Welcome to Co-op Atlantic | Bienvenue à Coop Atlantique

Like most great ideas, the concept for Co-op Atlantic took many years to take root, and many more years to develop into its present form. Although it was incorporated in 1927, the Co-op story really began with two significant developments in the 1910s.

In 1914, Dr. H.S. Arkell, Director of Marketing, Federal Department of Agriculture, announced the appointment of Dr. Hugh MacPherson as the first agricultural field representative in Nova Scotia. A bit of an iconoclast, Arkell believed that, in delivering government aid to farmers, it was more important to focus on the marketing of farm products than improving the science and technology of farming to increase quality and quantity, as previous directors had done. This hotly disputed approach bordered on intervention to some, but not Arkell, and he charged Dr. MacPherson with reforming the marketing of lamb and wool in eastern Nova Scotia.

The second development occurred three years later. F.W. Walsh, A.B. MacDonald and J.K. King shared the idea that farmers could best help themselves and improve the quality of agriculture in the Maritime Provinces if they worked closer together. The idea that farmers should work together and concentrate on marketing may sound revolutionary for its time, but the region's farmers, particularly livestock producers, were taking steps throughout the 1910s to improve their situation by working together in what was known as shipping clubs.

The idea, promoted by the Federal Department of Agriculture, gave producers control over the marketing of their livestock, helping them to create a level playing field and break the back of the drover system. Under this system, middlemen purchased livestock, transported it to market and made a profit, while farmers generally received only a pittance.

More than breaking the drover system, the farmers hoped these efforts would also bring an end to the vicious cycle of debt and farm failures during that decade. One source suggests that, between 1911 and 1921, 6,571 farms were abandoned, taking 791,215 acres out of production. At the same time, the region's rural population declined by 11,544 while urban centres grew by 73,917. It was initiatives like the shipping clubs that stemmed that tide, while helping the livestock industry become the first in North America to integrate to the point where the industry controlled the product from the farm gate to the butcher shop in every major market.

Although the shipping clubs represented a major step forward for the region's farmers, the fieldmen recognized that they could achieve a lot more if they were more organized and adopted a more unified approach to marketing their goods. So the fieldmen set out to establish a central office that would tie together the marketing efforts of the 86 shipping clubs in the three Maritime Provinces. The dream was realized on March 7, 1927 when the Maritime Livestock Board (MLB) was incorporated in Moncton under Subsection II of the Canadian Companies Act.

At the time, the MLB's board of management was comprised of three federal representatives - one from each province - three provincial directors and seven representatives from the livestock clubs. The federal government provided $3,000 in seed money for office space and salaries. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick each contributed $1,000 while PEI provided $500. Mary Fairweather, secretary, was the first employee at MLB's St. George Street office. J.K. King, a Fredericton native and founding officer of the MLB, became the first general manager in May of that year. There would be only two MLB employees for several years.

While the newly launched MLB proved quite successful, it became apparent that it could better serve producers by purchasing grain and other provisions on their behalf. This would give farmers throughout the Maritimes access to a better grade of feed than the hay, grass and corn they were using. Better feed would lead to better livestock, and the best way to ensure farmers had access to better feed was to buy in bulk. So King, with the help of Walsh, then an MLB director, contacted the Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers (CCWP), based in the Prairies, about meeting their needs. The CCWP believed that the MLB was well-established enough that they could work together; all that was needed was someone to oversee the sale of grain.

Meanwhile, the federal government moved, in 1929, to create the Canadian Livestock Co-operative Ltd. to coordinate livestock marketing initiatives at the national level. This prompted a change in name for the MLB to the Canadian Livestock Co-operative (Maritimes) (CLC(M)), and R.M. "Bunny" Elliott replaced King as general manager on a three-year contract.

1920s

1921 - The Bluenose, probably the fastest schooner to ever sail the seas, is launched in Lunenburg, N.S.

1924 - With more automobiles visiting from the mainland, Prince Edward Island moves to join the rest of the continent by switching from left-hand side driving to right-hand side.

1926 - Halifax-based Archibald G. Hunstman is the first person to market frozen fish.

1927 - After centuries of disputes, the British Privy Council cedes control of Labrador to Newfoundland. The decision is not recognized by Quebec.

1929 - Don Messer's first broadcast with the Lumberjacks is carried on CFBO in Saint John, N.B.

1929 - Nova Scotia experiences an earthquake.