Works and articles
Many works have been published on the life of Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins and the history of Desjardins Group.
Here is some suggested reading to learn more. A brief description of available books and articles, mostly drawn from the magazine Revue Desjardins, is provided to guide you.
Books
Alphonse Desjardins 1854-1920
This biography of Alphonse Desjardins is the result of several years of research leading to the discovery of new and previously unknown information. It draws a multidimensional portrait of the historical character. The history of caisses is presented but without overshadowing the other aspects of his working life.The work presents the caisses founder as the intellectual and entrepreneur that he was.
Guy Bélanger, Alphonse Desjardins 1854-1920, Quebec City, Septentrion, 2012.
Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins, Vol. I (1900-1920)
The first of 3 volumes of Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins covers the period from the founding of the first caisse in 1900 through the death of Alphonse Desjardins in 1920. The study introduces Desjardins's cooperative project, its creation and first phase of development, and provides a great deal of biographical information about the founder of caisses populaires.
Pierre Poulin. Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins, Vol. I (1900-1920). Montreal: Québec/Amérique, 1990.
La Caisse populaire de Lévis 1900-2000. Là où tout a commencé
Produced for the 100th anniversary of Caisse populaire Desjardins de Lévis, the first caisse founded by Alphonse Desjardins in 1900, the book covers the first 100 years of the caisse's history. The first 3 chapters deal specifically with Alphonse Desjardins and provide up until now unpublished biographical information. Available online on the Caisse populaire de Lévis website.
Guy Bélanger in collaboration with Claude Genest. La Caisse populaire de Lévis 1900-2000. Là où tout a commencé. Quebec/Lévis: Éditions Multimondes/Éditions Dorimène, 2000.
Articles
- Alphonse Desjardins, l'un et l'autre (in French only, PDF, 705 KB)
Guy Bélanger and Pierre Poulin, "Alphonse Desjardins, l'un et l'autre", Revue Desjardins, 57, 1 (1991), p. 30-32. - Alphonse Desjardins : ses liens avec la France (in French only, PDF,
613 KB)
Guy Bélanger, "Alphonse Desjardins : ses liens avec la France", Revue Desjardins, 60, 5 (1994), p. 22-23. - The found and the language of Shakespeare (PDF, 291 KB)
Claude Genest, "The Founder and the Language of Shakespeare", Desjardins Magazine, 1, 2 (2006), p. 18. - Alphonse Desjardins and the Ottawa Civil Service Savings and
Loan Society (PDF, 340 KB)
Claude Genest, "Alphonse Desjardins and the Ottawa Civil Service Savings and Loan Society", Desjardins Magazine, 3, 1 (2008), p. 18. - Ottawa, port d'attache d'Alphonse Desjardins (in French only, PDF, 526 KB)
Pierre Poulin in collaboration with Claude Genest, Desjardins Magazine, 69, 6 (2003), p. 40. - Pierre Poulin and Guy Bélanger, "Alphonse Desjardins (1854-1920)", Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Books
Dorimène Desjardins, 1858-1932. Cofondatrice des caisses populaires Desjardins
Produced for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Dorimène Desjardins, this brief biography retraces the life of Alphonse Desjardins's spouse from the perspective of her contribution to the creation and development of caisses populaires.
Guy Bélanger. Dorimène Desjardins, 1858-1932. Cofondatrice des caisses populaires Desjardins, Lévis: Éditions Dorimène, 2008.
Articles
- L'expérience des femmes dans le Mouvement Desjardins
1900-1964 (in French only, PDF, 1.2 MB)
Guy Bélanger. "L'expérience des femmes dans le Mouvement Desjardins 1900-1964", Revue Desjardins, 62, 2 (1996), p. 1-4. - Dorimène, Adrienne, Albertine et les autres (in French only, PDF,
1.6 MB)
Guy Bélanger, "Dorimène, Adrienne, Albertine et les autres", Revue Desjardins, 56, 6 (1990), p. 11-15.
Books
Desjardins: together for 120 years
For the 120th anniversary of Desjardins Group, the book traces the history, development and importance of Desjardins in Quebec, Canada and abroad. It highlights key moments in Desjardins's history, its current vision and its importance in people's lives and hearts. It also introduces you to some 20 figures, employees and partners of Desjardins.
In collaboration with Pierre Cayouette. Desjardins: together for 120 years. Montreal, Les Éditions La Presse, 2021.
Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins
In 3 volumes, Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins by historian Pierre Poulin covers the first 70 years of Desjardins Group history: Vol. I, Desjardins et la naissance des caisses populaires (1900-1920), Vol. II, La percée des caisses populaires (1920-1944) and Vol. III, De la caisse locale au complexe financier (1945-1971)
Pierre Poulin. Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins. Montreal: Québec/Amérique. 1990-1998.
Desjardins 100 ans d'histoire
Published for the 100-year anniversary of Desjardins Group in 2000, the book outlines a century of history. Parts 1, 2 and 3 provide an overview of the 3 volumes of Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins. Part 4 covers the period from 1970 to 2000. The brief work traces the development of Desjardins Group.
