Petro-Canada is “the” Canadian fuel brand, a distinction greatly enhanced by the abundant use of the Canadian flag and red color in its service stations’ design and branding. Formerly a Crown corporation, Petro-Canada was privatized in the 1980s and has since grown strongly, merging with Suncor Energy in 2009.

The brand is now owned and operated by Suncor Energy, one of the largest companies in Canada, involved in all levels of the petroleum business, from extraction to distribution. In particular, Petro-Canada operates the only oil refinery operating in Montreal, enabling the company to supply not only its own network but also competing gas stations that sell its gasoline under other brands, sometimes after adding their own additives.

The brand has its own loyalty card (Petro-Points), credit card services, gift cards, pre-paid airtime (Petro-Canada Mobility), and so on.

Type of Franchising

Suncor Energy operates its own Petro-Canada service station network but also offers petroleum under the Petro-Canada brand to independent retailers and even car service center operators. In the latter case, retailers buy gasoline at a variable or fixed price over a certain period or volume under the terms of their agreement, but they are usually then free to set the prices they want at the pump. As for the Petro-Canada corporate network (such as Super Relais), it’s Suncor that dictates the prices at the pump.

Gas Brand Network

Name:	Petro-Canada
Ranking (gas brands):	2nd of 19
Number of gas stations:	335
Description:	Major brand of fuel used in a corporate and franchised gas stations networks
Franchisor:	Suncor Energy
Business Models:	Type B) Company-operated store / dealer-operated Type D) Affiliated independent store (banner)
Website:	Petro-Canada