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United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2012 the year to recognize co-operatives' global contribution
International Year of Co-operatives to be launched across Canada on January 12
Ottawa, January 4, 2012 -- Thousands of co-op and credit union members across Canada will be holding events on Thursday, January 12 to officially launch the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.
A national launch event will take place at Ottawa's National Arts Centre from 11:30 to 1:30 EST, together with 13 regional launch events. The Ottawa event will feature a live webcast starting at 12:30 EST.
The webcast will include remarks by Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators (live from Calgary) and Monique Leroux, president and CEO of Desjardins (live from Lévis, Quebec) as well as the premiere of a co-operative musical work by the Montreal group Samajam, who will perform live in Ottawa.
The webcast can be viewed at http://s.coop/canada2012live
Co-operatives in Canada: Facts and figures
Co-operatives have more than a billion members around the world and more than 18 million members in Canada.
There are more than 9,000 co-operatives in Canada, with more than 155,000 employees and more than $370 billion in assets (2011).
Co-operatives operate in virtually every sector of the Canadian economy, including financial services (credit unions), retail, agriculture, housing, health care and energy.
Co-operatives have existed in Canada for about 150 years. Agricultural and consumer co-operatives were created in the 19th century, and Canada's first credit union was established by Alphonse Desjardins in Lévis, Quebec in 1900.
In 2008, the most recent year figures are available, the world's 300 largest co-operatives generated revenues of USD 1.6 trillion - equivalent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world's ninth largest economy. Eight of the world's 300 largest co-operatives are Canadian.
Some of Canada's best-known co-operatives include Desjardins Group (financial services), Federated Co-operatives Limited (consumer); La coop fédérée (agriculture/meat processing); Agropur (agriculture/dairy products) The Co-operators (insurance), Mountain Equipment Co-op (consumer); UFA (farm supplies) Gay Lea Foods (agriculture/dairy products); Vancity (financial services), Co-op Atlantic (consumer), and Arctic Co-operatives Limited (consumer).
Research shows that co-operatives are more durable that other types of businesses. Studies conducted in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta have found that new co-ops are likely to survive longer than other new businesses over the same period of time.
The Canadian co-operative movement works closely with partners in developing countries to help reduce poverty through the creation and strengthening of co-operatives. There are four Canadian organizations which focus on international co-operative development: the Canadian Co-operative Association, SOCODEVI, Développement international Desjardins and Rooftops Canada.
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