Co-operatives in Canada, 2023

Release date: March 30, 2026
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Infographic: Co-operatives in Canada, 2023
Description: Co-operatives in Canada, 2023

In 2023, there were 5,714 active non-financial co-operatives in Canada, up 1.7% from 2022.

Number of active non-financial co-operatives by province and territory Table summary
The information is grouped by Region (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Region Count of active co-operatives, 2023
Alberta 502
British Columbia 498
Manitoba 245
New Brunswick 114
Newfoundland and Labrador 30
Nova Scotia 194
Ontario 1,092
Prince Edward Island 67
Quebec 2,552
Saskatchewan 379
Territories 41

More than half of non-financial co-operatives operated in three sectors.

Number of co-operatives and proportion, 2023 Table summary
The information is grouped by Industry sector (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Industry sector Number and proportion of co-operatives
Real estate and rental and leasing 1,918 (33.6%)
Wholesale and retail trade 755 (13.2%)
Public administration and other services 722 (12.6%)
Other 2,319 (40.6%)

While non-financial co-operatives employed 104,659 people in 2023, more than half of co-operatives had no employees.

Distribution by number of employees Table summary
The information is grouped by Employment size group (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Employment size group Number of active co-operatives
No employees 3,016
1 to 99 employees 2,528
100 to 499 employees 144
500 employees or more 26
Non-profits made up 63.4% of all non-financial co-operatives, earning 4.3% of all revenue Table summary
This table displays the results of Non-profits made up 63.4% of all non-financial co-operatives, earning 4.3% of all revenue , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
  Percentage of active cooperatives Percentage of revenue
Non-profit 63.4% 4.3%
Profit 36.6% 95.7%
Growth of non-financial co-operatives continued through 2023 Table summary
This table displays the results of Growth of non-financial co-operatives continued through 2023 , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
  Assets (billions of dollars)
2017 38.0
2018 39.2
2019 42.6
2020 45.6
2021 47.3
2022 50.5
2023 52.4

Sources: Statistics Canada, Business-Linkable File Environment, Business Register; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, list of non-financial co-operatives; and national, provincial and territorial co-operative registries.

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2026

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

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