Around 40 protestors gather at the Bow Valley Credit Union branch in Canmore, Alta. to express their dismay with the credit union's embrace of right-wing ideals.Carrie Tait/The Globe and Mail
Nel Keith joined Bow Valley Credit Union 28 years ago, because she wanted to support a local institution rather than a big bank. On Friday, she and her husband, Bruce, joined their first protest, on the sidewalk outside BVCU’s Canmore branch.
The Keiths, along with about 40 others in this mountain town, rallied to register their dismay with BVCU’s embrace of right-wing ideals, including aligning with organizations such as Take Back Alberta and sponsoring U.S. provocateur Tucker Carlson’s visit to the province.
Brett Oland, BVCU’s chief executive, sat at a table outside the branch, with demonstrators forming a semi-circle in front of him.
The Keiths said they are in the process of taking their business elsewhere, a common theme at the protest. The group represents a tiny fraction of BVCU’s 10,000 members, but the tension over the financial institution’s values reflects Alberta’s gaping political divide.
“It is way too far right for me,” Ms. Keith said of BVCU in an interview at the protest. “And I find it very upsetting that I am associated with a bank like that.”
Mr. Oland, who attended the protest in an Edmonton Oilers jersey, sat quietly as the crowd called for his resignation. His table was outfitted with Tim Hortons coffee and treats and BVCU-branded swag such as frisbees. A security guard hovered around the edge of the protest and a few vehicles honked in support as they drove down Canmore’s main drag.
Mr. Oland said BVCU has added 147 new customers since it backed Mr. Carlson’s tour in Alberta, where the political commentator interviewed Premier Danielle Smith on Jan. 24. Days later, he visited Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin.
BVCU’s new customers, the CEO said, represent $7.4-million in personal deposits and $4-million in business accounts. (Mr. Oland, at BVCU’s annual meeting on Feb. 13, said the credit union gained 91 customers in the wake of the Carlson events in Calgary and Edmonton).
Bow Valley Credit Union CEO Brett Oland. Protesters are registering their dismay at BVCU's embrace of right-wing ideals, which Mr. Oland says is attracting new customers who represent $7.4-million in personal deposits and $4-million in business accounts.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
By way of comparison, Mr. Oland said BVCU members have shuttered about five accounts, containing a collective $33,000.
The gap between new and fleeing customers, he said, proves the business case for BVCU’s politics. Its approach also includes stockpiling gold and silver in an effort, it says, to shield its members from a doomsday scenario involving runaway inflation.
“I’m here to listen,” Mr. Oland said Friday. “I’m not here to argue.”
Mr. Keith was among the demonstrators who approached the CEO to discuss their differences.
“I’m not unsympathetic to what they are saying,” Mr. Oland said. “We’re getting people because of value-based decisions. So, we absolutely should expect it on the other side.”
Robert Janes has been a BVCU member for about a year and is among those who plan to leave for a chartered bank. The Canmore resident characterized the BVCU demonstrators as the “radical middle,” caught between polarization on the left and right.
“We have a responsibility as citizens to try and bridge this gap with civil discourse and constructive action,” he said. “We have to do this to get their attention.”
A group that calls itself Canmore Concerned Citizens took out an ad in a local newspaper encouraging people to attend the protest.Carrie Tait/The Globe and Mail
Donna Bradley, another rookie protester, joined the afternoon demonstration even though she isn’t a BVCU customer. She is, however, a member of the Canmore Golf & Curling Club, which she said banks at the credit union. The club, she said, has more than $1-million in its account and she intends to put pressure on its directors to abandon its business with BVCU.
“We need to revisit our relationship,” Ms. Bradley said, adding that other non-profit organizations in the Bow Valley may want to evaluate whether BVCU’s values match their own. A group that calls itself Canmore Concerned Citizens took out an ad, covering nearly a full page, in the local paper, encouraging people to attend the protest and criticizing BVCU’s association with Mr. Carlson.
The New Democratic Party’s constituency association in Airdrie-Cochrane confirmed that it intends to close its BVCU account, a revelation first reported by the Cochrane Eagle.
“Our members have expressed concerns with BVCU advertising and sponsorship practices, including support for groups and individuals that don’t reflect our values,” the NDP constituency association said in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misspelled Robert Janes's surname. This version has been updated.
Carrie Tait