What are Credit Unions?
Credit Unions are financial institutions that provide many of the same products and services as banks. This includes checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, lines of credit and much more. But there are several important differences between credit unions and banks in Canada, including but not limited to the following:
- Credit Union Customers Are Owners – this is perhaps the most important distinguishing aspect of a credit union compared with a bank. For most of the banks in Canada, in particular the big 5 banks, the shareholders of the banks are the owners and therefore the banks exist to serve their interests. With credit unions, the members of the credit union are the owners. All of a credit union’s activities are focused on better serving their members. In fact, once you join a credit union, you become a part owner!
- Credit Unions Are Non-Profit – banks by and large exist to generate and maximize profits for their owners: their shareholders. Credit Unions are not profit seeking, and instead are focused on serving their members through the provision of attractively priced financial products and various profit sharing schemes.
- Banks Are More Accessible Than Credit Unions – one important difference between credit unions and banks is accessibility. While essentially any adult that is a Canadian legal resident can open a bank account, with credit unions there are additional eligibility criteria you must satisfy before becoming a member. For example, Vancity, the largest of the credit unions in Canada, requires that you are a resident of British Columbia for you to join the credit union.
Facts About Credit Unions in Canada
These statistics about credit unions in Canada are as of March 2022 and sourced from the Canada Credit Union Association reporting.
- Number of Credit Unions in Canada: there are currently 212 credit unions in Canada. This represents a decrease from a year ago of 6%. These credit unions had a total of 1,677 branches across Canada as of March 2022.
- Credit Unions Total Assets: $282 billion (increase of 5% from prior year)
- Credit Unions Total Deposits: $231 billion (increase of 9% from prior year)
- Credit Unions Total Loans: $242 billion (increase of 6% from prior year)
- Total Credit Union Membership: 5.9 million (increase of 0.6%)
- British Columbia Credit Union Membership: 2.1 million
- Alberta Credit Union Membership: 0.6 million
- Saskatchewan Credit Union Membership: 0.5 million
- Manitoba Credit Union Membership: 0.7 million
- Ontario Credit Union Membership: 1.6 million
- New Brunswick Credit Union Membership: 217,533
- Nova Scotia Credit Union Membership: 142,998
- Prince Edward Island Credit Union Membership: 48,221
- Newfoundland Credit Union Membership: 60,994
Membership Trends at Credit Unions in Canada
Over the past decade membership at credit unions in Canada has increased by 12% with membership increasing most years. The statistic suggests that at most 15% of Canadians are members of Credit Unions (using the latest population statistics from Statistics Canada). We say “at most” because consumers can be members of more than one credit union. As shown in the prior section, membership is concentrated in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, which is far from surprising given their respective populations.
25 Largest Credit Unions in Canada
These 25 credit unions collectively have 4.1 million members and 890 branch locations across Canada, representing 70% of all members in Canada and 53% of all branch locations. These credit unions combined have $214 billion of assets which is 76% of the total assets of all credit unions in Canada – this measure really captures the level of dominance of these 25 credit unions. These are the 25 largest credit unions in Canada ranked by total assets:
- Vancity
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 530,040
- Total Locations: 55
- Total Assets: $26.6 billion
- Meridian Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 379,026
- Total Locations: 92
- Total Assets: $24.1 billion
- Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 592,251
- Total Locations: 48
- Total Assets: $21.6 billion
- Servus Credit Union
- Province: Alberta
- Total Members: 376,472
- Total Locations: 103
- Total Assets: $17.5 billion
- First West Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 247,874
- Total Locations: 46
- Total Assets: $12.7 billion
- Desjardins Ontario Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 131,705
- Total Locations: 57
- Total Assets: $9.9 billion
- Steinbach Credit Union
- Province: Manitoba
- Total Members: 103,029
- Total Locations: 3
- Total Assets: $8.3 billion
- Affinity Credit Union
- Province: Saskatchewan
- Total Members: 126,446
- Total Locations: 56
- Total Assets: $6.8 billion
- Prospera Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 116,916
- Total Locations: 26
- Total Assets: $6.7 billion
- Conexus Credit Union
- Province: Saskatchewan
- Total Members: 133,918
- Total Locations: 30
- Total Assets: $6.7 billion
- Alterna Savings and Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 154,017
- Total Locations: 35
- Total Assets: $6.7 billion
- Connect First Credit Union
- Province: Alberta
- Total Members: 124,984
- Total Locations: 41
- Total Assets: $6.3 billion
- Access Credit Union
- Province: Manitoba
- Total Members: 89,729
- Total Locations: 27
- Total Assets: $6.2 billion
- Assiniboine Credit Union
- Province: Manitoba
- Total Members: 123,700
- Total Locations: 16
- Total Assets: $5.6 billion
- DUCA Financial Service Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 82,561
- Total Locations: 16
- Total Assets: $5.5 billion
- Libro Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 110,425
- Total Locations: 34
- Total Assets: $5.4 billion
- UNI Financial Cooperation
- Province: New Brunswick
- Total Members: 156,384
- Total Locations: 43
- Total Assets: $5.2 billion
- FirstOntario Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 119,513
- Total Locations: 32
- Total Assets: $5.2 billion
- BlueShore Financial Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 34,990
- Total Locations: 13
- Total Assets: $5.0 billion
- Cambrian Credit Union
- Province: Manitoba
- Total Members: 66,765
- Total Locations: 11
- Total Assets: $4.6 billion
- G&F Financial Group
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 56,683
- Total Locations: 24
- Total Assets: $4.1 billion
- Windsor Family Credit Union
- Province: Ontario
- Total Members: 59,380
- Total Locations: 12
- Total Assets: $3.9 billion
- Coastal Community Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 86,173
- Total Locations: 24
- Total Assets: $3.3 billion
- Innovation Credit Union
- Province: Saskatchewan
- Total Members: 58,653
- Total Locations: 25
- Total Assets: $3.0 billion
- Interior Savings Credit Union
- Province: British Columbia
- Total Members: 69,936
- Total Locations: 21
- Total Assets: $2.9 billion