On–Demand Learning

Co-operatives First offers FREE webinars and workshops to introduce you to co-operatives, how co-operatives have been used in a variety of industries in Canada, and what challenges or opportunities exist for Indigenous co-op entrepreneurs. Sign up for the Your Way Together newsletter today and stay up-to-date on all the upcoming webinar topics and expert panellists. Check out our on-demand options below.

Co-op Spotlight: Finding the Why

Why do people choose to create co-operatives? Usually, they want a good or service that no one else is offering, so they decide to get together as a group and create it for themselves.

Over the past 10 years, Co-operatives First has worked with amazing groups to build co-ops. Each one has had its own motivations and problems it wanted to solve — and each one decided in its own way that the co-op model was the solution.

Join us on December 11 at 1 pm SK time, to hear our clients share stories and why they chose to create a co-op — and why it might be the solution for you, too. Sign up here.

Regional Synergies: South Island Prosperity Partnership

For the first webinar in the series, we sat down with leaders from South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP). SIPP is an alliance of over 70 public and private-sector partners in Greater Victoria, including 11 local governments, nine First Nations, three post-secondary institutions, nine industry associations and nonprofits, and more than 30 major employers. SIPP’s goal is to bolster the region’s economic and social prosperity. To do this, they create high-quality, household-sustaining jobs, so that more families can afford to live, work and build a life in the region.

The webinar took place on December 8th, 2021.

Regional Synergies: Prince Albert Regional Economic Development Alliance

Prince Albert Saskatchewan, known as the Gateway to the North, has a long history with Indigenous communities, not only in the vicinity but to communities throughout Northern Saskatchewan. Through a partnership to generate economic activity, the City of Prince Albert and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation have built a relationship and continue to create business opportunities that are mutually beneficial.

Please enjoy this discussion with Gary Merasty, CEO of Peter Ballantyne Group of Companies and Ashley Charles, CEO of the Prince Albert Regional Economic Development Alliance and learn what opportunities the partnership is creating and how they approach relationship building.

Regional Synergies: Beyond the land acknowledgment

In the spring of 2022, the BC Craft Farmers Co-operative and Retail Cannabis Council of BC hosted the inaugural BC Cannabis Summit in Kelowna. With the intent of showing respect for the Indigenous territory, the event’s planning committee approached Moccasin Trails Tourism and Consulting to ensure the summit featured meaningful opportunities for Indigenous participation throughout the three-day agenda and to showcase the great work Indigenous communities are developing with cannabis.

From this experience, both organizations found mutually beneficial opportunities that went from a one-off event to an ongoing partnership that continues to shape the cannabis industry in British Columbia.

In this session of our Regional Synergies webinar series, our guests David Hurford from the BC Craft Farmers co-operative and Greg Hopf from the Moccasin Trails Tourism and Consulting provided an overview of their learning opportunities, teachable moments, and ongoing partnership.