The Policy Win Co-op Developers Have Been Waiting For!

The federal government’s 2026 Spring Economic Statement, delivered April 28 2026 by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, includes a significant victory for the worker co-operative movement in Canada: the $10 million capital gains tax exemption for business sales to worker co-operatives and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) is now permanent.

This is a measure Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) and the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF) have long advocated for, and it directly addresses Canada’s looming small business succession crisis.

Why permanence matters

Until now, business owners considering a co-operative conversion faced uncertainty about whether this tax relief would remain available. Meaningful succession planning takes time, and temporary measures don’t give owners the confidence they need to commit. This now puts Canada on par with practices in the US and UK, and signals that employee and worker ownership is a recognized and supported pathway for business transition and succession planning.

The policy also serves a broader economic purpose: anchoring businesses and their wealth within Canadian communities rather than risking loss to external acquisition.

What comes next

The political commitment is clear. CMC and CWCF will now work closely with Finance Canada officials to ensure the final legislative drafting in the Income Tax Act fully protects qualifying co-operative conversions. CoopZone will be following this process closely and will keep our members informed.

For more detail on the full Spring Economic Statement and its implications for the co-operative sector, read CMC’s full analysis here.