More than seventy-five years have passed since May 2, 1925, the date on which Quebec maple syrup producers united to develop the maple industry on a foundation of excellence and to continue a tradition that had been proudly handed down from generation to generation.

Over the years, other experienced producers joined with the founding members and their descendants to build a cooperative that is today considered a benchmark in the maple industry.

As predicted by Cyrille Vaillancourt - who oversaw the destiny of the cooperative from 1925 to 1969 and was named to the Senate in 1944 - other maple syrup producers quickly swelled the ranks. In 1928, the Coop membership was 1,240 producers, but by 1931, it had grown to 2,003. In the '70s and '80s, mergers of small family-owned operations into small and medium-sized maple syrup producers helped stabilize membership.

After three-quarters of a century, Citadelle Maple Syrup Producers' Cooperative - the corporate name of the Cooperative since 1996 - boasts some 2,700 members, or nearly one-third of all Quebec maple syrup producers. The Cooperative does business with over 2,000 nonmember producers through its division and three subsidiaires in Quebec and New Brunswick.