What began as a modest pioneering program for 75 engineering students at the fledgling University of Waterloo in 1957 has become a modality of university education that has spread across Canada. In the process Canada has become a world leader in the practice of co-operative education at the post-secondary level. More than 70 universities and colleges offer co-operativeeducation programs, a few of them on quite a wide scale. In Ontario, 14 universities and 14 colleges offer co-operative education, for a total enrolment of 37,0001. In Canada, there are 49 universities and 38 colleges offering co-op, for a total enrolment of 73,0002. While this is encouraging, it is important to note that the total percentage of students enrolled in university coop programs in Ontario is less than 10% (19,400 out of 222,000 in 2001).