Commodus is an initiative of Ms. Lucie Chagnon, who completed two study missions in France, in 1999 and 2000, concerning the issue of employee services. These missions were sponsored by the Québec Association for Regional Centres of Development (Association des centres locaux de développement du Québec) and supported by the Québec Department of International Relations.

Ms. Chagnon was subsequently invited by the French Consulate to carry out another mission, this time in the United States, to conduct a comparative analysis of workplace practices. She then developed a marked interest in employee services while examining the issue from two angles, i.e. work-life balance and job creation. She continued to gather information in this field and eventually initiated her project. She conducted studies regarding the feasibility of the project and evaluated the conditions for success in implementing a Québécois model. 

Commodus was then incorporated in May 2005. The social enterprise has mobilized representatives of Québécois networks from the world of business, the social economy, the employability sector, and a professional order to serve on its Board of Directors.
The parties reached an agreement, the model took shape, and Commodus gained the support of approximately thirty partners to ensure its development.