Desjardins banks: Preliminary notes on a global Catholic network

Within a generation of Alphonse Desjardins’s death in 1920, his caisses populaires had grown by staggering proportions in Quebec. Much less familiar is the story of their international spread. This article offers a preliminary exploration of how Catholics in Quebec and Antigonish, Nova Scotia, spearheaded a vast network of banks inspired by the Church’s social teaching. It identifies key characteristics of the banks, as well as some early promoters. It divides the mid-century history of the banks into two main periods: the first expansion in the 1930s–1950s and the second phase in the 1960s–1970s. As a preliminary exploration, the article is suggestive by design. It aims to spur more research on this important movement, which has the potential to offer unique insight into Canadian and Quebecois contributions to global Catholic networks.