Bromberger played a prominent role in the development of Credit Union Central of Canada and the Canadian Co-operative Association. He served on the first board of CCA and continually showed commitment to co-operation among co-operatives. In addition, Bromberger made commitments to innovation, education and to the development of co-operatives in poor communities in Canada and internationally. Under his leadership, SaskCentral was the first provincial central to commit to a per-member pledge to the Co-operative Development Foundation (CDF). Bromberger’s commitment to co-operation and co-operatives continues to live today, through his legacy of outstanding leadership and a bursary named after him.

The Antigonish Movement evolved from the pioneering work of Rev. Dr. Moses Coady and Rev. Jimmy Tompkins in the 1920s. The local community development movement originated as a response to the poverty afflicting famers, fishers, miners and other disadvantaged groups in Eastern Canada. Dr. Coady and his associates used a practical and successful strategy of adult education and group action that   began with the immediate economic needs of the local people.

Recognizing the leadership of Dr. Coady and his inherent dignity of every person, in 1928 he was asked by the St. F.X. Board of Governors to establish the university’s extension department, and was appointed the first director.

The Coady International Institute continues to believe in a participatory group process of development based on adult education and socioeconomic co-operation to effect positive change in both local and global institutions and structures.

At the international level, Glen was one of the visionaries who created the World Council of Credit Unions.

Also active at the community level, Glen was always a strong advocate of credit unions and mobilized the membership of his community credit union to form the Mid-Island Co-op.

Once an instructor at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, he held a strong interest in economic, social and religious issues and was very involved in the Social Gospel activities of the Methodist Church.

In 1914 he helped organize the United Farmers’ Co-operative in   Ontario, becoming its first President. Good was a proponent for    farmers’ unity and founded the Canadian Council of Agriculture in 1909 with E.C. Drury and E.A. Partridge. He was a prominent     member of the Progressive Party of Canada and was elected to the House of Commons in 1921, representing Brant as its Member of Parliament until 1925.

During this time, Good was also elected President of the Co-operative Union of Canada, and he served in this position from 1921 to 1945. Good was a strong advocate of co-operative action and was greatly influenced by George Keen.

In 1922, Harpell established the Institute of Industrial Arts, and the St. Anne’s Study Club, which were aimed at industrial workers, particularly in the pulp and paper industry. Some of the courses were held at Garden City Press for which Harpell would pay the full tuition for his employees if they chose to attend. Completion of the courses were then used as incentives for the promotion of employees. In 1935, in a show of solidarity for community development, adult education and co-operatives during the Depression, Harpell used Garden City Press to publish literature for the Antigonish Movement.

Peter Hlushko dedicated his adult life and career to co-operatives. His career in the co-operative sector began with the United Co-operatives of Ontario, where he worked for many years as a Training Manager and later as the Director of Personnel. In 1970, Peter began his 20 year career with The Co-operators, first in Personnel and then he moved into the Democratic Process and Corporate Secretary role. He was also very active in the co-operative community where he served as President of the Association of Co-operative Educators (ACE), Chair of the Co-operative College of Canada, and Director and Executive Committee member of the Canadian Co-operative Association.

George Keen was a passionate leader, committed to promoting co-operatives, educating managers and directors about co-operatives and being an overall spokesperson for the Co-operative Union and all things co-operative.

In addition, Keen wrote and edited the monthly journal, The Canadian Co-operator, for more than 3 decades. He remained loyal to the CUC through growth years and through periods of decline and doubt, and though all the years, he never stopped believing in the potential of co-ops and in the potential of ordinary people to start locally governed co-ops.

George Keen committed the better part of his life to building the movement and a national voice for co-operatives. He led the CUC and supported the co-operative movement through two world wars, a Depression, and through several attacks launched by private businesses against co-operatives. Without Keen’s loyalty and commitment, the CUC may not have survived and without him Canada would not be celebrating its Century of Co-operation in 2009.

Additionally, the renowned leadership of Laidlaw served the cause of the co-operative movement for over forty years in a variety of contexts and through a variety of roles. Some of these roles included being a director of a co-operative in his native Port Hood, NS, international work in both India and Sri Lanka, an adult educator, and General Secretary of the Co-operative Union of Canada from 1958-1968.

Laidlaw was also a prolific writer, authoring several books, including Co-operatives in the Year 2000, a book that reflected Laidlaw’s beliefs in the social purpose of the co-op movement while always advocating sound business methods for co-operative organizations.

Dr. MacDonald was active on the Board of Directors of Credit Union Central of Nova Scotia, from the formation of the organization in 1938 and throughout his life. Through MacDonald’s position as Director on the Board of the Nova Scotia League, he became Vice-President of the Credit Union National Association in 1941, later becoming a Director of the Credit Union National Association Supply Co-operative. From there, he was appointed as a Director to hold the positions of Treasurer, Secretary, Vice-President and finally President of the CUMIS Board of Directors, based in Madison, Wisconsin. This level of involvement in CUMIS has not yet been duplicated by another Canadian.

A former President of Credit Union Central of Nova Scotia, Tom MacIntyre said of Dr. MacDonald that “few men have shown greater interest in improving the condition of the poor, the oppressed, and the so-called ‘little people’ than Dr. MacDonald”. His leadership in organizing many types of co-operatives is legendary throughout Canada and the United States.

In 1925 Violet McNaughton became the editor of the Western Producer, an ag publication delivered to farm families across the Prairie provinces.

Topolnicky was the driving force behind the Ukrainian credit union movement in Canada and the free world. He organized several co-operative initiatives including: the first Ukrainian credit union in Canada—“Nova Hromada” (The New Community) in Saskatoon in 1939; Kalyna Co-operative in Winnipeg; and the second Ukrainian credit union—the Savings Credit Union Carpathia, in 1940. This credit union is still operating as Carpathia Credit Union and has been proudly serving its members for the past 70 years.

Through Topolnicky’s active participation, he was a part of the founding of six credit unions between 1943 and 1953. For his leading role in the co-operative movement, Topolnicky received several awards including the Ukrainian Canadian Committee’s Shevchenko Medal, a Community Service Award from the City of Winnipeg and posthumously in 2003, the Distinguished Co-operator Award from the Manitoba Co-operative Association.

Wood saw the UFA as a means to improve society as a whole, as the well being of the farm guaranteed the well being of all. During his presidency strong women's and youth movements were established and rural health care was dramatically improved.

Wood was at the forefront in the development of the Alberta Wheat Pool, a voluntary co-operative organized to create stability in the wheat market and enabled Alberta farmers to pool their resources and remain competitive without government interventions.

The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that “Wood’s influence among Prairie farmers was based on widespread respect for his sincerity, religious conviction and devotion to the farmers cause. A gifted orator with a powerful personality, he was a cautious leader who never embraced new issues prematurely, and he was effective as a conciliator.” Wood’s leadership made UFA and the Alberta Wheat Pool powerful co-operative forces in their early years.