Manitoba's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 16
MANITOBA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
16
Arctic Co-ops aims to retain wealth in the North
D
uane Wilson,
vice-president,
stakeholder
relations, at Arctic
Co-operatives
Limited, had already spent a
decade in the co-op sector before
he came to Arctic Co-ops in 2008.
But when he had a chance to jump
there, he took it. “I had always
found it empowering to work
where decisions were not based
solely on cost-benefit analysis or
return on equity, but on the real
lives of real people,” Wilson says.
At Arctic Co-ops, we
have this vision of
people in isolated
communities working
together to improve
their social and
economic well-being,
and it’s a vision we can
all rally behind.
— Duane Wilson
Vice-President,
Stakeholder Relations
And nothing he had previously
done seemed as crucial to him
as the work of Arctic Co-ops in
coordinating the supply and
delivery of essentials — from fuel
to fresh food — to 32 member
co-ops spread across the Canadian
Arctic. “It was a question of who
was served, what was provided
and to whom the benefits
ultimately accrued, and my
answer to that is what prompted
my move 18 years ago,” says
Wilson.
Employees at Arctic Co-operatives come together during Pride Month to celebrate a diverse and inclusive
workplace culture.
“At Arctic Co-ops, we have
this vision of people in isolated
communities working together to
improve their social and economic
well-being, and it’s a vision we can
all rally behind.”
Since then, Wilson has seen
Arctic Co-ops, a federation owned
by its member co-ops, significantly
bolster food security in the
Arctic through such measures
as organizing the dispatch of
several tonnes of donated food to
northern communities annually
and funding a local hunter
sponsorship program that helps
keep recipients supplied with fuel
and ammunition.
In tandem with expanding its
services to community residents,
Arctic Co-ops has also expanded
its benefits for the 140 employees
at its Winnipeg home office.
“The mental health supports
that staff have now didn’t exist in
2008, for example, nor the flexible
health and wellness spending
accounts,” Wilson says. “We have
annual engagement surveys and
continuous one-on-ones with
people, and the organization has
been very responsive in meeting
the evolving needs of employees
as well as members.”
Communications coordinator
Kaitlin Hardy feels the same way
about Arctic Co-ops’ workplace
culture. The organization has a
hybrid work option she values
highly. And it offers staff ample
opportunities to learn and
advance in their careers, says
Hardy, who began there in 2019
as an administrative assistant and
now runs all its internal websites.
Then are those flexible spending
accounts.
“One thing actually covered is
veterinary bills. I have two dogs
and every year, I have to get
wood tick and heart disease pills
and the cost is almost a thousand
dollars, so that benefit is very
helpful to me,” she says. “This is
a place I really love, one that
really values their employees.”
And its remote members.
“What makes my role especially
rewarding to me is that our
communication work doesn’t
