Atlantic Canada's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 18
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ATLANTIC CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Brunswick Credit Union invests in its communities
N
ear the end of last
year, Jenna McEwen
and some of her
Brunswick Credit
Union colleagues
were sitting in a Moncton school
gymnasium, using Pokémon
cards and other toys to teach
elementary school students the
basics of budgeting. Each child
who approached their table was
given a spending limit of $6.50,
and told the dollar value of each
item, with the task of purchasing
their preferred toys while staying
on budget.
The outreach was part of
Brunswick’s Each One Teach
One initiative to provide basic
financial education to community
members. The program is
delivered in partnership with
community organizations by
Brunswick employees who
volunteer their time and are
certified by the Canadian Credit
Union Association.
“It’s a really good initiative,” says
McEwen, a commercial account
manager at Brunswick’s Moncton
branch. “It fosters what the credit
union stands for: we’re part of the
community and we’re trying to
grow our community.”
That community focus is
what draws so many employees
to Brunswick, and is a major
factor in retention, says CEO Lisa
Loughery. The New Brunswickbased financial institution— the
result of a 2023 merger of Bayview
Credit Union, Advance Savings
Credit Union and Progressive
Credit Union — prides itself on a
“very low turnover rate,” Loughery
says.
“There’s a camaraderie — we
all care about each other and the
communities we live in. We’re
trying to do our best for them,”
Loughery says. “Our staff love
what we do as a company and
take pride in it – and our success
doesn’t happen without them.”
The credit union also sets an
annual goal to give a certain
percentage of its net profit back
to the communities in which
it operates. In 2024, Brunswick
dispensed $160,000 in community
grants and student bursaries. It
also participates in a regional
credit union system initiative that
gives employees $50 twice a year
to spend at local businesses and to
donate to local causes.
Loughery says her own
tenure with Brunswick and one
of its predecessor credit unions
is because of that culture. She
started working for Bayview as a
teller when she was 18 and fresh
out of high school, and worked
for the credit union for 15 years,
hopscotching through “every role
there was.” After leaving for stints
at two big banks, Loughery came
back to Bayview in 2015 as CEO
and led it through the eventual
three-way merger.
Our staff love what we
do as a company and take
pride in it – and our success
doesn’t happen without
them.
— Lisa Loughery
CEO
Brunswick Credit Union celebrates its employees during Staff Appreciation Night.
“I loved working for the bank
also and enjoyed what I did, but
the strategy is delivered to you.
With the credit union, we have
the opportunity to create our own
plans and our own strategy,” she
says. “We’re able to do things for
our members that a large bank is
not able to do.”
Another factor in Brunswick’s
low turnover is its support for
employees’ professional development, Loughery says. The institution provides financial support
for courses that are requisites for
a new role and has job-shadowing
opportunities.
