CCUA CEO Retirement Announcement

Martha Durdin, President and CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) has announced her intention to retire June 3, 2022. Over the past nearly eight years, Martha has successfully transformed CCUA into Canadian credit unions’ first member-owned, governed, and supported national trade association. Martha has firmly established CCUA as the credit union sector’s leading voice on important issues and substantially repositioned the organization for the future.

Martha has focused her leadership on building CCUA into a dynamic and influential association known at all levels of government, and with both federal and provincial regulators. Her many accomplishments during her tenure include:

• Lobbying for credit union use of the words Bank, Banker, Banking, enabling the sector to compete across Canada’s financial services landscape more effectively. 
• Working to create a Market Conduct Code that credit unions could adopt to demonstrate their already highly principled conduct to regulators.
• Ensuring that all credit unions – big and small – had a seat at the table when the Canada Emergency Business Loan (CEBA) program was introduced. 
• Establishing the first-ever, national all-party Credit Union Caucus in Ottawa, focused on generating important visibility and support for credit union issues.
• Developing early and aggressive Open Banking advocacy programs to ensure credit unions are included in the upcoming Open Banking legislation.

Recognizing that advancing the capabilities of credit unions was key to their business success, Martha also integrated Cusource more closely with CCUA. As a result, Cusource has grown and modernized over the past few years and remains the leading provider of training and development for credit unions across the country.

Working directly with credit unions, Martha has consistently sought to act with integrity and efficiency to advance CCUA’s credit union members’ needs. From delivering member-based advocacy priorities to enhancing awareness and education around the credit union sector, her leadership has ensured that CCUA is in a strong and stable position to continue its strategic importance to its members well into the future.

Under Martha’s leadership, CCUA has been a tireless champion for the vital role that credit unions can play in helping Canadians realize their financial future. Believing that all people should have access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable financial services, Martha also represents CCUA on the board of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), with members in nearly 60 countries. At WOCCU, she has also consistently pushed for stronger international advocacy for credit unions.

Passionate about public service and giving back to the community, Martha has also served as a board member and governor, most recently as Chair of the Royal Ontario Museum and Chair of the Ontario Arts Council from 2003 to 2014. She is currently a director of Roots of Empathy, The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, Dane Creek Capital, and the Canada Post Foundation. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF), and a recipient of the 2020 Lieutenant Governor’s Distinguished Service Award and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her service to the community.
We want to thank Martha for her bold leadership and outstanding service to the credit union sector. We wish her the best on what’s next, secure in the knowledge that CCUA has the capabilities and strategic focus to continue delivering with excellence for its credit union members.

CCUA’s Board of Directors has established a CEO Selection Committee that will engage with an external search firm and make recommendations to the board on Martha’s successor, ensuring a smooth leadership transition to the new CEO by June 2022.