About Coady Institute

Inspired by the Antigonish Movement’s vision of economic and social justice since 1928, Coady Institute works alongside leaders, organizations, and partners in Canada and around the world to strengthen communities through leadership education, shared learning, and collective action.

Working with communities across Atlantic Canada, the Extension Department advanced adult education, cooperative development, and citizen-led action. Building on this foundation, StFX established Coady International Institute in 1959 to share these approaches with communities around the world.

Today, Coady Institute is an amalgamation of the two working to equip practitioners and community leaders with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools to strengthen leadership, foster peace and resilience, advance equity and inclusion, and support sustainable, community-led development. Through education programs, partnerships, research, and collaborative learning, the Institute helps people and organizations build on local strengths, create lasting partnerships, and respond to complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People, on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Coady is part of a network of more than 11,000 graduates in 154 countries. Together, they share a commitment to creating a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world by ensuring that communities lead their own development.