https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories daily 0.75 2025-11-19 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/css-pension-plan monthly 0.5 2025-11-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/9dcfcfcf-347b-45c5-b8fd-ba6803b50d25/Nicole-Marilyn-Naomi.jpg Stories - A Pension Plan Built for People. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/44682081-dca2-43f4-ae18-a5aa4e92d68f/Martin-Naomi-Nicole-v2.PNG Stories - A Pension Plan Built for People. - “We’re proving that business can be values-driven, member-owned, and deeply human - even in the world of pensions." — Tami Dove, CSS Pension Director, Member Experience https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/c4d83203-0a18-4f29-82b9-b7cb88b31931/Fernanda-Maureen.PNG Stories - A Pension Plan Built for People. - Most financial institutions answer to shareholders seeking profit. CSS answers to its members. That single difference changes everything. Members elect the board. Profits are reinvested—not extracted. Decisions are grounded in long-term well-being, not quarterly earnings. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/access-communications-saskatchewan monthly 0.5 2025-11-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/6d2fec56-760f-4410-a5bf-5edb0fc6ffbe/Access+Comms+1.jpg Stories - Co-ops Connecting People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/483af5eb-5892-49ad-a991-b16e64738806/Access+Comms+2.jpg Stories - Co-ops Connecting People - “The co-op model matters because we’re more than a service provider — we’re neighbours helping neighbours.” — Carmela Haines, President & CEO, Access Communications Co-operative https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/f0b970fb-a032-4f01-9a7d-8b11eb70bb7e/Access+Comms+3.JPG Stories - Co-ops Connecting People - The co-op structure ensures that decision-making, ownership, and investment stay right where they belong—in Saskatchewan. That means every dollar earned goes back into strengthening local communities, not shareholders’ pockets. Nearly fifty years later, that founding spirit of local control and shared benefit remains the driving force behind everything Access does. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/cultivating-change monthly 0.5 2025-10-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/b24ace61-62d0-4a2d-9c3c-5ccd247b1b9a/fireweed-farmers-market.webp Stories - Cultivating Change - Based in Manitoba, Fireweed Food Co-op (formerly Farm Fresh Food Hub) is a nonprofit co-op bringing together both food producers and consumers who care about sustainably produced, Manitoba-grown food. Founded on the belief that small-scale, mixed farming is the most resource-efficient form of agriculture, Fireweed has grown into a hub for collaboration and innovation. In addition to running the South Osborne Farmers’ Market, 2024 marked a major milestone: the launch of its Food Hub initiative—a warehouse and distribution centre connecting small producers with larger local buyers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/22fb9a41-e313-487d-8e16-2b5ef143d269/fireweed-coop-2.webp Stories - Cultivating Change - Fireweed chose the co-op model because it makes accountability possible—to farmers, to consumers, and to the broader community. By giving both producers and eaters a voice, the co-op ensures that decisions reflect shared values, not outside profit motives. The result is a food system built on collaboration, autonomy, and sustainability. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/turning-glass-into-opportunity monthly 0.5 2025-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/2943dfb2-411c-4a82-bc68-73e3474a5c07/NFS+3.jpg Stories - Turning Glass into Opportunity - Based in Newfoundland and Labrador, NewfoundSand is a glass-to-sand recycling start-up on a mission to keep glass waste out of landfills and give it a second life as reusable sand. From the very beginning, the founders knew they didn’t just want to build a business—they wanted to build a movement. That’s why they chose the co-op model. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/e1dee8e1-64a4-4dbe-b3b9-15645f7627ca/NFS+1.jpg Stories - Turning Glass into Opportunity - Unlike a traditional start-up, NewfoundSand isn’t driven by a single investor. The co-op model ensures accountability to the community and allows anyone who believes in the mission to take part in building it. That collective ownership turns a recycling project into a shared movement. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/421cfcd2-6afc-48dd-802c-f773bd19ad9b/NFS+2.jpg Stories - Turning Glass into Opportunity - Want to explore more co-op solutions? Visit our Co-op Resources page for tools, guides, and ways to get involved. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/rooted-in-community monthly 0.5 2025-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/bfc62c78-7c30-4b05-9b3d-24cde2e0d788/blueberry1.webp Stories - Rooted in Community - The Impact Blueberry Commons secures long-term stewardship of the land, prevents speculation, and fosters both ecological and social resilience. Its impact goes beyond its borders: food from the farm supports the local food bank, schools, and community programs, strengthening food security for those who need it most. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/ff04c211-cc65-4e4b-b5dd-529e26df1bff/blueberry3.webp Stories - Rooted in Community - Why Co-op? By choosing a cooperative structure, Blueberry Commons gained the flexibility to operate both a farm and housing project while staying rooted in values of community and sustainability. Unlike a strata or other ownership models, the co-op ensures accountability to its members, the land, and the broader community. