Series - Editorial Fellowship: Community Transitions and Resilience

Private businesses can be converted into co-ops ⁠— with enough support

Author Tahmeed Shafiq
Research into Canadian co-op conversions shows clear promise for private business owners looking to sell

Why It Matters

Ninety-eight per cent of Canadian businesses have fewer than 100 employees, making them ideal candidates for co-operative models. But entrepreneurs who’ve made the leap to collective ownership say more support and education is needed.

var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG = {"cleanText":"Private businesses can be converted into co-ops \u2060\u2014 with enough support. \u00a0 This independent journalism is made possible by a Future of Good editorial fellowship on community resilience, funded by Cooperators. See our editorial ethics and standards here. \u00a0 Cora Wiens couldn\u2019t have done it alone. The founder of Eadha, an all-sourdough bakery in Winnipeg, wanted the private business to become a co-operative. In her twenties, Wiens worked at a well-known co-op caf\u00e9 and activist hotspot called Mondragon; a collective that gave her a voice in business decisions and the confidence to found an explicitly anti-oppressive, LGBTQ+-led business of her own in 2018. But Wiens wanted to go farther. She wanted to transform the bakery

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