The Year Ahead for Credit Unions

2025 tested credit union resilience – and 2026 will be no different.

In an environment that combines both incremental, continuous change and rapid disruption, credit unions have continued to demonstrate and cultivate resilience. They have supported members through economic volatility, invested in communities, and upheld a cooperative model that remains deeply valued by millions of Canadians.

But pressure and change continue, unabated. Credit unions are in a fundamentally different competitive, societal, technological and economic context than when most were founded.

As 2025 drew to a close and credit unions looked ahead to 2026, we spoke with credit union Board Chairs, CEOs, system leaders, and regulators across the country. These were not crisis conversations. They were thoughtful, measured reflections from leaders who understand the responsibility of stewardship – and who recognize that governance, more than ever, matters.

As this year begins, those conversations offer something valuable: clarity.

Not certainty. Not easy answers. But a clearer view of the priorities boards are being called to hold. The pages that follow explore five of those priorities – emerging not from theory, but from lived governance experience across the system.

A Sector Under Pressure

Credit unions are operating in a time of challenge, and transition. Competitive intensity is rising. Technology expectations are accelerating. Regulatory demands are increasing in both scope and complexity. Demographic realities are reshaping who credit unions serve – and who is prepared to lead them. These pressures are not theoretical. They are structural, cumulative, and systemic.

As the CCUA’s Stronger Together, Sooner paper notes, competing effectively now requires sustained investment in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance, and innovation – investments that are increasingly difficult for credit unions to absorb independently, due to both scale and access to capital. As a result, consolidation has accelerated, often driven less by ambition or strategic opportunity than by necessity.

“If our focus is preserving what we have today, we miss what members will need tomorrow. Boards need to be future-focused.”

– Bob Armstrong   Board Chair, Coast Capital

From our conversations with credit union Chairs, CEOs, system leaders, and regulators, one message came through clearly: the future of the sector will be shaped as much by governance choices as by market forces.

Boards are being asked to do more than oversee stability. They are being asked to steward relevance, guide transformative strategy (including consultation, technology and competitive difference), and lead with courage in an environment that rewards speed, scale, and clarity of purpose.

Five Governance Priorities Emerging Across the Sector

Drawing from in-depth conversations with Board Chairs and CEOs, we see five priorities defining the next chapter of credit union governance.

1. Re-anchoring Purpose and Making it Operational

“Member orientation is the heart of this system, but we haven’t exercised enough imagination in how that purpose shows up in the world today.”

– Shawn Neumann   Board Chair, First West Credit Union

The Challenge

Credit unions are purpose-driven by design, given their connection to local communities and commitment to member-focused outcomes. Yet many boards struggle to translate that purpose into strategic direction in a competitive, digitized marketplace. Purpose risks are becoming symbolic rather than directional.

Several leaders spoke candidly about the danger of drifting toward “bank-like” behaviour – not because boards intend to abandon cooperative values, but because pressure, complexity, and regulation can crowd out purpose-grounded reflection, and can narrow the focus towards organizational and financial sustainability, rather than broader impact.

What We’re Seeing in Practice

Leading boards are reframing and embedding purpose as a governance tool, not a historical statement. Purpose is increasingly used to test decisions about strategy, mergers, investment, technology, and community presence.

Some are asking harder questions:

• Who are we here to serve – now and in the future?
• Where does our cooperative model genuinely differentiate us?
• What trade-offs are we willing to make to preserve that difference?

Leaders we spoke to emphasized that purpose must evolve alongside member needs, not remain fixed in past narratives. They are ready to face the tough questions around what brings value and relevance now and in the future.

Key Takeaway

Purpose is not a constraint on change, it is the lens that should guide it. Boards that use purpose actively are better positioned to make strategic choices, and to maintain a strong and relevant identity.

2. Governing for Relevance in a Changing Member Base

“If you look honestly at the demographics, the question becomes unavoidable: who are we really building these institutions for?”

– Rob Paterson    President and CEO, Alterna Savings

The Challenge

Demographic trends are reshaping the sector. Credit unions continue to enjoy deep loyalty among older members, but attracting the business and loyalty of other generations is a real and growing concern.

As CCUA data highlights, the proportion of members over 55 continues to rise, while younger participation declines.

As Brian Harris, CEO of Beem Credit Union said, “The risk is relevance… the speed with which we can respond to a younger demographic. A significant number of credit union members are older than the Canadian population – this is a risk.”

What We’re Seeing in Practice

Progressive boards are elevating relevance to a governance issue – not an operational metric. They are:

• treating loss of relevance as a strategic risk
• linking member experience directly to long-term sustainability
• scrutinizing whether products, channels, and service models reflect how people actually live and bank today, and tomorrow
• seeking a differentiated value proposition that leans into a credit union’s unique advantages

Some boards are explicitly wrestling with what relevance to future members looks like, and what difference a credit union can uniquely bring. Others are challenged to face these conversations with sufficient urgency

Key Takeaway

Relevance is a governance responsibility that requires courage – honouring what has been built while being willing to let go of what no longer serves. Boards that engage this tension are better positioned to align strategy, investment, and purpose with future member needs.

3. Rebalancing Representation and Capability at the Board

“We have sought banking and CU experience… but all directors must also understand the collaborative purpose.

– Michelle Wassenaar    Board Chair, DUCA Financial Service Credit Union

“We had to be explicit about the skills needed at the board table. Representation still matters, but it has to be matched with readiness.”

