The Labour team, near their Toronto office in The Junction, from left to right: Peter Brough, James Loftus, Pete Ross, Hannah Choat, Carla Silvestrone, Jessica Huynh, Sergio Delos Santos, Amanda Occhicone and Mara Vezeau.

Toronto-based agency Co-Op Advertising has rebranded to Labour to better reflect the changes that have been occurring within the company, including shifts in its business model and an expansion into Quebec.

Labour previously staffed itself largely through a network of freelance talent. Freelancers will remain a part of its model, but the company is building out a team of in-house strategy, creative and PR experts.

That shift in model is accompanied by several key additions to the agency’s staff and a major market expansion.

Both James Loftus and Peter Brough maintain their roles as partners, however, Loftus, former VP, Communications, has been appointed to president, while Brough retains his managing director role with the company, tasked with oversight of operations.

In addition, Pete Ross joins as partner and CD to run the agency’s creative department. Ross brings a lengthy résumé to the role, including experience at Grey Canada, Taxi, DDB Canada and TBWA

Alongside those hires comes the addition of Mara Vezeau, who joins the agency as director of Labour’s new Montreal office amid its expansion into the Quebec market. Vezeau will lead on accounts in the region, and Labour is expected to announce further hires in the coming months.

The agency has been building momentum through increased recognition of its work, particularly with long-term AOR clients Auto Trader and WeRPN. It has also added several new accounts to its roster, including online classifieds platform LesPAC, Spray-Net, Photomath, Sushi Taxi, Boustan, Luxcey, River Road Brewing and BATL.