Abstract
The social economy has had a long and varied history in Canada. Historically, the state has seldom led the way to supporting the growth and greater entrenchment of the social economy in Canadian society. In fact, it has been largely in response to limited government efforts to address challenging social issues that the social economy has risen. Over time social economy activities have been associated with government-supported social programs, and has been strongly linked with the welfare state, in particular those activities aimed at supporting vulnerable populations. In this chapter my objective is to demonstrate how the social economy in Canada has changed by virtue of the adoption of the social enterprise model and the reduced prominence of the cooperative model, and the changing role of nonprofit organizations. I problematize these changes as a movement from a communal or collectivist orientation towards individualistic efforts that is informing new enterprises with a social purpose shaping the restructuring of the social economy.
In this chapter, the term new social economy is used as a heuristic to explain the restructuring of the traditional pillars of the social economy, and the increasingly supportive policy environment of the social enterprise model, which has become part of funding of social innovation. One explanation as to why this dismantling has occurred is related to the reduction of the welfare state, which has been an integral part of the social economy. Furthermore, there seems to have been a stronger desire to participate in the market-based activities as the path towards social change. I conclude the chapter with some reflections and suggestions on what to consider as this new path becomes more entrenched in Canadian society.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut were established as an act of parliament and are governed by the federal government, whereas the governing power of the provinces is outlined in the Canadian Constitution. Municipal level governments are creatures of the provinces.
- 2.
Articles 91 to 95 of the Canadian Constitution clearly lay out the different responsibilities and jurisdictions of the two levels of government (Government of Canada, 2019).
- 3.
This description of the social economy is paraphrased from the Mike Lewis (August 2006) discussion paper “Mapping the Social Economy in B.C. and Alberta: Towards a Strategic Approach.” (Lewis, 2006)
- 4.
These research centers were funded with federal dollars for 5 years. Unfortunately, the funding was significantly reduced with the election of a conservative government in 2008. The newly elected government decided to withdraw the development finance fund, but the research funding remained (Hall, 2011).
- 5.
In 2017 the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) directed credit unions to not use the term “bank” in any medium, including referring to the services provided as a form of “banking.” See http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/Eng/fi-if/app/rla-prl/Pages/adv-2017-01.aspx.
- 6.
The third sector is often used as a synonym for the social economy (Fontan & Shragge, 2000).
- 7.
Fontan and Shragge (2000) make a reference to the new social economy in their chapter, which very much resonates with how the idea is used in this book.
References
Banting, K. (2004). Canada - nation-building in a federal welfare state. (ZeS-Arbeitspapier, 6/2004). Bremen: Universität Bremen, Zentrum für Sozialpolitik. Retrieved from https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-109350
Birchall, J. (2013). Resilience in a downturn: The power of financial cooperatives. Geneva: International Labor Organization.
Bouchard, M., Paulo, C., & Zerdani, T. (2015). Social Enterprise in Québec: Understanding their “Institutional Footprint.”. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research Revue canadienne de recherche sur les OBSL et l’économie sociale, 6(1), 42–62.
Carroll, W., & Ratner, R. S. (2010). Social Movements and Counter-Hegemony: Lessons from the Field. New Proposals: Journal of Marxism and Interdisciplinary Inquiry, 4(1), 7–22.
Chantier de L’économie Sociale. (2005). Social Economy and Community Economic Development in Canada: Next Steps for Public Policy. Retrieved from https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/Issues%20Paper_Sept_2005.pdf
Charron, A. (2012). The growth of the social economy in Quebec through the unification of the movement since 1996. The Canadian CED Network. Retrieved from https://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-cdec.ca/files/ccednet/Alex_Quebec_paper.pdf
Craig, J. (1993). The Nature of Co-operation. Montréal, QC: Black Rose Books LTD..
Department of Justice. (2019). The Canadian Constitution. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/just/05.html
Dodaro, S., & Pluta, L. (2012). The big picture: The antigonish movement of Eastern Nova Scotia. Montréal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Elson, P., Hall, P., & Wamucii, P. (2016). Canadian National Social Enterprise Sector Survey Report. Calgary, AB: Institute for Community Prosperity.
Faul, S. (2014). Narrative core resource: The beginnings of a new discussion with Canadians about the charitable and nonprofit sector. Toronto, ON: Imagine Canada.
Fontan, J. M., & Shragge, E. (2000). Tendencies, tensions and visions in the social economy. In J. M. Fontan & E. Shragge (Eds.), Social economy: International debates and perspectives (pp. 1–15). Montreal: Black Rose Books.
Fulton, M. & Girard, J.-P. (2015). Demutualization of Co-operatives and Mutuals. Report for Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada.
Government of Canada. (2018). Backgrounder: The Social Finance Fund. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2018/11/backgrounder-the-social-finance-fund.html
Government of Canada. (2019). Justice Laws Website. Retrieved from https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-4.html
Government of Quebec. (2019). Québec has 11,200 social economy enterprises. Retrieved from https://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/salle-presse/communique/communique-presse-2019/avril/avril1929_an.html
Grizzle, C., & Sloan, M. F. (2016). Assessing changing accountability structures created by emerging equity markets in the nonprofit sector. Public Administration Quarterly, 40(2), 387–408.
Hall, P. (2011). Introduction: Learning from the Social Economy Community-University Research Partnerships. In P. Hall & I. MacPherson (Eds.), Community-University Research Partnerships: Reflections on the Canadian Social Economy Experience (pp. 1–22). Victoria, BC: University of Victoria.