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/lights-camera-and-co-op monthly 0.5 2025-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/df2282c3-cdd4-4823-b09b-f684a56a9548/Sask+Filmpool+4.jpg Stories - Lights, Camera, and Co-op - Independent film has always thrived on passion, collaboration, and creativity. At the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative, those values are woven into every frame—because the organization itself is built on cooperation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/26a4356a-cfa4-4448-ba82-af3e3e0c93ed/Sask+Filmpool+2.jpg Stories - Lights, Camera, and Co-op - The cooperative structure allows the Filmpool to stay grounded in its mission: supporting independent filmmaking in Saskatchewan. Unlike traditional organizations, the co-op model gives filmmakers a say in the decisions that affect them, ensuring their needs and creative visions remain at the heart of the work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/0f2145e5-5a5e-45cb-87cc-1ca91990f763/Sask+Filmpool+3.jpg Stories - Lights, Camera, and Co-op - Want to explore more co-op solutions? Visit our Co-op Resources page for tools, guides, and ways to get involved. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/coops-are-changemakers monthly 0.5 2025-09-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/e6d4fa23-ca3c-42cb-93a9-f12086163ca4/Whyte+Avenue+Edmonton.jpeg Stories - Finding Our Starting Points - Every year, the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives surveys leaders across the country to identify the top issues shaping our sector. For seven years in a row, the number one challenge has remained the same: awareness. Too often, co-ops are seen as “just another option” in the marketplace—without recognition of what makes us different. As the 2024 Top Co-op Issues Survey Report highlights, this lack of awareness ripples through nearly every other challenge we face: access to financing, supportive policy, co-op development, and even our ability to attract new members. Co-ops are purpose-driven, values-led, and future-focused—a model young Canadians deserve to discover. Why Co-op Awareness Matters For me, this annual list is not just a list of obstacles. It’s a guidepost. It reminds me that if we’re serious about building the next generation of co-ops, strong, resilient, and relevant, we must keep asking: Where do we start? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/5983e783-f8bd-4fa7-9c69-a3d80022183a/Rosewood+Foods+Edmonton.jpeg Stories - Finding Our Starting Points - Sparked by a challenge from someone whose words mattered, carried through a walk in Edmonton’s river valley, it grew into a concept I believed was worth pursuing. That’s where the idea for the Business Not as Usual campaign came from. Inspired by bold campaigns like Movember and Got Milk, we needed a fresh way to tell the co-op story - one that sparks conversation, sticks in people’s minds, and makes it impossible to see co-ops as “just another option.” Co-ops are not only an alternative to traditional business models; they are a values-led, purpose-driven way of building a stronger future. Creating Space for New Conversations This fall, Business Not as Usual is launching across Canada, during Co-op Week 2025. Through it, we’re connecting co-ops to changemakers nationwide. Because, as the report points out, young people care deeply about aligning their work and spending with their values. Co-ops are a natural fit, offering community-owned solutions to today’s challenges… if only they knew about them. Building Together On behalf of Alberta Co-op Association (ACCA), I am grateful to our sponsors Albera Co-operative Energy, and Federated Co-ops Limited (aka Co-op ) and project partners BC Co-op Association (BCCA), Saskatchewan Co-op Association (SCA), Manitoba Co-op Association (MCA), Newfoundland & Labadour Federation of Co-ops (NFLC) and Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC). All who said yes, even without the full picture, because they recognized that this is a conversation worth having with the next generation of changemakers. I also want to acknowledge the people who helped bring this idea to life. Rebecca McKnight, Project Lead, and Laken Rein, Website Developer, are two young people who were willing to dream, build, and revise through early mornings, late nights, and meetings held everywhere from patios across Canada to Alberta rest stops and coffee shop corners. Why Co-ops Are Changemakers At its core, Business Not as Usual is about more than an event or a campaign. It’s about reminding Canadians that co-ops have always been, and continue to be, changemakers. #CoopsAreChangemakers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/4bfe15d4-6cbb-4eba-b63b-8e7fd8b42ec0/Corinne+Remple+ACCA.jpg Stories - Finding Our Starting Points This story is shared in collaboration with the Alberta Community & Co-operative Association, where Corinne Remple—Dreamer, Doer, and Executive Director—works to amplify co-op voices across Alberta. Curious about co-op solutions? Explore our Co-op Resources page for stories, tools, and guides to get started. