Caisse Populaire de Clare

The first thing a visitor notices on the Caisse Populaire de Clare website is the strong connection to community, even 70 years after the first credit union was established in Clare. The home page promotes community events, such as the Acadian Market Commerce Expo to support local businesses and the Eat Atlantic Challenge – and celebrates that Caisse Populaire is a finalist for the provincial Community Development Excellence Award.

Created from four credit unions in the communities of Meteghan, Saulnierville, Church Point, and Belliveau Cove, Caisse Populaire continues to build its business on community resourcefulness and mutual support. Today, instead of operating out of people’s homes as in the early days, Caisse Populaire offers full banking services in modern branches in each of the four communities. And, with 34 employees, Caisse Populaire is a major employer in the region.

“We understand the needs and the challenges of our business clients,” says Chief Executive Officer Paul Emile LeBlanc. “They’re likely to drop in to talk about the issues they’re facing – whether it’s competition in the global marketplace, or the current financial crisis – and we can work on a plan.”

LeBlanc notes that many of the fishing and lumbering business clients have a long history with Caisse Populaire. Some are even descendants of the original Caisse Populaire members.

“There’s an advantage for us in investing locally – we know whose mortgage or car loan we’re holding. And we understand the local business cycle,” he says.

With over 6100 owners and $50-million in assets, Caisse Populaire is committed to ensuring a strong business climate in the region. “We believe it’s important to invest in the community – and to ensure that the community infrastructure is in place to support and attract business investment,” says LeBlanc.

That’s why Caisse Populaire has established a community fund of $50,000. from its annual profits to reinvest in projects. The fund supports infrastructure and social programs, based on applications reviewed by a Social Action Committee of board members and community representatives. One of the projects supported by Caisse Populaire, Le Transport de Clare, has won numerous awards and has been cited as far away as Hong Kong as an example of alternative public transport for people with disabilities.

The community fund has also supported the renovation or replacement of six playgrounds where equipment had become outdated and unsafe. Local youth sports teams have benefited from the fund. To support fitness among the general population, Caisse Populaire has been involved in the construction of a fitness park in Meteghan and a boardwalk in Belliveau Cove.

Much of the fund is directed to the celebration of Acadian culture, with a major sponsorship to the Festivale Acadienne de Clare and a five-year commitment to the creation of an Acadian Interpretive Centre, scheduled to open Fall 2009 on the Université Sainte Anne campus.

The sponsorship by Caisse Populaire allows Festivale Acadienne de Clare to advertise more widely, and attract visitors from other parts of Nova Scotia and beyond. LeBlanc feels that the investment by Caisse Populaire offers two additional benefits – it strengthens the tourism opportunities in the region, and it represents smaller business clients that may benefit from the Festivale, but do not yet have the resources to offer sponsorships.

The Acadian Interpretive Centre is the result of a partnership among Caisse Populaire, the university and the municipality, along with the Arts Council of Clare. The Centre will share space with the Marc Lescarbot Theatre, an art gallery and café, and a tourism information centre..

“We believe that supporting local ventures is not only true to the best tradition of co-operatives, it is good business,” LeBlanc says. “Right now, we’re reviewing our purchasing practices to ensure that we’re buying locally wherever possible, and we continue to look for new ways to reinvest in our community.”

With that level of commitment to community, we can expect to see Caisse Populaire investing in and supporting local ventures for at least another 70 years.