Hunter, G. & Miazdyck, D. (2004). Current Issues Surrounding Poverty and Welfare Programming in Canada: Two Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Saskatchewan_Pubs/poverty_welfare.pdf
Industry Canada. (2019). Total Incorporated Non-Financial Co-operatives, 2009–2018.. Retrieved from https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/106.nsf/eng/00149.html
Kaufmann, B. (2020, September 16). As many as 20 per cent of Alberta’s non-profits could fold due to the pandemic. The Calgary Herald. Retrieved from https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/as-many-as-20-per-cent-of-albertas-non-profits-could-fold-due-to-the-pandemic
Lasby, D. (2020). Charities & the COVID-19 Pandemic. Imagine Canada’s Sector Monitor. Retrieved from https://imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/COVID-19%20Sector%20Monitor%20Report%20ENGLISH_0.pdf
Lévesque, B., & Mendell, M. (2005). The Social Economy: Approaches, Practices and a Proposal for a New Community-University Alliance (CURA). Journal of Rural Cooperation, 33(1), 21–45.
Lewis, M. (2006). Mapping the Social Economy in B.C. and Alberta: Towards a Strategic Approach. Victoria, BC: The B.C- Alberta Research Alliance on the Social Economy (BALTA).
Lightman, E., & Irving, A. (1991). Restructuring Canada’s Welfare State. Journal of Social Policy, 21(1), 65–86.
McMurtry, J. J., Brouard, F., Elson, P., Hall, P., Lionais, D. & Vieta, M. (2015). Social Enterprise in Canada: Context, Models and Institutions. ICSEM Working Papers, No. 04, Liege: The International Comparative Social Enterprise Models (ICSEM) Project.
Mendell, M. (2009). Three Pillars of the Social Economy: The Quebec Experience. In A. Amin (Ed.), The Social Economy: International Perspectives on Economic Solidarity (pp. 176–207). London: Zed Books.
Mendell, M., & Neamtan, N. (2010). The Social Economy in Québec: Towards a New Political Economy. In L. Mook, J. Quarter, & S. Ryan (Eds.), Researching the Social Economy (pp. 63–83). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Moscovitch, A. (1986). The Welfare State Since 1975. Journal of Canadian Studies, 21(2), 77–94.
Moscovitch, A. (1983). The Welfare State in Canada: A Selected Bibliography 1840 to 1978. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press.
Moscovitch, A. (2015). Welfare State. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/welfare-state
Mulholland, E., Mendelsohn, M., & Shamshiri, N. (2011). Strengthening the Third Pillar of the Canadian Union: An Intergovernmental Agenda for Canada’s Charities and Non-Profits. Toronto, ON: Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, The University of Toronto.
Nair, R. (2020, September 14) MEC to be acquired by private U.S. investment firm. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mec-acquired-private-investment-firm-1.5723934
Neamtan, N., & Downing, R. (2005). Social economy and CED in Canada: Next steps for public policy. Montreal: Issues paper prepared for Chanter de l’economie sociale in collaboration with CCEDNet and ARUC-ES.
Nova Scotia Co-operative Council. (2019). Community Economic Development Investment Funds. Retrieved from http://www.novascotia.coop/programs/community-economic-development-investment-funds/
Nova Scotia Securities Commission. (2019). Community Economic Development Investment Funds. Retrieved from https://nssc.novascotia.ca/corporate-finance/community-economic-development-Investment-funds
Pierson, P. (2011). The welfare state over the very long run, ZeS- Arbeitspapier, No. 02/2011, Zentrum für Sozialpolitik, Univ. Bremen, Bremen.
Pillar Nonprofit Network. (n.d.). Social Enterprises Open During COVID 19. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://pillarnonprofit.ca/news/social-enterprises-open-during-covid-19
Quarter, J., Mook, L., & Armstrong, A. (2009). Understanding the Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Quarter, J. (2000). The Social Economy and the Neo-Conservative Agenda. In J. M. Fontan & E. Shragge (Eds.), Social Economy: International Debates and Perspectives (pp. 54–64). Montreal, QC: Black Rose Books.
Quarter, J., & Mook, L. (2018). The social economy: An international comparison. In B.A. Seaman and D.R. Young (eds). Handbook of Research on Nonprofit Economics and Management: Second Edition (pp. 428–441). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Responsible Investment Association. (2019). 2018 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report. Retrieved from https://www.riacanada.ca/research/2018-impact-trends-report
Restakis, J. (2006). Defining the Social Economy – The BC Context. Prepared for the Social Economy Roundtable. Retrieved from http://www.msvu.ca/socialeconomyatlantic/pdfs/DefiningSocialEconomy_FnlJan1906.pdf
Sousa, J. (2013). Building a co-operative community: The conversion of Alexandra park to Atkinson housing co-operative. Toronto, ON: The University of Toronto Press.
Sousa, J., & Hamdon, E. (2010). Preliminary Profile of the Size and Scope of the Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia. Victoria, BC: The B.C- Alberta Research Alliance on the Social Economy (BALTA).
Sousa, J., Pattison, D., & Herman, R. (2012). Thematic exploration and looking forward. In J. Sousa & R. Herman (Eds.), A co-operative dilemma (pp. 271–310). Saskatoon, Canada: Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.
Thompson, M. & Emmanuel, J. (2012). Assembling Understandings: Findings from the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships, 2005–2011. Retrieved from https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/Assembling_Understandings.pdf
Wallace, E. (1950). The Origin of the Social Welfare State in Canada, – 1900. The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, 16(3), 383–393.
Williams, A. (2018). New Federal Fund Will Make Canada A Leader in Social Innovation. Retrieved from https://Socialinnovation.Org/New-Federal-Fund-Will-Make-Canada-A-Leader-In-Social-Innovation/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sousa, J. (2021). The Restructuring of the Social Economy in Canada. In: Gidron, B., Domaradzka, A. (eds) The New Social and Impact Economy. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68295-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68295-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68294-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68295-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)