The Financial Post and the Globe and Mail may be rivals in the world of Canadian business media, but there's one thing they agree on: co-operative organizations are among Canada's biggest businesses.
Both the Post and the Globe's Report on Business Magazine published their lists of "Canada's largest companies" in June, and although some of the numbers were slightly different, co-ops and credit unions figured prominently on both lists.
A total of 15 co-operatives -- as well as several mutual insurance companies -- appeared on the Post's Top 500 Companies list, which is ranked by revenue in 2010. Mouvement des caisses Desjardins, the top co-operative organization on the list, was ranked no. 30, up from 34 on last year's list. Three other high-ranked co-operatives were Federated Co-operatives Limited (no. 52), La Coop fédérée (no. 90), and The Co-operators (no. 92). To see the entire Top 500 list, go to www.financialpost.com/news/fp500/2011/index.html.
Desjardins, FCL, La Coop fédérée and The Co-operators also appeared in the Globe's Top 100 by revenue, coming in at no. 28, no. 57, no. 89 and no. 96 respectively. The paper's Report on Business Magazine also included rankings by "industry", listing the top 10 financial co-operatives and the top 10 non-financial co-operatives.