When it comes to personal finances, knowledge makes all the difference. Why is it important to create and stick to a household budget? What’s the real cost of using credit cards? How can you keep your financial information safe?
Questions like these are top of mind for many Canadians, particularly amid rising living costs, growing fraud risks and the complexity of modern payments. For answers, Canadians can turn to their local credit unions—trusted partners that equip people with knowledge and tools to manage their money with confidence.
“Financial literacy is essential today because the financial landscape is more complex than ever,” says Shaylan Spurway, manager of communications and community impact at Your Neighbourhood Credit Union (YNCU). “From managing debt and navigating mortgages to understanding digital payments and protecting against fraud, people are faced with many decisions that can have lifelong impacts. Without the right tools and knowledge, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed—or, worse, make choices that might create long-term challenges. For us, financial literacy is more than just numbers. It’s about building confidence, independence and security.”
The Each One, Teach One (EOTO) program is a leading initiative for financial education. Originally developed by Vancity, the program is now managed by the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) and was formally recognized by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada as an Adopter of its National Financial Literacy Strategy.
Employees at credit unions are trained to deliver a series of financial education workshops across the country, with the sole objective of empowering Canadians to take control of their financial decisions, goals and plans. The workshops take place in a variety of community settings, such as public libraries, senior centres, local co-ops, economic development agencies and local businesses.
EOTO currently offers workshops on 17 topics, with the most popular being Introduction to Basic Banking, Introduction to Basic Budgeting, Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention, Debt Smarts, and Credit Cards and Prepaid Cards.
“Recently, we’ve seen strong demand for the Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention workshop, especially among seniors,” says Emily Suderman, financial literacy specialist at Access Credit Union. “There is a topic for everyone, no matter what the knowledge gap may be. The workshops also give community members the opportunity to talk to a subject matter expert.”
One of the program’s greatest strengths lies in how it’s presented. Workshops can be tailored to be age-appropriate and relevant to specific audiences, whether they’re presented in a high school or seniors’ home. They’re also delivered in plain language, without any ties to financial products or services.
“That makes a huge difference to community members because participants can sit back and learn, knowing they’re not going to be sold anything,” says Suderman.
By learning from local credit union employees—who volunteer their time to deliver the workshops—participants gain the know-how and confidence needed to make more informed financial decisions. In fact, the confidence level of the average participant increases from 3.5 out of 5 before the workshop to 4.6 out of 5 after the workshop, according to CCUA.
“Each One, Teach One is a powerful example of how credit unions live their values beyond the walls of their branches,” says Victoria Mainprize, VP of policy and general counsel, CCUA. “When credit union employees volunteer their time to teach financial skills, they’re helping build stronger, more financially confident communities across Canada.”
The workshops are known to translate into real, tangible results. “One of my favourite stories is a community member who attended one of our Introduction to Basic Budgeting workshops, where we talked about steps to create a budget and the importance of maintaining a budget,” Suderman shares. “Later on, the participant reached out to let us know that by, applying what they learned in the workshop, they were able to purchase a car, which is something they hadn’t thought was possible.”
Even smaller steps count, she adds. “Someone opening a savings account and setting up an automatic transfer to work towards a savings goal is a huge success and a meaningful step towards building long-term financial stability,” Suderman says.
Spurway echoes the positive feedback from participants. “We get a lot of feedback that consistently says the sessions are practical and easy to follow,” she says. “People leave feeling refreshed and ready to tackle their financial challenges and goals.”
In turn, workshop participants have reported through surveys that they felt heard and understood, listened to by the facilitator, and comfortable enough to ask questions and engage with the facilitator, adds Suderman. “This is so important because talking about finances isn’t easy for everyone.”
To request a workshop in your community, or to access free online learning modules, visit the EOTO website at eotoworkshops.ca.
