Worker Co-op Profiles - Canadian Worker Co-op Federation

Worker Co-op Development Program Empowers Black Women

February 20, 2025

By Kenzie Love Black women in Canada face significant barriers, including high levels of violence, lack of access to employment, higher education, and housing, and disproportionate rates of incarceration. Research shows that the cumulative impact of racism, discrimination, poverty and other structural and systemic inequalities profoundly impact the physical, emotional and mental health of all … Worker Co-op Development Program Empowers Black Women

Dream Bike Envisions Change From the Screen to the World

January 23, 2025

By Kenzie Love Dream Bike Co-op originated from a group of friends in Toronto who were involved in the cycling and game development communities. Cofounder Brendan Lehman was inspired by the cooperative model of other businesses in the cycling community, including as a member of Send It Courier, and saw an opportunity to engage their … Dream Bike Envisions Change From the Screen to the World

Solidarity Co-op Members SEIZE the Opportunity, in Quebec and Beyond

October 15, 2024

By Kenzie Love In 2012, thousands of Quebec students engaged in protests over the provincial government’s increase in post-secondary tuition fees. With the repeal of the fee increase later that year, it might have seemed to some as though the issue was over. But the activists and organizers continued to meet and decided their work … Solidarity Co-op Members SEIZE the Opportunity, in Quebec and Beyond

Workers Free to Pursue Their Passion at Eadha Bakery

September 16, 2024

Winnipeg’s Eadha Bakery Worker Co-op began as the brainchild of Cora Wiens, who started selling bread at farmers markets, and finding success with this venture, eventually moved into a bricks and mortar space. The onset of the pandemic, however, highlighted the challenges of running a sole proprietorship, and the worker co-op model beckoned. Beginning late … Workers Free to Pursue Their Passion at Eadha Bakery

Metanoia Farmers Seek to Learn from the Land

July 16, 2024

By Kenzie Love The Greek term metanoia refers to a shift in one’s orientation, one Winnipeg’s Metanoia Farmers Workers Co-operative chose to highlight the processes its members were seeking to incorporate when the farm was founded in 2011. “They chose the name because they wanted it to reflect a turning of orientation towards how … Metanoia Farmers Seek to Learn from the Land

BMP Co-op Celebrates Solidarity

June 19, 2024

By Kenzie Love BMP Solidarity Co-op is located on the site of a former bar purchased in 2021 by the Société de Développement Communautaire Milton Parc, one of North America’s largest community land trusts, which subsequently extended a vote to the community on what to do with the space. Community members came out in favour … BMP Co-op Celebrates Solidarity

Worker Co-op Seeks to Shift Towards a Better World

May 23, 2024

By Kenzie Love SHIFT Collaborative was founded in 2017 by a group of five British Columbia women seeking to create a better world. The founders had extensive experience providing process design and facilitation support to government, nonprofit and community organizations, and realized a new approach was needed to tackle the tough issues such as poverty … Worker Co-op Seeks to Shift Towards a Better World

MamboMambo’s Members Think Outside the Boss

April 5, 2024

By Kenzie Love As young web designers and developers in Quebec City, the founders of MamboMambo were unfulfilled in their professional lives. Guillaume Beaulieu says the working conditions at their employers left them feeling undervalued and unfulfilled. “When we co-founded the Co-op, we were all working for different agencies,” he says. “And so from day … MamboMambo’s Members Think Outside the Boss

Love of Co-ops Unites Members of GIA Consulting

March 18, 2024

Founded in 2021 by five Vancouver-based graduates from the Co-operative Management Education Masters of Management program at the International Centre for Co-operative Management Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, GIA Consulting Co-op works to serve new and established co-ops by providing support for operations and governance grounded in the co-operative principles and values. Coming out of … Love of Co-ops Unites Members of GIA Consulting

Co-operative Cleaners of Ontario Harnesses the Power of Worker Co-ops

February 6, 2024

By Kenzie Love Co-operative Cleaners of Ontario (CCOO) began in 2019 when Janet Bennett-Cox, the Co-op’s Vice President, stumbled upon an upcoming event organized by the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre (WMRCC) in Durham. The organization had received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to establish worker co-operatives, and CCOO was one of the … Co-operative Cleaners of Ontario Harnesses the Power of Worker Co-ops