The Common Share

The housing market can be uncertain: housing co-operatives are a way to provide stability. In this episode we speak to Tim Ross, Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, about the impact of non-profit housing co-ops in Canada. We then catch up with Hazel Corcoran, ED of the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation, about what it's like to live in her equity housing co-op in Calgary. 

It's a challenge we hear about a lot: that co-operative businesses struggle to obtain the financing they need. However, recent Stats Canada data shows that, when it comes to debt financing in particular, existing co-ops are quite successful with getting funds they request. 

In this episode we spoke to two co-op experts from the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives: Dr. Dionne Pohler, and Dr. Marc-André Pigeon. They give a lot of insight into these stats, the particular challenges and advantages co-ops might have in comparison to other types of business, and some areas where more research needs to be done. 

In this episode we asked one of our favourite co-op experts, Dr. Brett Fairbairn, to reflect on a recent study on the impact of co-operative businesses. We asked him about the landscape of co-ops in western Canada, how that landscape has changed over time, and how we should think about the place of co-operatives in the economy. 

 Kye is a farmer. But he's not your usual farmer. The acres he grows on depend on numerous locations and convincing people to let him grow his produce in their backyard. To market his products, he helped form and joined a co-op. In this episode of The Common Share, Kye shares some of the struggles, learnings and adventures of urban farming and starting up a co-operative. Give it a listen. 

In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking to Carol Kitchen, former President and CEO of United Farmers of Alberta. During Carol’s tenure with UFA she turned its balance sheet and membership engagement around. In this illuminating discussion, Carol talks about her highly successful efforts to refocus the co-op on its core mandate, and to reach out to members (one combine ride at a time).

In this episode, we spoke to Sturgeon Lake Developments CEO April Roberts-Poitras and our own Indigenous Relations Lead Trista Pewapisconias about the opportunities and challenges of setting up co-operative businesses in Indigenous communities. They provide excellent and practical insights.

The legalization of cannabis in Canada hasn't been the boon to small producers that many expected. It's been difficult for small cannabis growers to obtain licences and compete in the market - but a group in BC is exploring how the co-op model could help. 

In this episode we speak to David Hurford with the BC Small Producers and Processors Co-op. David has extensive experience in cannabis policy, and tells us how forming a co-operative can help boost the craft cannabis industry.

Meet two founders of one of British Columbia's newest and most innovative co-ops! In this episode we speak to Adele Therias and Leah Karlberg of Neighbour Lab about how their worker co-op develops community infrastructure that can provide resources during a disaster, and promotes community connections. 

In this episode we speak to three people about the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association's annual youth Co-op Camp: an organizer, a participant, and a camp staff member from the co-op sector. This youth programming has been around for over 90 years, and we talk about how camp benefits both its participants and the co-op sector as a whole.

In this episode we spoke with Shaun Soonias, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Economic Development Network (http://sfnedn.com/) . Shaun has had a long career in social and business development, and gives some great insights about both the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship in emerging sectors. He talks about the great potential of sectors like tourism and agriculture, as well as SFNEDN's perspective on the co-op model as a tool for First Nations communities.