Analysis: Co-ops paved the way to a better future for the Acadian community in New Brunswick [video]

Francophones make up about a third of New Brunswick’s population, yet they have an outsized presence in the province’s cooperative sector — a legacy rooted in economic exclusion and resilience. 

Once serving as lifelines for Acadians shut out of anglophone-dominated institutions, advocates warn that this piece of Acadian history risks fading from memory.

“We don’t teach enough Acadian history in New Brunswick,” says Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter, President of Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick, which describes itself as the official political voice for Acadian and francophone communities in New Brunswick. “If you don’t know your history, you don’t have that sense of belonging.” 

Co-operatives are often formed to serve communities marginalized by the mainstream. These organizations are jointly owned by their members who make decisions about their policies and directions. Co-operatives usually work on a one vote per member basis and are built according to a common need. 

Examples of francophone co-operatives in New Brunswick range from “golden age clubs” for seniors to Coopérative Transport Chaleur, a transportation co-operative with accessible vans and other vehicles.

There are 151 co-ops in New Brunswick, 25 being primarily bilingual, according to figures from the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick.

Forty-four per cent of co-operatives in New Brunswick are primarily francophone, not counting those identified as bilingual. That’s a high rate, considering that francophones make up just 30 per cent of the New Brunswick population, according to the 2021 census. 

That rate was even higher historically, according to Marc Henrie, a co-op developer from the Saint-Paul parish north of Moncton.

“In the 40s, 60s, and 70s, francophones represented the vast majority of co-operatives,” Henrie said in an interview.

Henrie has had a long history as a co-op developer. He’s currently head of the bilingual Impact Co-op, which he described as an “entrepreneurship cooperative” focussing on an expense sharing model. 

He said each member pays into a fund which can be used by any member. This allows members to buy necessary materials such as heat pumps without taking on debt.

He suggested that francophones have been overrepresented in the cooperative space because they helped the community in their struggle to survive. 

Co-ops “were servicing poor, unfavoured demographics,” he said. “Most francophones over 50 would know what a co-op is.”

He said co-operatives are less well-known among younger generations of francophones in New Brunswick. That’s due in part to a reduced  income gap between anglophones and francophones, he suggested. 

“For francophones, co-ops played a role determining their economic fate and gave them power they did not have in a municipality,” Henrie said.

He illustrated the historical “unfavoured” status of francophones in New Brunswick with a personal story told to him by his father.

“His father [Henri’s grandfather] took him to Moncton and told him not to speak, as he only spoke fluently in French,” Henrie recalled. “He said that he didn’t want to be unfavoured.“

He said many francophone cooperatives sprung up because these communities would either be refused service or given subpar service by anglophone businesses, and even by anglophone co-operatives.

The co-op movement “was a form of economic nationalism for francophones,” Henrie said.

Arseneau-Sluyter added that the community of Lamèque, on the Acadian peninsula, is known as the capital of cooperatives. “So it’s still a very important aspect of businesses and Acadians,” she said. 

There are still six cooperatives operating out of Lamèque, according to an analysis by the NB Media Co-op. The community hosted a population of 1,301 by 2021, according to the census, meaning that it has one of the highest co-op per capita rates in New Brunswick.

Arseneau-Sluyter recalled a story that her father told her about his past experiences dealing with an English-Canadian bank.

“My father started his own business and was very successful, but he went down to the Royal Bank of Canada to cash a cheque and they wouldn’t, because he didn’t have any history, he didn’t have a bank account,” she recalled. 

She pointed to La Caisse populaire acadienne, a group of credit unions also known as UNI Financial Cooperation. The credit unions helped empower Acadian people who were typically excluded from anglophone-dominated banking institutions. 

The first branch opened in 1936, and 10 years later, the Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes was formed from francophone co-operatives wishing to split from the New Brunswick Credit Union League.

The New Brunswick Credit Union League, formed seven years before the split, represented both anglophone and francophone co-operatives, though Henrie says it did not properly represent its Acadian members. “The leaders of the [New Brunswick Credit Union League] were xenophobic,” he said.

Henrie sits on UNI’s board of directors. He emphasized that he does not speak for the co-op, but as an individual. He said UNI has had a major influence throughout Acadian history. 

Microloans were a big part of UNI’s services in the 50s and 60s, he said. These small loans provided Acadians with capital to start up or expand their businesses. 

Microloans are today common in developing countries for businesses that have no access to traditional financing due to issues including a lack of credit history.

UNI is currently in a legal dispute with Robert Moreau, its former CEO. He says he was fired unjustly and solely blamed for the rocky transition to a new online system in July 2023. That transition was marked by technical problems, such as clients unable to access their accounts online. 

However, UNI remains an important institution in New Brunswick, holding $4.3 billion in assets as of their 2024 annual report. UNI did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Lucas Reynolds is a student at Mount Allison University and served as summer intern at the NB Media Co-op this year. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).