Émile Vaillancourt played an energetic and influential role in the development of Caisses populaires in Quebec. Born in Saint-Anselme, Quebec and educated at Université Laval, he began his career working in Joliette as a journalist for L’Étoile du Nord; he then worked for the Quebec department of agriculture in charge of bee-keeping and maple-syrup production and put his journalism experience to use when he founded the periodical L’Abeille (now known as L’Abeille et l’érable). His true talents became evident when he became director of the Caisse-Populaire at Lévis. For the next more than forty years he occupied various important positions there while at the same time serving as general manager for the regional federation of caisses populaires for the Quebec district, then as the first president of the Fédération des caisses populaires for the province of Quebec. He established the periodical Caisse populaire Desjardins (now Révue Desjardins) in 1934. He also served on the Lévis school board (1927-1961) and as president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Lévis. In 1944 he was invested as a Commander of the British Empire.