– David Losier    Board Chair, UNI Financial Cooperation

The Challenge

Board membership was historically shaped by representation and democratic legitimacy; the membership seeing itself in the credit union’s governance. Today, credit unions vary in terms of how they adopt the principle of Democratic Member Control when it comes to board membership – particularly when they seek expertise to navigate complexity and risk. System leaders shared that governance capability varies significantly, with some facing acute challenges in building boards with the breadth of experience to govern, and to guide a CEO, in a demanding context.

As Mehrdad Rastan, EVP, Credit Union and Insurance Prudential at FSRA & Board Chair of Credit Union Prudential Supervisors Association (CUPSA) said, “The business and regulatory environment are not getting simpler. Boards don’t need to be technical experts – but they do need sufficient depth and breadth of experience to understand the implications of their decisions.”

What We’re Seeing in Practice

Some boards find conversations about shifting their approach deeply uncomfortable due to culture and long-standing practices; or because it feels like a reflection on the quality of their governance today. Others are deploying a range of models (some requiring a redesign of bylaws and practices) to seek both legitimacy and fulsome capability. These include:

• competency-based recruitment within elected frameworks
• hybrid boards that blend elected and appointed/independent directors
• clearer expectations and structured feedback around director contributions
• pipeline approaches to prepare, attract and cultivate future candidates

Key Takeaway

Representation builds legitimacy; capability sustains it. One of the board’s most important responsibilities is to continually raise the bar on its own expertise and performance, so members know governance is in strong hands.

4. Renewing Cooperation in a Fragmented System

“The strength of member-based systems is collective purpose, but purpose only creates momentum when governance is willing to lead.”

– Jeff Guthrie    President & CEO, Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA)

The Challenge

Cooperation has long been the sector’s defining strength – and one of its growing tensions. As institutions grow larger and more competitive, and are increasingly under pressure to ensure survival and drive organizational performance, system-level collaboration has become harder to sustain.

At the same time, there is growing recognition across the sector that scale is increasingly essential to fund technology, manage compliance, and compete with banks and fintechs. Some leaders we spoke to deeply believe that cooperation is the answer to achieving the benefits scale without losing community relevance.

What We’re Seeing in Practice

Boards are confronting a difficult paradox: acting in the best interests of their own institution while recognizing that the health of the system matters, and that there is a complex, multi-layered interplay between them.

Some leaders expressed concern that collaboration models designed decades ago no longer fit today’s realities. Others emphasized that mergers, partnerships, and shared services require governance courage – not just operational logic. Either way, there is a sense that collaboration in the sector can sometimes be more talk than action, and action is strongly needed.

A core challenge is the absence of any body whose primary mandate is system health. While many organizations care deeply about the strength and sustainability of the system, those concerns must always be balanced against their own organizational missions, limiting the conditions for sustained collaboration.

Key Takeaway

System stewardship is emerging as a core governance responsibility. The future of cooperation will depend on boards willing to lead beyond institutional boundaries. If credit unions believe that cooperation is part of strategic difference, they will need to govern to sustain that difference.

5. Leading Through Uncertainty With Pace and Discipline

“The biggest risk right now is standing still. Boards are diligent and well-intentioned – but the environment is moving faster than our governance habits.”

– Rita Parikh     Board Chair, Vancity

The Challenge

The pace of change is testing traditional governance rhythms. AI, consumer-driven banking, cybersecurity risk, economic and geopolitical shifts, and regulatory reform are moving faster than many board cycles – and there are next waves on the horizon, such as the advent of quantum computing.

Several leaders noted that boards can be diligent and engaged – and still too slow.

What We’re Seeing in Practice

Boards are adapting by:

• shortening strategy cycles
• increasing informal check-ins with management
• spending more time on foresight and risk appetite
• embedding digital literacy into governance expectations

Rather than attempting to master every technical detail, effective boards are focusing on asking better questions, earlier.

Key Takeaway

Modern governance is less about certainty and more about readiness. Boards that combine discipline with agility are better positioned to lead through disruption. Boards have to question their own practices and rhythms; are they fostering or suppressing agility?

From Structure to Stewardship

Where Credit Unions Are Headed

Across these conversations, a clear shift is underway. Governance is moving beyond structure, compliance, and representation toward something more demanding – and more impactful.

“We can’t do this alone – not when the scale of investment, risk, and capability required is growing faster than any one institution can absorb independently.”

– Michelle Wassenaar    Board Chair, DUCA Financial Service Credit Union

The future of credit unions will not be determined solely by market forces or regulatory reform. It will be shaped by boards willing to:

• clarify purpose
• govern for relevance
• rebalance capability and legitimacy
• renew cooperation
• and lead decisively in uncertainty

As the system continues to consolidate and adapt, the question facing boards is not whether change will come, but how intentionally it will be shaped.

Where Your Board Can Start

Some practical tips on where you can start. These are areas where boards most often benefit from structured support and an external lens.

Board time on strategy

Create space for real conversations about relevance and purpose. Broaden the strategic frame beyond historically grounded assumptions so emerging member needs, risks, and opportunities can be surfaced and debated.

Board evaluation and continuous improvement

Assess the board’s contribution to relevance, foresight, and strategic value. Include management’s perspective – research consistently shows gaps between how boards view their effectiveness and how management experiences it.

Board skills and renewal

Make your board matrix assessment a little uncomfortable (granular, not just self-assessment, etc.) and embrace it in a spirit of courageous leadership. Consider what processes and practices for renewal, including nominations practices, need to evolve to bring boardroom strength.

Board-Management dialogue

Strengthen the quality of engagement, not just the frequency. Focus on how the board adds value in complex, ambiguous decisions, where experience, judgment, and perspective matter most.

Download a copy of the report here.