About Our Co-operative

The Gay Lea Foods Story

Our story began in 1958 when a group of farmers came together with a common vision to build a better future for themselves and their communities; today, Gay Lea Foods is a leading Canadian co-operative. Here’s how we stay true to our Born on the Farm heritage.

With our roots on the farm, Gay Lea Foods has grown to become a leading Canadian co-operative, with members on more than 1,300 dairy farms in Ontario and Manitoba, and roughly 4,000 producer and preferred shareholders. Our dedication to innovation and the development of high quality products has allowed us to respond to consumers’ evolving tastes and grow the market for Canadian dairy. We are a Canadian success story – and that story is far from over. Moving forward, Gay Lea Foods is poised to seize and create even more opportunities for sustainable, long-term growth in the Canadian dairy industry as we expand beyond our provincial borders, grow our foods and ingredients business, and continue to invest in innovative and industry-leading products.

As much as we evolve, however, we remain a dairy co-operative, owned by dairy farmers. From our farms and production facilities, to our distribution networks and employee ideologies, we embrace and act with co-operative-inspired values, understanding there is no shortcut to quality or success. It takes commitment, passion and collaboration.

Those are the things we’re made of and we’re proud to share our story.

Just like the milk that comes from our farms, so too are Gay Lea Foods’ products and values born on the farm.