Rural and Aboriginal Communities in Western Canada · Co-operative Innovation Project Project...
Transcript of Rural and Aboriginal Communities in Western Canada · Co-operative Innovation Project Project...
Rural and Aboriginal
Communities in Western Canada
Murray Fulton, Dionne Pohler, Darcy Overland, Wu HaoTao, Merle Massie, Bev Fairful
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan
November 30, 2015
Co-operative Innovation ProjectProject Background
In November 2013, Federated Co-operatives Limited entered into a partnership with the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives to examine:
Is the co-operative model relevant to meet needs in rural and Aboriginal communities in Western Canada?
If so, what is needed to effectively develop new co-operatives and sustain the existing ones?
Research partners
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives (U of S)
Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (U of S)
Edwards School of Business (U of S)
Institute for Northern Governance & Development (U of S)
Plunkett Foundation (UK)
The Research Team
Project Management Group
Dawn Brinkmeier, Ken Coates, Peter Couchman, Murray Fulton,
Dionne Pohler
Researchers
Bev Fairful,Wu Haotao, Rhiannon Klein, Dazawray Landrie-Parker,
Merle Massie, Nicole McLaren, Darcy Overland
Research Assistants
Miranda Gouchie, Paula Mowat, Kyle White
Findings
The co-op model remains feasible in rural and Aboriginal communities as a locally-driven solution to address unmet needs.
People will explore and create innovative and thriving co-ops if they are inspired to do so, and supported through politically-aware relationship-building and connections throughout the process.
What is needed is a dual approach: vigorous co-op development activity at the community level; and focused effort at the pan-provincial level to leverage economies of scale and connect the western Canadian co-operative community.
Background
Rural and Aboriginal communities in western Canada have
been under increasing social and economic pressure due to
changing demographic patterns, market forces, urbanization,
and government priorities & programs.
Communities, and individuals within communities, need to
take advantage of innovative ideas and practices if they are
to maintain and improve their quality of life.
Communities have different strengths to leverage and
challenges to overcome – solutions must be community
focused and locally driven. There is no silver bullet.
What is Needed?
Social Innovation – Ideas to address complex social problems
in new ways.
Social Enterprise – Social innovation that involve businesses
blending profit earning with the achievement of social
outcomes.
Co-operatives
A critical element in social innovation and social enterprise
Owned and democratically controlled by the people that use or
benefit from the service that the enterprise provides
Are often able to meet the needs that arise because of market or
government provision failure
Research Design
Definition of rural communities
Use Statistics Canada definitions – Census Subdivision (CSD) as
community. Eliminated any CSDs in Census Metropolitan
Amalgamations (CMAs), Census Agglomerations (CAs), strong
Metropolitan Influenced Zones (MIZ)
Province Total CSDs With
Population > 0
CMA/CA
CSDs
Strong MIZ
CSDs
Rural CSD
(Study Population)
Manitoba 279 19 17 243
Saskatchewan 903 64 62 777
Alberta 421 81 52 288
British Columbia 656 199 34 423
Total 2259 363 165 1731
Research Design
Definition of Aboriginal communities – use Statistics Canada
definitions for CSDs.
Multiple CSDs were associated with the same community
name. For some analysis these CSDs were combined.
Prov. Aborig.
CSDs
Aborig. CSDs
Associated With
Community of Same
Name
Total CSDs
(Study
Population)
Modified
Population After
Combining
Aboriginal CSDs
MB 72 8 243 235
SK 112 40 777 737
AB 59 20 288 268
BC 244 83 423 340
Total 487 151 1731 1580
Data Collection
Literature review
Statistical data collection
26 community visits to 13 Aboriginal and 50 rural communities
Phone survey of 2,025 rural and Aboriginal residents
Web survey of 359 community administrators
Reached 37% of rural and Aboriginal communities in W. Canada
Analysis of provincial co-operative association websites
Interviews with co-op developers across western Canada
Community Visits (26)
Communities Reached
Research Challenges
Data was often difficult to access, unavailable, or not in a
format useful to the project.
Timelines – 18 months of data collection and analysis – lots
more to do.
Data collection and reporting mechanisms to serve co-op
development and the co-op sector in general are lacking.
Data on new start-ups are costly to obtain, and data on overall
co-op activity are extremely dated. The up-to-the-minute
data required for development and policy work do not exist.
Overall Community Information
Information is at a western Canada level by community type.
Based on 2006 Census and 2011 Census and National
Household Survey.
The same information is available at a provincial and
community level, where not suppressed by Statistics Canada.
Key Lessons: Comparison of
Provinces
BC has older mean age; SK and MB have highest dependency
ratio.
MB and SK have highest international immigration in last 5 yrs.
MB and SK have highest % Aboriginal population.
MB and SK have lowest median income.
SK has fastest income growth.
MB and SK have smallest income % in Wages & Salaries;
Highest % in Self-Employment.
Key Lessons: Rural versus
Aboriginal
Aboriginal population younger; most of population is 3rd
generation or more.
Rural population has higher post-secondary education, and greater % in business, life sciences, math/engineering.
Very different pattern of home ownership.
Aboriginal population has a lower median income, but similar % of income from wages and salaries.
Rural population has higher participation rate, lower unemployment, higher rate of self-employment, and smaller % in education, law and social services.
Community Visits (26)
Cluster Pop Age Migration Education IncomeMajor
Occupation
2ndImptSourceofIncome
MainBusiness
1 Stable Older Low Higher HigherSales
TradesPensions
ConstructionAgriculture
2 Growing Younger Low Higher Higher Sales Invest Agriculture
3 GrowingAverage
toYounger
High Higher AverageTradesSales
InvestPensions
AgricultureConstructionRealEstate
4 Stable YoungerAveragetoHigh
Average HigherSales
TradesMgmt.
Child Agriculture
5 Growing Younger Verylow Lower LowerSales
Educ/Law/SSTrades
ChildRetail
Agriculture
6StabletoFalling
AveragetoOlder
High/LowAverage-
lowerHigher/Lower
TradesManagement
Pensions Agriculture
7 Falling Average High/Low Lower LowerTradesSales
Ed/Law/SS
CPPChild
ConstructionAgriculture
Clusters:#1–LacDuBonnetMB,DauphinMB;#2–HumboldtSK;#3–LairdSK,40MileAB,MountainViewAB,KootenayBC,SmokeyLakeAB;#4–PonokaAB,St.PaulAB,MacKenzieAB;#5–Div.#18SK,Div.#/22/23MB,St.LouisSK;#6–ArborfieldSK,SkeenaBC;#7–CentralKootenayBC,KitimatBC.
Community Cluster Characteristics
Questions?