Big Banks Have Left The Building In Rural Canada
Enter a community champion with co-operative ambitions to solve for the social isolation, elder fraud and business collapse that happened after the bank left his town
American president Donald Trump has big, angry thoughts about our banking system: “Canada doesn’t allow American Banks to do business in Canada, but their banks flood the American Market,”1 he posted on March 2nd on Truth Social. “Oh, that seems fair to me, doesn’t it?”
It was another narrative from his Big Book of Nonsense Rhymes and if his pronouncements weren’t so aggravating, one might admire his gift for reverse psychology.
While Trump rails against the supposed unfairness of our banking rules, rural Canadians know that the real problem isn’t foreign banks access to Canada, it’s that Canadians themselves are losing access to banks altogether.
Today, hundreds of thousands of Canadians lack direct access to a bank. According to the Canadian Bankers Association, 215 bank branches closed in Canada between 2019 and 2023,2 affecting roughly 360,000 people.
New Brunswick alone lost seven bank branches during that time, and in 2024, Scotiabank closed another five, pulling out of Doaktown, Nackawic, McAdam, Petitcodiac, and Shippagan.3
In the wake of these closures comes economic disruption: small businesses struggle with cash handling and are forced to travel to deposit earnings or withdraw cash for everyday use. Seniors and low-income residents may struggle or not be equipped to manage online or phone banking access. ATMs might remain in the communities, but fees can increase, and cash shortages become common.
There is no law in Canada preventing banks from closing branches. At best, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) dictates that rural communities get a six-month notice if they don’t have another deposit-taking institution within 10 kilometres. After that? Granddad is on his own, navigating online banking and fending off the next phone scam.
What can a small community do?
One man’s mission to bring banking back
If your town is lucky, it has someone like Patrick Kemp, Executive Director of Forest Dale Home Inc. and CEO of Fundy Albert Housing Inc.
Based in Riverside-Albert, where the last bank closed in 1985, Patrick understands the consequences of a financial service desert.
For the past year, he’s been working with Nackawic-Millville’s town council to establish a new credit union before Scotiabank disappears for good. His long-term vision? Expanding to Albert County.
Banking service gaps are a huge cost burden to employers and a blow to a community’s sustainability, Kemp explains.
Take hiring, for example: If a new employee doesn’t have a driver’s license, they can’t drive themselves to town to open a bank account in order to receive salary direct deposits. In Albert County, that means Forest Dale Home must send two people (a licensed driver and the new employee) on a two-hour round trip to Moncton or Sussex, which means half a workday is gone4. The cumulative costs in wages, gas, and lost productivity add up to thousands of dollars fast.
Mom-and-pop services can’t function with only one or two employees because you lose half of the day to go do any banking. In Riverside-Albert, the result was that four convenience stores were reduced to one. “We used to have restaurants, but last year, none were open,” Kemp explained.
If the business and economic community concerns aren’t difficult enough, the impact on vulnerable citizens is more insidious.
“Through our programs, we’ve uncovered alarming levels of financial and elder abuse. For instance, we’ve encountered cases where seniors entrust a neighbour with their debit card for grocery shopping. Over time, the neighbour starts making personal purchases with the senior’s funds. Because the seniors willingly provided their PIN, banks don’t consider it fraud. However, these seniors often feel coerced – if they question or argue, they risk losing access to living essentials.”
Seniors and individuals with disabilities are most vulnerable. Many lack confidence in online banking or fear fraud, given frequent scam reports. Fraudsters stay on top of the game: targeting areas where bank closures have occurred, exploiting seniors who have no choice but to trust unfamiliar banking alternatives.
Kemp says access to in-person banking is crucial. Even if it’s only available a few days per month, particularly around pension deposit times. In-person services provide a layer of security, ensuring transactions are documented and verified.
The birth of a rural credit union
With Scotiabank’s exit from Nackawic-Millville imminent, it didn’t take Kemp long to convince the local town council that applying to open a new credit union was in its best interest. He hired University of New Brunswick students to put together a tight, conservative feasibility study and the town was quickly convinced by the plan.
“Once we presented well-researched plans to local councils and community leaders, engagement and enthusiasm grew,” he said.
The business plan identified a need for $1.5 million to get off the ground, money that will be generated by early investor members. The Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick (FCSC) requires a $500,000 capital reserve, with the remaining funds going to staffing, infrastructure, technology and a three-year financial cushion.
The credit union will prioritize personal banking, as individuals are the most vulnerable. Loan services will follow once the credit union’s financial position stabilizes.
Kemp and the town are aiming for regulatory approval within the next six months, but the process is new to almost everyone: There hasn’t been a new credit union launched in New Brunswick for 28 years.
The Bank of Patrick? Forget it.
When I suggest to Kemp that they name the new credit union, “The Bank of Patrick”, he doesn’t laugh.5
“I feel like the name, the bylaws and the incorporation documents, all of that must be centred around a rural-focused brand. Ensuring the credit union is built with a rural focus protects against future consolidation or closures. If the mandate explicitly prioritizes rural communities, the credit union can’t easily be absorbed by larger institutions. That’s why branding and governance must reinforce this mission.”
This isn’t just about setting up a financial institution, it’s about safeguarding local banking access for the future. “I feel like we must protect people in our community. But it’s not just that; it’s a necessary service, and that’s why I’m passionate about it.”
Canada’s banking system isn’t unfair; it’s just stronger
As for Trump’s claims that Canada is unfair to US banks, Patrick is unfazed. “I guess knowledge gives me peace.”
Canada limits foreign ownership of domestic banks, and that rule has safeguarded our financial system.
During the 2008 financial crisis, as US banks collapsed due to poor regulation, Canadian banks thrived and expanded. Royal Bank, TD, and others bought failing US banks, stabilizing parts of the American financial system.
Many US customers don’t realize Canadian banks helped rescue their financial institutions, Patrick says. “When I hear claims that Canada is hostile to foreign banks, I just smile,” says Kemp.
“The reality is, our system is one of the most stable in the world. Is it perfect? No. But compared to many others, it’s world-class.”
Clarification: On March 7th additional information regarding how consumers can register for a new bank account was added. See Footnote 4 for more information.
Schepkov, Vlad. "Trump Says Unfair That Canada Doesn’t Allow U.S. Banks - Truth Social Post." Investing.com, March 4, 2025. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/trump-says-unfair-that-canada-doesnt-allow-us-banks--truth-social-post-93CH-3906338.
Canadian Bankers Association. "Bank Branches in Canada." Canadian Bankers Association, October 2023. https://cba.ca/article/bank-branches-in-canada.
"Scotiabank Closing Several Branches in N.B.," Telegraph-Journal, November 14, 2023, Farley, Sam. "Scotiabank Closing Branches in Several N.B. Communities." TJ.news, November 11, 2023. https://tj.news/new-brunswick/scotiabank-closing-branches-in-several-n-b-communities.
On March 7th The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada requested we emphasize that a driver’s license is not an identification requirement to open a bank account in Canada, and that there are two ways to meet identification requirements (ID) when opening a bank account:
Consumers can provide two documents from a reliable source:
one document indicating their name and address
the other document indicating their name and date of birth
Consumers can also provide any document from a reliable source that indicates their name and date of birth. This way works only if the consumer’s identity is also confirmed by:
a customer who is in good standing with the bank, or
someone who is of good standing in the community where the consumer is opening the account.
Bank of Dave is a 2023 British film based on the real-life experience of Dave Fishwick, who struggled to set up a community bank in his local town while battling London-based financial institutions. You can watch the film on Netflix. Here’s the trailer: