk should take a cue from people in other parts of the country and join or create retail co-ops.

Figures published last year by the federal Co-operatives Secretariat show that in 2004 there were some 5,700 non-financial co-ops in Canada, with 5.6 million members, $27.5 billion in revenues and $17.5 billion in assets.

These included producer co-ops, generally in the fishing and farming sectors, and workers' co-ops, which are employee-owned enterprises and which are particularly popular in Quebec.

It's in the consumer co-operatives sector that you find most retailers. Consumer co-ops range from small buying clubs to large supermarkets and wholesalers, says the Co-operatives Secretariat.

"Revenues from the consumer group amounted to $10.7 billion, with food products accounting for 39 per cent of the total and petroleum products, dry goods and home hardware being the other main items."

Mountain Equipment Co-op is the biggest in Canada, boasting some 2.9 million members.

But one of the biggest co-op retailers in North America is the Calgary Co-op Association Ltd. with, according to its website, 425,350 members, 4,000 employees, $352 million in assets and annual sales approaching $1 billion. It sells groceries, pharmacy products, liquor, gas and even travel services at 22 shopping centres, 22 in-store pharmacies, 26 gas bars, seven travel offices and 17 liquor stores.

The Calgary Co-op is part of Federated Co-operatives Limited, with 1.3 million members in 500 communities west of Thunder Bay.

The Calgary Co-op is big enough to anchor shopping centres in Calgary, said Mark Goldblatt, co-op development manager with the Canadian Co-operative Association.

But that kind of store has never been popular here, at least not in the cities.

The Co-operatives Secretariat says that, although not as influential as they are in Western and Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario co-ops are strong organizations.

"However, they have little penetration in large urban areas."

Maybe it's just that we haven't suffered enough. After all, retail co-ops grew out of hard economic times.

Mr. Goldblatt said the first one in Canada was started by miners in Cape Breton in the early 1900s, looking for an alternative to the high prices of the company store.

The co-operative retailing system in the West was set up in 1928, where co-ops grew out of the farm sector.

But Mr. Goldblatt said co-ops have never been a big part of life in Ontario. He's heard it said that Ontario farmers, with reliable precipitation, good soil and easy access to urban areas to sell their products, never struggled as much as western farmers and never felt as strong a need to band together.