Co-op Week has been proclaimed across Canada every October since 1982. International Credit Union Day, which takes place on the Thursday of Co-op Week, has been celebrated worldwide on the third Thursday of October since 1948.
The Coronach Coop and the Coronach branch of the Conexus Credit Union each hosted coffee and donuts in honour of Coop week.
The first co-operative business in North America, a consumer’s co-op store, was established by immigrant coal miners in Nova Scotia in 1861.
According to the Coop, there are well over 1 million memberships in financial and non-financial co-operatives held by residents of Saskatchewan.
In Canada, four of every ten Canadians, or 18,000,000 people, are members of at least one co-operative.
Canada has the highest per-capita credit union membership in the world with 33 per cent of Canadians being members of at least one credit union.
In Saskatchewan, there are 570,724 people who are co-op members.
As of December 31, 2010, there are 1,031 co-operatives in Saskatchewan, including 61 credit unions serving 304 communities.
Co-operatives provide over 100 million jobs around the world. There were 340 worker co-ops in Canada with 12,800 employees.
In Canada, co-operatives and credit unions employ over 155,000 people. Co-operatives provide jobs for over 10,000 people in Saskatchewan.
Co-operatives in Canada (including credit unions) have an estimated $330 billion in assets. Co-operatives/credit unions in Saskatchewan control well over $12 billion in assets.
Members of co-operatives and credit unions across Canada celebrate Co-op Week each year, during the third week of October. Co-op Week is a time to reflect on the contributions the co-operative sector has made to the lives of Canadians and celebrate the impact that co-operatives have in our communities.
