The Fromagerie rising from the ashes to craft affordable responsible cheddar.

On the hunt for responsible, budget-friendly, and quality cheeses to add to the Marketplace, we headed west to St-Albert - a small Franco-Ontarian town where cows outnumber people, and where cheddar has been a way of life since the 1800s. It’s home to Fromagerie St-Albert, a worker-owned cooperative with deep community roots and a history shaped by resilience. 

Sébastien Guindon, sales operations and business development manager.

Formed in 1894 by a group of dairy farmers and cheesemakers, this co-op is one of Canada’s oldest. Founded by Louis Génier, Fromagerie St-Albert began as a humble rural operation with nine original members - eventually growing into a cornerstone of the region, without ever losing its spirit of working together. Today, it’s run by about thirty dairy farmers who share the responsibility of overseeing the mission and long-term success of their business. 

After over a century of wins, a devastating fire swept through the factory, turning production upside down. February 3, 2013, marks the day the cheddar came to a halt…but luckily not for long. Within days the community rallied - nearby factories stepped in to help keep production going, while the town’s elementary school and church opened their doors so the team could continue their work. Two years later to the day, Fromagerie St-Albert reopened with a brand-new facility and a few new features the community would love: a storefront (home to their infamous poutine and seasonal Coaticook ice cream!), and a glassed-in hallway where you can watch cheese being made in real time.  

Things are back on track with almost 50 million litres of milk processed each year. While this might seem like an impressive amount, it’s still considered a smaller scale production compared to industry giants. Every morning, five cheese vats are filled with milk (much from their members’ farms located within a few kilometre radius) and turned into more than 2,000 kilos of cheddar. To help meet the demand, the co-op rounds out their supply with milk collected by nearby farms.

Every dairy farm in the country is governed by strict regulations held by the Canadian Dairy Commission. In short, this means that the milk it processes comes from farms held up by responsible standards regarding quality, animal welfare, and sustainability - while upholding stable and fair price guarantees for farmers and cheese producers. Supported by a sustainable ag model, the team at St-Albert can keep their cheddar local and affordable. 

The co-op’s responsible initiatives extend to the last drops of milk. Between recovering water to clean equipment, introducing unbleached packaging, and repurposing leftover whey into protein-rich powder - this small town fromagerie is rethinking how it operates. Moving forward, an internal environmental committee will help steer long-term decisions with the environment in mind. 

At Fromagerie St-Albert, large-scale production doesn’t mean cutting corners. Thanks to efficient systems, a strong cooperative model, and a deep sense of pride in what they do, they’ve found a way to keep their cheeses affordable - while still upholding some of the highest quality standards in the game. Slice into their classic lineup on our Marketplace: mild white, marbled, medium, and aged cheddar, all made with over 130 years of know-how, and a whole community behind them.