Solidarity cooperatives were given legal recognition in Quebec in 1997. By 2012, 579 solidarity cooperatives were registered with the then Ministère du développement économique, de l'innovation et de l'exportation. Drawing from the decade-long history of this cooperative model and three case studies, this article gathers qualitative and quantitative data in order to identify symptomatic practices woven into the organization’s culture and operations, diagnose best and worst practices and propose corrective strategies.

Multi-stakeholder cooperatives (MSCs) are co-ops that are owned and controlled by more than one type of membership class such as consumers, producers, workers, volunteers, or community supporters. Stakeholders can be individuals or organizations such as non-profits, businesses, government agencies, or even other cooperatives. Instead of focusing on the needs of a single membership class, MSCs are often built around a broad mission that addresses the interests of the various stakeholder groups. The number of MSCs in the U.S. is small but growing.