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/peg-city-car-co-op monthly 0.5 2025-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/abcb3ff0-681c-4583-b059-0d48938496af/Peg+City-2.webp Stories - Rides That Work for Everyone - Built by its members, Peg City makes transportation more affordable, flexible, and sustainable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/2a150cc5-ec4a-4c36-ba75-a63e8867fec6/Peg+City-1.webp Stories - Rides That Work for Everyone - In most businesses, decisions come from the top—owners, shareholders, or executives. In a co-op, the people who use and run the service shape it directly. Everyone has an equal say, no matter their role or financial investment. That shift makes a big difference. At Peg City, members decide how the service grows and ensure it stays focused on community benefit—not maximizing profit for outsiders. Profits are reinvested to keep the co-op strong, affordable, and aligned with its mission. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/e9d84e1b-6385-471e-b8fc-72ee26a89a75/Peg+City-3.webp Stories - Rides That Work for Everyone - Want to explore more co-op solutions? Visit our Co-op Resources page for tools, guides, and ways to get involved. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/it-takes-a-village monthly 0.5 2025-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/7f2e4b4b-93b6-4e01-be7f-5d03cea12ded/Killick+Ecovillage+Cooperative+Image+2.jpg Stories - It Takes a Village - The Impact A new model for housing that puts people, affordability, and sustainability at the heart of community life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/5bfad07c-4e2a-41be-bc46-c579f5c24a2b/Killick+Ecovillage+Cooperative+Image+3.jpg Stories - It Takes a Village - Why Co-op? The housing co-op model aligns perfectly with Killick's vision: affordability, shared responsibility, and community-driven decision-making. Through democratic and sociocratic governance, members serve on committees, participate in decision-making circles, and share in the upkeep of the property. Seniors can age in place with dignity, families benefit from intergenerational wisdom, and children grow up in a supportive, "village" environment. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/vancouver-cleaning-co-op monthly 0.5 2025-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/1db7296d-94a8-4d70-ae8e-a8c4c3b39a4f/TCC+1.png Stories - From Workers to Owners - The Vancouver Cleaning Co-op (TCC) is a worker-owned business serving clients across the Lower Mainland. Formed to challenge the status quo of the cleaning industry, TCC pairs professional service with a commitment to worker empowerment and community care. A co-op model that puts dignity, equity, and empowerment first. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/6c60e035-e4d7-4044-8231-ee8fe7de6e01/TCC+2.png Stories - From Workers to Owners - Unlike traditional businesses, co-ops give members a direct say in how the organization runs. At TCC, that means decisions reflect the lived experiences of cleaners themselves, not distant shareholders. Profits are shared equitably, schedules are flexible, and the business stays rooted in values of dignity and collective responsibility. https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/social+enterprise monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/alternative+to+traditional+business+models monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/building+resilient+futures monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/purpose-driven+business+models monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/co-op+difference monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/co-ops+and+changemakers monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/changemakers monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/youth+entrepreneurship+solutions monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/CoopsAreChangemakers monthly 0.5 https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/stories/tag/values-led+business+in+Canada monthly 0.5 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https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/1a64b72c-febe-4e76-bd0e-2b28cc8c4b31/1.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/83529175-2711-4ada-81c2-aaa1dfee615e/2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/958dd3f9-ef58-4405-a951-58af471925c4/3.png https://www.businessnotasusual.ca/about daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/1905385c-7087-4093-90b2-00aa54863fb0/2.png About Us Logo of Saskatchewan Co-operative Association with a pink flower graphic and black text. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/1cce55a8-521d-4f96-8f29-7d8d4e527494/3.png About Us Logo of Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada featuring interconnected circles, a maple leaf, and text in English and French. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/a2f75c23-57f8-4980-bed2-666be01ac761/4.png About Us Logo for the New England Lab of the Federation of Co-operative Housing, featuring a stylized globe made of green and blue circular dots. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/6dde1875-9326-48ed-b4e9-514f3506f2ea/5.png About Us Logo of the Manitoba Cooperative Association Inc., featuring a green curved arrow and black text. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/cfc94b39-7f24-4d54-b015-16c026600036/6.png About Us Logo of Alberta Community and Co-operative Association with large maroon letters AACAA on a black background, with floral design elements on the 'A's and the text 'Alberta Community & Co-operative Association' underneath. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689f5ab864567b3d81e3fef3/becb46d3-b152-4360-a3bb-b36f12c489e6/7.png About Us Logo for EcoCoop featuring stylized leaves forming interconnected shapes in green, blue, and teal with the text 'EcoCoop' next to it. 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