COPE has over a century of history representing workers across Canada.
The history of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE) dates back as far as the early 1900s across Canada.
For much of our history, the locals of our union were affiliated with the American-based international Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). At our height, Canadian members accounted for nearly a quarter of OPEIU’s members.
Our Canadian members recognized the importance of our self-determination. In 2004, after a powerful cross-country campaign, we successfully declared autonomy from the OPEIU to become our own uniquely Canadian union, COPE.
Today, COPE represents approximately 35,000 workers across Canada in both the public and private sector, in industries including healthcare, finance, transportation, energy, insurance, and much more.