There are about 750 co-op and credit union head offices registered in Saskatchewan, many with branch locations all across the province. We've assembled some easy to read information about SK, Canadian and international co-ops on this page. 

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• How many co-operatives are there?
• How many co-ops are in your community?
• How many members do co-ops have?
• How many people do co-ops employ?
• A look at the Saskatchewan co-operative sector
• Co-operative firsts
• Other Canadian co-operative facts and statistics
• More Worldwide co-operative statistics
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Co-operatives
• Co-operative Information Booklet

How many co-operatives are there?

Good question. Getting current statistics can be challenging. As of late 2022, here is the information we have:

• About 750 co-operatives and credit unions are registered in Saskatchewan, operating in 24 key sectors of the province's economy

- To see the most up-to-date count of how many credit unions and members are in Saskatchewan and other statistics, click here

- To learn about the size and scope of the retail co-ops and members of the Co-op Retailing System, click here

- To view a list of the 100 largest credit unions in Canada and other statistics, click here

 

• About 7,500 co-operatives and credit unions in Canada
• Approximately 3 million co-operatives in the world

 

How many co-ops are in your community?

This is a zoomed in view of the interactive co-operative, credit union and mutual directory and map of the greater Saskatoon area, courtesy of Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada.

Click on the image to view the co-op, credit union and mutual head offices currently operating in Saskatchewan or any other region in Canada.

Zoom in to view co-ops by location, and see their type, sector and incorporation date. You can also search by co-op type, keyword, sector, city or any province. Additionally, you can submit incorrect or missing information.

How many members do co-ops have?

• Hundreds of thousands of members in Saskatchewan, over 1 million memberships, for example:
  • There are more than 540,300 active members of at least one retail co-op in Saskatchewan
  • Credit Unions in Saskatchewan offer financial products and services to approximately 486,000 members
• In Canada, four of every ten Canadians, or 18,000,000 people, are members of at least one co-operative. In Quebec, approximately 70% of the population are co-op members, while in Saskatchewan 56% are members
• Canada has one of the highest per-capita credit union membership in the world: 33 per cent of Canadians are a member of at least one credit union
• There are over 1 billion members of co-operatives in over 90 countries around the world

How many people do co-operatives employ?

• Co-operatives in Saskatchewan employ about 15,000 people
• In Canada, co-operatives and credit unions employ over 195,000 people
• The Desjardins movement (savings and credit co-operatives) is the largest employer in the province of Québec and has 5.8 million members
• Co-operatives provide over 250 million jobs around the world, 20% more than multinational enterprises

A Look at the Saskatchewan Co-operative Sector

• Consumer co-ops make up the largest segment in Saskatchewan, at 80%, followed by producer co-ops at about 18%.
• The top five co-operative sectors are: Agriculture and Retail (Tied at 19% each of all SK co-ops), Arts/Entertainment/Recreation (15%), Child care (14%) and Financial/Insurance (12%)
• Of the co-ops still operating today, 2 were incorporated in the 1910's, 16 were incorporated in the 1920's and 39 were incorpoated in the 1930's.
• Below are some co-operative statistics based on the report "Co-operatives in Canada 2015" by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). 
  ISED conducted a survey of non-financial co-operatives in Canada in 2015. Of the 4,960 non-financial co-operatives that participated in the survey (63% of all co-ops in Canada)... 
  • 11% - SK ranks third in the number of co-ops in Canada (behind QC 36% and ON 23%)
  • $12.693 billion - Business volume of reporting SK co-ops (**ranked #2, after Quebec)
  • $8.624 million - Value of sector assets of reporting SK co-ops **
  • 12,627 - Number of employess of reporting SK co-ops **
  • 549,000 - Number of memberships of reporting SK co-ops

Co-operative Firsts...

