There are 501 credit unions in Canada affiliated with Canadian Central

They have:

•  1,783 locations
• 4.9 million members
• $95 billion in assets
• $81.4 billion in deposits
• $77.5 billion in loans
• 24,000 employees

Together they are the second largest lender to small businesses in Canada.

The first Canadian caisse populaire, or credit union was started in December, 1900 in Levis, Que. by Alphonse Desjardins.

Credit unions are independent, community-based financial institutions, owned and controlled by their members.