Pierre Poulin in collaboration with Andrée Rivard and Pierre Goulet. Desjardins 100 ans d'histoire. Quebec City/Lévis: Éditions Multimondes/Éditions Dorimène, 2000.
Du comptoir au réseau financier. L'expérience historique du Mouvement Desjardins dans la région du centre du Québec
The authors, from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, cover the same period as Pierre Poulin in Histoire du Mouvement Desjardins, but focus on the Centre-du-Québec region. A total of 70 years of history are studied from 4 angles: Desjardins Group's social foundation, seats of authority, internal organization and financial practices.
Yvan Rousseau and Roger Levasseur. Du comptoir au réseau financier. L'expérience historique du Mouvement Desjardins dans la région du centre du Québec, 1909-1970. Montreal: Boréal, 1995.
Desjardins en mouvement. Comment une grande coopérative de services financiers se restructure pour mieux servir ses membres
The book provides an overview of the history of Desjardins Group to show how the need to change gradually emerged, leading to the reorganization of 2000. The authors, working respectively for Société historique Alphonse-Desjardins and HEC Montréal, study the democratic path that led to the decision to reorganize and describe the strategy and steps taken to achieve it, before making a first assessment of the experience.
Pierre Poulin and Benoit Tremblay. Desjardins en mouvement. Comment une grande coopérative de services financiers se restructure pour mieux servir ses members. Lévis/Montreal: Éditions Dorimène/Presses HED Montréal, 2005.
Une tradition de rigueur et d'intégrité. L'inspection et la vérification dans le Mouvement des caisses Desjardins (1901-2005)
Retracing the history of inspection and verification in Desjardins Group, the work describes the evolution of inspection, verification and internal control mechanisms, all essential in maintaining the trust of members. The first century of Desjardins Group history is told from this angle.
Claude Genest and Martine Côté. Une tradition de rigueur et d'intégrité. L'inspection et la vérification dans le Mouvement des caisses Desjardins (1901-2005). Lévis: Éditions Dorimène, 2005.
Desjardins, une entreprise et un mouvement?
The result of a 1996 symposium organized by Université du Québec à Montréal bringing together university researchers in various disciplines and Desjardins Group officers. The main focus was on the challenges and issues stemming from Desjardins Group's double nature as both a movement and company. The work is available online to all members of Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec.
Benoît Lévesque (Dir.) in collaboration with Marie Bouchard, Michel Grant, Luc Desrochers and Francine Jacques. Desjardins, une entreprise et un mouvement? Sainte-Foy: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1997.
100 fois merci à 100 hommes et femmes qui ont contribué à bâtir le Mouvement des caisses Desjardins depuis 100 ans.
For the 100th anniversary of Desjardins Group in 2000, the Confédération published a work containing brief portraits of 100 people who made outstanding contributions to the growth of Desjardins Group during its first century of history. The people were selected from various Desjardins Group components and throughout Quebec as well as Ontario and Manitoba.
100 fois merci à 100 hommes et femmes qui ont contribué à bâtir le Mouvement des caisses Desjardins depuis 100 ans. Lévis: Confédération des caisses populaires et d'économie Desjardins du Québec, 2000.
Articles
- Des moments difficiles dont Desjardins
à su tirer profit - Première partie (in French only, PDF, 661 KB)
Pierre Poulin. "Des moments difficiles dont Desjardins a su tirer profit. Première partie – 1900-1950", Revue Desjardins, 75, 1 (2009), p. 15-16. - Des moments difficiles dont Desjardins
à su tirer profit - Deuxième partie (in French only, PDF, 674 KB)
Pierre Poulin. "Des moments difficiles dont Desjardins a su tirer profit. Deuxième partie – 1950-2000", Revue Desjardins, 75, 2 (2009), p. 24-25. - Just as relevant 110 years later (PDF, 720 KB)
Pierre Poulin in collaboration with Claude Genest. "Just as relevant 110 years later", Desjardins Magazine, 76, 5 (2010) p. 22-23. - Le Mouvement Desjardins et sa vocation éducative (in French only,
PDF, 846 KB)
Guy Bélanger. "Le Mouvement Desjardins et sa vocation educative", Revue Desjardins, 56, 3 (1990), p. 27-29. - Les caisses scolaires (in French only, PDF, 890 KB)
Guy Bélanger. "Les caisses scolaires : de l'épargne du sou à l'éducation économique des jeunes". Revue Desjardins, 56, 4 (1990), p. 29-31. - Les caisses de dotation (in French only, PDF, 883 KB)
Guy Bélanger. "Les caisses de dotation", Revue Desjardins, 59, 1 (1993), p. 22-23. - À chacun son catéchisme (in French only, PDF, 696 KB)
Guy Bélanger. "À chacun son catéchisme…", Revue Desjardins, 67, 4 (2001), p. 29.
