Voluntary organizations have moved from the margins to the centre of policy discussions in Canada, and citizens and politicians now view them in a new way. Rachel Laforest shows how members of voluntary organizations have struggled for a stronger voice in policy making and redefined their relationship to the federal government through key collaborations. This vivid account of how a loose coalition of organizations was transformed into a distinct sector offers a new conceptual framework for explaining dynamic state-voluntary sector relations at all levels of government.