Dorimène Desjardins (1858-1932)

Dorimène Desjardins is considered the co-founder of the caisses populaires (credit unions) for her work in collaboration with husband Alphonse Desjardins, who founded the first caisse populaire on December 6, 1900. By meeting with members, keeping the credit union’s books, and, from 1903 to 1906, acting as unofficial manager of the credit union, she contributed greatly to the success of the first caisse. She became a widow in 1920 and, as the repository of her husband’s vision and moral authority, she used her influence to ensure that the caisses populaires developed along the lines advocated by Alphonse Desjardins. Dorimène Desjardins also embodies the contributions of many women who helped set up or run co‑operatives or family businesses, and she was also a model of commitment for women within the Desjardins caisse populaire movement.

Marie-Clara Dorimène Roy-Desjardins was born on September 17, 1858, in an uneducated family of modest means. Hardship led her parents to entrust her at a young age to relatives living in Lévis. Thanks to her aunt and uncle, who had no children, Dorimène was able to receive an education usually reserved for girls from well‑off families. Shortly after completing her studies, she met and began a courtship with Alphonse Desjardins, a young journalist who lived a few blocks away from her home. They married in 1879 and had ten children, three of whom died in childhood. Between 1882 and 1884, the couple had a house built on a lot in Lévis. It was in this house that they opened the first caisse populaire on January 23, 1901.

Dorimène Desjardins was influential in the success of this first caisse populaire and invested her time and energy to get it up and running. She shared her husband’s ideals and, like him, was concerned about the fate of people struggling with precarious finances and the resulting hardships. Because Alphonse Desjardins was working as a stenographer in the House of Commons in Ottawa and was absent for six months every year, Dorimène did the caisse bookkeeping and attended to members’ transactions while looking after her household. From 1903 to 1906, she would also be responsible for the caisse’s financial operations without, however, holding the official title of manager. When she became a widow in 1920, she assumed the role of upholding her husband’s vision and thus exercised her moral authority over the senior managers of the caisses populaires.

Dorimène Desjardins passed away on June 14, 1932, at age 73. The caisses populaires organized an impressive funeral for her in Lévis. This great woman, recognized for her strength, intelligence, ability, and enterprising spirit, was praised in Action catholique as one of the “most well‑informed women about economic issues viewed from a social perspective.” This newspaper also highlighted the critically important role she played within the caisse populaire movement when it stated that “we must admit that without her, the Desjardins caisses populaires would probably not exist.”

Dorimène Desjardins joins her illustrious husband, Alphonse, as a person of national historic significance. One of the great figures of the cooperative movement in Canada, Alphonse Desjardins was designated a national historic person in 1971. A bronze plaque, located at Cité Desjardins in Lévis, underlines his contribution to Canadian history.

The shared achievement of these two notable individuals, the Caisses Populaires (Desjardins Group), holds a place of honour in the history of the cooperative movement in Canada, and it received a designation as a national historic event in 1984. Founded in 1900, this model cooperative was among the earliest credit unions in Canada. It rapidly became an alternative to the existing banking system by providing savings and credit services to farmers, small businesses, and urban wage earners. With the backing of the Roman Catholic Church and nationalists, the caisses populaires profoundly affected the philosophical direction and thinking of co-operatives in Quebec, in addition to having a significant impact on the cooperative movement elsewhere in Canada, including influencing the development of provincial legislation for financial cooperatives.

Over time, the caisses populaires, which set up central institutions with a wide array of financial services, became the Desjardins Group, the foremost financial cooperative in Quebec and the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. Credit unions were also successfully exported to Francophone communities elsewhere in Canada and in New England, where they continue to thrive today, as well as providing a model for the creation of cooperatives elsewhere in the world.

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