• 1895 - A group of dairy farmers in the settlement of Saltcoats formed the Province’s first co­-operative butter creamery, which was officially incorporated in 1897
• 1910 - The Jewish Colonization Association established the first Credit Union in Western Canada in Wapella, Saskatchewan
• 1935 - Canada’s first and only refinery - Consumers’ Co-operative Refinery - owned by Saskatchewan's Federated Co­-operatives Ltd., is established in Regina
• 1977 - Sherwood Credit Union in Regina introduced the world’s first Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
• 1985 - The first true debit card was piloted in the Swift Current area and involved the installation of a point of sale system at 28 Pioneer Co­op outlets
• The first co-operative business in North America, a consumer’s co-op store, was established by immigrant coal miners in Nova Scotia

Canadian Co-operative Facts and Statistics

• Research has demonstrated many times that co-operatives are resilient and have a stronger rate of start up success over other forms of business. Co-ops also demonstrate a higher survival rate than other forms of enteprise. A study published by the Quebec Ministry of industry and Commerce in 2008 shows that the long-term survival rate of co-operative enterprises is almost twice that of investor-owned companies. Similar studies and BC and AB have also shown positive results in co-op resilience.
• In 2019, Canadian co-operatives generated $53.0 billion in total revenue, held $45.6 billion in total assets, employed 104,040 people, and paid $2.5 billion in salaries and wages.
• Co-ops in Canada are led by 100,000 volunteer directors and committee members
• Credit unions are the only financial institution operating in 394 Canadian communities. That's in addition to the 1800 branches located from coast to coast
• Eight of the world's Top 300 Co-operatives in 2022 were located in Canada:  Desjardins Group (Mouvement Desjardins), Federated Co-operatives Limited, Agropur Coopérative, La Coop fedéréee (Sollio), The Co-operators Group, Wawanesa Mutual, SSQ Financial Group (now Beneva) and La Capitale (now Beneva)
• Based on ISED's "Co-operative in Canada 2015" report on 4,960 surveyed non-financial co-operatives...
  • Consumer co-ops form the largest part of the non-financial co-operative sector at 69%, followed by Producer (14%), Multi-stakeholder (10%) and Worker (5%).
  • 50% of surveyed co-ops have 0 employees. 1-99 employees: 47%; 100-499 employees: 2.5%; 500+ employees: 0.5%
  • 53% of surveyed co-ops were established 40+ years ago
  • View some highlights of the report HERE
  • To view an infographic of Co-operatives in Canada, 2018 (released December, 2019) click HERE.
• National statistics...
  • 21 million - member/owners
  • $620 billion - assets under management
  • 195,000 - jobs in every sector and every region of the country, providing more than $2.4 billion in salaries and wages
  • $78 billion - in annual revenues
  • 3.4% of GDP

More Worldwide Co-operative Statistics

• Co-operatives provide jobs or work opportunities to 280 million people - about 10% of the employed population
• The Top 300 co-ops in the world in 2020 generated $2.7 trillion USD in turnover
  • Of the Top 300 co-operatives worldwide, 39% are in the insurance sector, 31.7% agriculture and food, 17.7% wholesale and retail, 7% banking and financial services. 1% for each of: industry and utilities; and health, education and social care 1%.
• One in every six people world wide is a co-op member (about 1 billion) 

The United Nations Sustainability Goals and Co-operatives

With its 1 Billion member-owners globally (21 Million in Canada) and 280 Million jobs globally (195,000 in Canada), co-operatives are perfectly positioned to deliver on the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly: "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice.

 

Co-operative Information Booklet

A few years ago. Saskatchewan Co-operative Association published "Saskatchewan Co-operatives: Supporting Economic Growth and Sustainability". The booklet contains basic information about co-operatives, co-operative statistics, stories of successful co-operatives and ideas about where the co-operative model may be used to support continued economic growth in Saskatchewan.

The booklet also contains information about the work of Saskatchewan Co-operative Association and information about our member organizations. While still relevant and indicative of the size, scope and strength of the Saskatchewan co-operative sector, some of the statistical information is becoming dated. Click on the image to view.

 

Co-op Statistics from Co-operative Information Booklet

(Older but still relevant)

 

 

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