Worker Co-op Profiles

Worker Co-ops are actively involved in the economic and socio-economic fabric of their communities. This page gives a sampling of worker co-ops.

 Ambient Bookkeeping Offers a Winning Formula for Any Balance Sheet

By Kenzie Love Many bookkeepers face an unappealing choice between the lack of autonomy in working for a large firm and the hassles associated with going it on their own. Launched in April of 2020, Saskatchewan’s Ambient Bookkeeping aims to provide its members with greater control over their labour than is typical in the sector  Ambient Bookkeeping Offers a Winning Formula for Any Balance Sheet


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Viridian Energy Co-operative Spreads the Warmth of Community

By Kenzie Love In 2012, three alumni from Vancouver Island University’s Green Building & Renewable Energy Program, inspired by the publicity surrounding the International Year of the Co-op, decided to create a worker co-op of their own: a renewable energy installer that would combine their skill sets while meeting the triple bottom line. The result Viridian Energy Co-operative Spreads the Warmth of Community


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Future Looks Bright for SolarShare

By Kenzie Love Founded in 2010, SolarShare is Canada’s largest renewable energy co-op. The Co-op owns and operates commercial-scale solar systems throughout Ontario. Once the systems are completed and generating revenue, they are refinanced with community investment—Solar Bonds—from over 2,000 members.  Investors in Solar Bonds are also members of the Co-op who are eligible to Future Looks Bright for SolarShare


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Glorious Organics Values Co-operation, Communication, and Community

By Kenzie Love One of the first certified organic farms in BC’s Fraser Valley, Glorious Organics began with a group of farmers who seized an opportunity to supply the Northwest Territories pavilion at Expo 86 in Vancouver with a then-novel product: pre-cut salads. The concept was successful enough that the farmers decided they could make Glorious Organics Values Co-operation, Communication, and Community


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Oasis Lavenders Cooperative Treats the Senses and Nourishes the Soul

By Kenzie Love Oasis Lavenders Cooperative is a working farm, but as its name would suggest, it’s also a refuge of sorts. Located in the town of Summerland in BC’s Okanagan Valley, the traditional unceded territory of the syilx/Okanagan people, the farm offers visitors a multisensory experience, while at the same time providing a corridor Oasis Lavenders Cooperative Treats the Senses and Nourishes the Soul


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coopérative Tënk Celebrates Documentaries

By Hannah Rackow For coopérative Tënk in Montreal, bringing lesser-known documentaries to audiences across Canada is both a passion and a mission. Florence Lamothe, co-founder and general manager of the co-op, explains that “the documentary is a rather under-circulated, under-loved and under-financed medium and cinematographic genre these days.” Tënk aims to address that gap by coopérative Tënk Celebrates Documentaries


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Thetis Island Farm Co-operative an Oasis Amidst “Food Desert”

By Kenzie Love It’s often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and for Thetis Island Farm Co-operative, it’s a pretty apt description. Located within BC’s Gulf Islands, Thetis Island’s roughly 380 residents also exist within something of a “food desert”, lacking access to a grocery store. But with a recent influx of young Thetis Island Farm Co-operative an Oasis Amidst “Food Desert”


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