What explains the cooperative movement’s dynamism, or lack of it?
Are current conditions conducive to a new wave of cooperative emergence?

Ontario’s cooperatives have a long history and have had an invaluable impact on the socio-economic development of the province’s communities. UOF professors Chedrak Chembessi and Thomas Chiasson-LeBel have analyzed a provincial government database that records their creation and expansion since 1913. Their analysis offers insights into what helps and hinders the formation of cooperatives. Four periods with distinct characteristics emerge, notably in terms of the quantity and sectors of activity in which cooperatives are formed, as well as their dispersion across the province. The data support the interpretation of an autumn cooperative movement, but one that is greatly affected both positively and negatively by public policy.

This round-table discussion will begin with a presentation of the research results, followed by critical comments from actors in the cooperative movement and researchers from Ontario cooperatives.

Presenters: Chedrak Chembessi and Thomas Chiasson-LeBel, University of French Ontario.

Commentators: Julien Geremi (Impact ON), Rachel Laforest (Queen’s University), Rashid Bagaoui (Laurentian University).