Our History, Our Heritage

Co-ops have a long history of serving members in Western Canada.

For 90 years Heritage Co-op has proudly served our members and communities. In 1929, we started as Minnedosa Consumers Co-op with just 35 members. Today, Heritage Co-op serves over 28,000 members with nearly 400 team members in seven communities – Minnedosa, Brandon, Wawanesa, Erickson, Sandy Lake, Strathclair & Rivers.

Giving back to our communities over the years has been a tradition we are proud of. Proud of our longstanding involvement in the communities we serve, Heritage Co-op invites you to visit our many locations. We want you to know “You’re at home here”. Since 1929, Heritage Co-op has seen many changes, expansions and partnerships that have shaped where our co-operative is today:

1929 - Minnedosa Consumers Co-op
In 1929, farmers in the area formed the Minnedosa Consumers Co-op Ltd with 35 members and assets of $1,800 in cash. Farm fuel was the first commodity, sold from a 330-gallon tank on a truck. The following year, sales expanded to include coal and twine.

1943 - 1965 Expansion
By 1943, Minnedosa Co-op moved into a line of groceries, dry goods and appliances, and in 1952 we added a lumberyard. Minnedosa Co-op built a service station next to the store in 1956, and the grocery store was eventually replaced by a modern shopping centre in 1965.

1983 - Heritage Co-op
In 1982, the Brandon Co-op closed and Minnedosa Co-op bought their petroleum and agro divisions, including the Wawanesa location. With this expansion outside the Minnedosa area, we changed our name to Heritage Co-op in 1983.

1997 - Erickson Co-op Amalgamation
Erickson Co-op amalgamated with Heritage Co-op in 1997, increasing our membership and adding a food store and gas bar to our locations.

2000 - New Food Store Opens in Minnedosa
Heritage Co-op replaced the grocery shopping centre in Minnedosa, built in 1965, with the construction of a new food market concept store featuring the addition of a bakery, deli and coffee shop in 2000.

2003 – Brandon Food Store and Gas Bar Open in Brandon
Heritage Co-op made a major expansion in 2003, opening a new food store in Brandon. This was a huge undertaking, to re-enter the Brandon market and replace the food facility lost by the Brandon Co-op in 1982. Alongside the Brandon Food Store on Richmond, we built a gas bar and touchless car wash. Our team members doubled when the Richmond locations opened, and our membership quickly grew with the success of these new locations.

2005 - Sandy Lake Co-op and Erickson Renovations
Heritage Co-op purchased the Sandy Lake food and hardware store in 2005 and updated the premises in 2006. We completed renovations to modernize the Erickson Food Store and Gas Bar in 2005.

2007 - 2008 Cardlock and Gas Bars
In 2007, we built a brand new cardlock facility in Brandon at our 6th Street location. One year later, we opened another cardlock at Minnedosa. Heritage Co-op continued to expand our business in Brandon, opening a state of the art 8-lane gas bar, convenience store and touchless car wash on 18th Street.

2009 - Minnedosa Agro and Gas Bar
Heritage Co-op opened a new farm hardware sales floor in the relocation of the agro division across from the Minnedosa cardlock site. We also opened two large mechanic bays, replacing those at the Minnedosa Gas Bar that was upgraded to a modern gas bar with wand car wash bays in the same year.

2013 - Erickson Home Centre and Brandon Bulk / Cardlock
Heritage Co-op replaced the cardlock at Highway 1 & 10 with a brand new 7-lane cardlock facility, built beside the new corporate bulk that opened in early 2013. In the spring, we purchased the Rona lumberyard in Erickson and converted it to our new Erickson Home Centre that opened its doors in late May.

2015 – Brandon Pharmacy
The Brandon Food Store began offering a new service for members in 2015, when we added a Pharmacy at this location.

2015 – Brandon Ag Site
With the purchase of Westman Aerial Spraying, located eight miles east of Brandon, Heritage Co-op opened our Brandon Ag Site in early 2015. This site was a key component to expanding our business, offering farming operations in the Brandon and surrounding area full-service products and services from a knowledgeable agronomy staff and reliable service team.

2017 – Administration Office in Minnedosa
In 2017, Heritage Co-op officially opened our new Administration Office on Main Street in Minnedosa. Growth within the organization in terms of sales and administration positions created the need for an expanded space, and an opportunity for continued growth.

2018 – Brandon Food Store Renovation
The Brandon Food Store, opened in 2003, received a major renovation and significant upgrades throughout 2018. The result was a more modern and efficient store with several new product lines and offerings. The Grand Re-Opening for this location in summer 2018 celebrated and showcased the substantial changes to this location.

2018 – Amalgamation with Strathclair Consumers Co-op
In 2018, the members of Heritage Co-op and Strathclair Co-op approved the resolution to amalgamate, moving forward as Heritage Co-op 1997 Ltd. The amalgamation with Strathclair Co-op added an ag site, a home centre, and a cardlock, all based out of Strathclair, to Heritage Co-op’s operations.

2019 – Rivers Food Store
In early 2019, Heritage Co-op announced that we had purchased a Bigway Foods store in Rivers effective April 2019. With this purchase, Heritage Co-op added another food store location and another community to our operations.