Social Enterprise in Québec: Understanding their “Institutional Footprint”

Abstract

This article explores how the social enterprise concept is used in Québec. Focusing on the historical, institutional, and current conceptual understanding of the social economy in Québec, it explores the related definitions, terminology, and typologies currently in use. The term “social enterprise” is near absent in Québec, mainly due to the highly recognized notion of social economy. However, not all Québec enterprises that pursue social goals fit into the social economy institutional definition. This article proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the modalities of Québec’s field of social economy and other social purpose enterprises. It suggests that “social enterprises” in Québec are those that participate in the social purposes of the social economy without sharing the core and institutionalized characteristics of social economy enterprises.