История и развитие кредитной кооперации UNI Financial Cooperation в Нью-Брансуике.

Caisse populaire acadienne ltée, operating as UNI Financial Cooperation , is a Francophone credit union based in New Brunswick, Canada whose members are primarily Acadians. UNI's administrative headquarters are in Caraquet on the Acadian Peninsula. The Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes (the Fédération) was founded on December 3, 1946, shortly after the New Brunswick Credit Union League, created in 1938 as part of the popular Antigonish Movement, was divided into two separate entities. Factors that have contributed to the Mouvement's success were the catastrophic economic situation during the Great Depression, the minority status of the Acadians, and the dedication of its proponents, who included Livain Chiasson and first president, Martin J. Légère. In 2014, the Mouvement des caisses populaires acadiennes (the Mouvement), comprising the Fédération, its supporting institutions and subsidiaries, adopted a “collective bridging” (merger) project resolution. 91% of members were in favour when the change was put to a vote. The Fédération became a single administrative entity with the merger of its 15 individual credit unions (caisses), operating 51 business locations from its headquarters in Caraquet. As of December 31, 2016, UNI Financial Cooperation had 155,000 members and billion in assets. Community involvement focuses mainly on education and youth, the institution giving nearly $2.1 million in 2016 in the form of scholarships, donations and sponsorships. The current chair of the Board of Directors is Pierre Marcel Desjardins. Camille H. Thériault became chief executive officer for the second time on August 16, 2023.

Before World War I, Acadian economic activities were mainly traditional, such as fishing and farming. There were few companies, and finance was controlled by English speakers. The first farmers’ bank was founded in Prince Edward Island in 1859. Numerous other cooperatives followed, notably a fishers’ cooperative founded in 1915 in Chéticamp, Nova Scotia, which triggered the hostility of certain merchants. The first Francophone caisse populaire was founded in Richibouctou the same year, inspired by the Caisse Desjardins in Quebec. Along with another caisse founded in 1917, it was not as successful as hoped. The precarious situation of the fishers’ cooperative led the federal government to launch a royal commission, the MacLean Commission, in 1927. The fishers proposed many solutions, and established their own study circles and associations. The recommendations in the commission report, published two years later, included setting up an adult education system and providing financial support for efforts to organize. Already struggling in the post war period, the Acadians were hard hit by the Great Depression of 1929. Every sector of their economy was disrupted, and the effects of the crisis continued to be felt through 1941. The federal government finally responded to the royal commission's recommendations in 1930. Study circles became very popular, and many publications were distributed at their meetings. Information was also circulated in media publications, including L’Évangéline, which presented cooperation as the only means of distributing wealth. Study circles among the Acadians in New Brunswick grew between 1936 and 1941, from 200 to 744 with 7,000 members. The most important figure in the Mouvement was Livain Chiasson. Agronomists also promoted cooperative principles at farmers’ circles and agricultural societies, and in 1935 called for legislation to be passed allowing the establishment of credit unions. According to Jean Daigle, the success of the cooperatives was due not only to the catastrophic economic circumstances and the dedication of their proponents but also to the minority status of the Acadians.

The headquarters of UNI Financial Cooperation are located in Édifice Martin J. Légère in Caraquet. UNI Financial Cooperation is led by a board of directors chaired by Pierre Marcel Desjardins. Among many sponsorships, the Fédération des Caisses populaires acadiennes and the SACPA became main sponsors of the Jeux de l’Acadie in 1987. In 1999, the Mouvement sponsored the Village de la Francophonie in Dieppe alongside the 8th Francophonie Summit. Its largest sponsorship was of the Canada Winter Games in Bathurst Campbellton in 2003.

+List of CEOs of UNI Financial CooperationNo. NameStart date1Martin J. Légère19472Richard Savoie19813Raymond Gionet19894Gilles Lepage19945Camille H. Thériault20046Robert Moreau20177Camille H. Thériault2023

+List of Chairs of the Board of Directors of UNI Financial CooperationNo. NameStart date1eHervé Michaud1945 2Ulysse Gaudet19463René E. Leblanc 19724Réal Chiasson 19805Kenneth Johnson 19886Norbert Sivret 19937Gilles Couturier 19978Gérard Bertin 20009Roland Cormier 200210Guilda Landry 200511Brian L. Comeau 200812Pierre Marcel Desjardins2012