Fuelling Canada for 50 years

“Petro-Canada is family,” says Sue Kaake, an associate for nearly three decades who is proud to be part of this iconic business celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025.

In 1997, Sue was running a single location. Today, she manages 12 sites in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario. She is one of approximately 15,000 associates and their staff serving millions of Canadians at more than 1,800 Petro-Canada retail and wholesale locations nationwide.

While she welcomes the challenges that come with running a constantly evolving retail business, two recent experiences stand out.

"Staying safe and open during COVID, when Canadians were unable to travel or commute, was incredibly difficult—and managing through the cyber incident [in 2023], when our systems were temporarily down—these were, hands down, the biggest challenges,” says Sue. “Petro-Canada staff were on the front lines. They stuck by us, and we got through it, which made us stronger.”

Much has changed over Petro-Canada's five decades. The Government of Canada established Petro-Canada as a Crown corporation in 1975 in response to the world energy crisis. That year, Canada was home to nearly 25 million people. Toronto’s CN Tower had just been completed, the beaver was declared an official national symbol, the metric system was introduced, and The Guess Who topped the charts.

1975 also marked the opening of Petro-Canada’s corporate headquarters in Calgary. Teams were busy exploring for conventional oil and gas in northern Canada, managing offshore operations in Newfoundland and Labrador, and investing in the development of Alberta’s oil sands.

In 1978, Petro-Canada expanded into the retail fuel business, buying the chain of Pacific 66 branded gas stations in Western Canada. Soon after, it acquired sites from another retail chain to expand into Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In 1980, the combined national network was unified under the Petro-Canada brand and the now-iconic Petro-Canada logo was unveiled.

Over the last half century, the brand has grown and evolved to meet the changing needs of Canadians. Privatized in 1991 to become a publicly traded company, Petro-Canada later merged with Suncor in 2009 to form Canada’s leading integrated energy company.

“Suncor is one of the few oil and gas companies that operate in every stage of the value chain – from responsible resource extraction, to refining crude into fuel and other products, all the way to serving customers at the Petro-Canada pump,” says Dave Oldreive, EVP Downstream. “That’s a key competitive differentiator – and advantage – for us.”

Notable Petro-Canada milestones over the past 50 years also include:

• 1988: Petro-Canada sponsors the cross-country Olympic Torch relay for the opening of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. This evolved into the Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence program, which has supported more than 3,500 athletes (and their coaches) aspiring to the podium and led to a long-standing partnership with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
• 1995: The Petro-Points™ loyalty program launches (Join today!).
• 1997: Petro-Canada’s relationship with A&W begins. Today, more than 90 A&W quick serve restaurants are co-located at Petro-Canada sites—with more to come (additional food options like KFC, barBurrito, Pita Pit and Second Cup are offered at other locations).
• 1998: The SuperPass™ fueling card launches for businesses with small and enterprise fleets.
• 2010: Petro-Canada sponsors the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
• 2017: Petro-Canada partners with Royal Bank of Canada to provide more value to Canadians with fuel savings and more reward points.
• 2019: Petro-Canada launches Canada’s Electric Highway™, a coast-to-coast network of EV fast chargers.
• 2020: Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation™ launches to support family caregivers.
• 2023: Petro-Canada partners with Canadian Tire Corporation to provide more value to Canadians through our respective retail fuel networks and loyalty programs.
• 2024: The 50th Indigenous-owned and operated retails site opens, one of 75 marketing relationships with Indigenous communities across our retail and wholesale networks.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Petro-Canada’s ongoing commitment to serving Canadians. Whether through the historic Our Energy is Canada and Committed to Canadians campaigns, or today’s Live by the Leaf, the brand continues to symbolize national pride and purpose.

“Today, we Live by the Leaf because we understand the needs of Canadians and have a unique responsibility to support those who call this place home,” says Pat Ritchie, Vice-President of Sales & Marketing for Petro-Canada. “Live by the Leaf is Petro-Canada’s brand philosophy. It means putting the interests of Canadians above our own. When we Live by the Leaf, we demonstrate Petro-Canada's purpose to champion the Canadian spirit, keeping people moving toward what matters most to them.”

“When you choose to fill up, charge up or shop at Petro-Canada, you support Suncor’s ongoing success,” adds Dave. “Please join me in wishing Petro-Canada a happy 50^th anniversary!”