Books
Un passeport vers la liberté. Les caisses populaires de l'Ontario de 1912 à 1992
After briefly describing Alphonse Desjardins's cooperative project, the author chronologically covers caisses populaire de l'Ontario's 90 years of history. The links between the caisses and the Franco-Ontarian community are explained, as well as the merger of local caisses. Each caisse populaire founded in Ontario is then individually introduced.
Brigitte Bureau. Un passeport vers la liberté. Les caisses populaires de l'Ontario de 1912 à 1992. Le Mouvement des caisses populaires de l'Ontario, 1992.
De la table de cuisine à la rue principale. 50 ans d'histoire des caisses populaires du Manitoba
Edited by Conseil de la coopération du Manitoba and written by Maurice Gauthier, who had a long career in the Manitoba cooperative movement, the book gives an overview of 50 years of history by theme. The beginnings, institutions, tensions, external image, services and Franco-Manitoban community are each discussed in turn. Each caisse populaire founded in Manitoba is then introduced.
Maurice Gauthier. De la table de cuisine à la rue principale. 50 ans d'histoire des caisses populaires du Manitoba, 1937-1987. Conseil de la coopération du Manitoba, 1987.
Une force qui nous appartient : la Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes
After retracing the first cooperative experiments in the Maritimes, historian Jean Daigle reviews Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes's 50 years of history. The 5 decades are discussed from 5 points of view: the beginnings, nationalists, consolidation, managers and computer systems.
Jean Daigle. Une force qui nous appartient : la Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes, 1946-1986. Moncton: Éditions d'Acadie, 1990.
The Credit Union Movement: Origins and Development 1850 to 1980
Written by 2 university researchers, the book describes Alphonse Desjardins's pioneering role in the U.S. His visits to the country and work there are discussed in the book's first 3 chapters.
J. Carroll Moody and Gilbert C. Fite. The Credit Union Movement: Origins and Development 1850 to 1980. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1984.
Articles
- 1912: New York welcomes Alphonse Desjardins (PDF, 328 KB)
Pierre Poulin. "1912: New York welcomes Alphonse Desjardins", Desjardins Magazine, 68, 5 (2002), p. 28. - Alphonse Desjardins dans l'Ontario français (in French only, PDF,
632 KB)
Guy Bélanger. "Alphonse Desjardins dans l'Ontario français", Revue Desjardins, 69, 3 (2003), p. 22-23. - Pierre Poulin. "Alphonse Desjardins et les Franco-Américains de la Nouvelle-Angleterre", Cap-aux-Diamants : la revue d'histoire du Québec, 61 (2001), p. 48-51. [Online], 2012.
Active on the national and international scene, Desjardins Group has local roots. The basis of the history of the leading cooperative financial group in Canada today, the caisse populaire Desjardins is still today the driving force of Desjardins Group. Each caisse is a reflection of its community and forges its own destiny as well as that of Desjardins Group as a whole.
To celebrate their anniversaries, some caisse have produced works retracing their history. The works provide insight in how the project launched in Lévis by Alphonse Desjardins was developed both locally and collectively. A few examples are provided here.
Works
Caisse populaire de Lévis
Guy Bélanger in collaboration with Claude Genest. La Caisse populaire de Lévis 1900-2000. Là où tout a commencé. Quebec City/Lévis: Éditions MultiMondes/Éditions Dorimène, 2000. Available on the Caisse populaire Desjardins de Lévis website.
Caisse populaire Desjardins de Charlesbourg
Notre passé se conjugue au futur : 1911-2011 (in French only, PDF, 8.6 MB)
Caisse populaire Desjardins de Charlesbourg. Notre passé se conjugue au futur, 1911-2011. [Québec], 2010. Historical texts by Claude Genest and Pierre-Olivier Maheux.
Caisse populaire Desjardins Préfontaine-Hochelaga
100 ans ouvert sur notre monde (in French only, PDF, 2.5 MB)
Caisse populaire Desjardins Préfontaine-Hochelaga. 100 ans ouvert sur notre monde. [Montréal], 2012. Historical texts by Claude Genest and Réjean Charbonneau (Atelier d'histoire d'Hochelaga-Maisonneuve).
Journalist, editor of the Québec Legislative Assembly debates and stenographer at the House of Commons, Alphonse Desjardins earned his living as a writer. When he decided to launch the caisse populaire project, he put his pen to work there too. He wrote thousands of letters, newspaper articles and papers, and wrote and delivered hundreds of lectures on the subject of caisses.
In 1912, École sociale populaire published a few months apart 2 brochures by Alphonse Desjardins entitled La Caisse populaire I and La Caisse populaire II. These are among the founders most well-known writings. The first brochure, more theoretical, explains the goals of the savings and credit cooperative and the way caisses populaires work. The second is an illustration of how caisses in various communities work based on concrete examples.
Here is the 4th edition of 1944, combining both brochures and with a foreword by Cyrille Vaillancourt, then general manager of the provincial Fédération.
La Caisse populaire (in French only, PDF, 8.1 MB)
Alphonse Desjardins. La Caisse
populaire, nos. 7 and 12. Montreal: Secrétariat de l'École Sociale Populaire, 1944 (1912).
