REGINA - Another major milestone is coming soon on the path towards a potential merger of Conexus, Cornerstone and Synergy Credit Unions.
Dates have been announced for the merger vote to take place. Members of each credit union will vote between June 3 and June 13. The merger vote will happen both online and in the 57 branches in 50 communities throughout Saskatchewan.
Over 200,000 Saskatchewan credit union members will be eligible to vote, and the bar is high with a 75 per cent vote from each credit union required to move ahead. That is the number required by the credit union regulations.
The vote will start shortly after a virtual special meeting is held with credit union members at 5:15 p.m. on June 3. Voting then begins at 6:30 p.m., and will continue until June 13 at noon.
Prior to the June 3 special meeting will be at least two virtual town halls on May 20 and 22, where members of the three Credit Unions can ask questions. Select branch visits will happen over the next several weeks in a variety of locations as well, to explain the merger and answer questions. There will also be information available online as well.
The CEO of Conexus, Celina Philpot, is encouraging members to reach out for information.
“We really want to encourage this dialogue with our members,” said Philpot.
“We know this is a big decision they have to make, and it will shape the future of our credit union, so much so that the executive and the board are going to be out in some of our locations to be available to our members — eyeball to eyeball, if you will — to ask us whatever questions they have, so that they have the information and the confidence they need in order to make an informed decision.”
There will be three ways to vote. One is by logging on to the digital banking app, another by visiting the website, and a third option is in-branch with personal voting stations set up.
It was last November that Conexus, Cornerstone, and Synergy Credit Unions initially announced they were exploring the merger.
Should it go ahead, the merged entity would become Saskatchewan’s latest credit union combining approximately $15 billion in assets under management with 57 branches located throughout the province and 1,400 employees.
The new entity would span east to west in the province, combining the forces of Yorkton-based Cornerstone, Regina-based Conexus, and Lloydminster-based Synergy.
Conexus board chair Ken Kosolofski points out that the boards of Conexus, Synergy and Cornerstone all support the merger.
“All three of the boards of these existing credit unions are recommending this to our membership,” said Kosolofski.
“So we've done as much as we can or as much as we can over the next several weeks to make sure that our members are fully engaged. That means asking questions, getting answers. I think generally what we're seeing is it's pretty positive for our membership. But, you know, it remains to be seen how they vote between June 3rd and 13th.”
As for when to expect final results, those will be tabulated during the week of June 16. If it is a yes vote, then the real work begins to combine the three entities into a single credit union to begin operations Jan. 1, 2026.
