In Whose Interest? Quebec's Caisses Populaires, 1900-1945

K.V. Nagarjan is an assistant professor of Commerce and Administration
at Laurentian University.

Both Alfonse Desjardins and the turn-of-the-century caisse populaire
movement he founded in Quebec are surrounded by myths. In Whose
Interest? attempts to go beyond the myths and view the movement in its
broad historical context. Rudin takes us beyond the balance sheets and
classification tables to portray the origin and growth of caisses
populaires within the socioeconomic and political milieu facing
Desjardins and his successors. Although the book is slim,
chronologically confusing in places, repetitive, and written in a
subdued academic style, it abounds in clarifying and insightful
observations.

From the massive amount of archival material made available to him, the
author has chosen to work with a representative sample of members from
five caisses. These data help the author unmask the myth and reveal the
true visage, not so much an ugly as a normal one, with warts and all.

Rudin is dealing with a dramatic period in Quebec’s history. All the
cross-currents brought about by European immigration, modernization, the
rise of the urban middle class, and anglophone penetration into the
Quebec economy eventually found their way into the boardrooms of the
caisses populaires. Rudin’s style does not convey the sense of drama
that could be built into the narrative, but he deftly moves back and
forth from the larger society to the decision-making dilemmas faced by
the leaders of the caisses populaires. To his credit, he resists passing
judgments; he merely holds up the mirror of historical analysis. In the
process, he explores how discrepancies between rhetoric and reality
ultimately left a legacy of ambiguities in both purpose and policy.

The conflicting perspectives brought about by the changing times
persisted through the Great Depression and World War II, culminating (as
does Rudin’s narrative) in the famous Schism of 1945—at which point
the Montreal-area caisses split from the provincial federation to escape
centralization. Rudin links the struggles within the caisses to the
larger political debates within Quebec society. The issues grappled with
by the leaders of the caisses populaires are Canadian perennials:
centralization versus decentralization, inclusion versus exclusion, and
autonomy versus government dependence. Given the current constitutional
debate, one is tempted to suggest that the caisses populaires may serve
as a metaphor for Canada.