Buying a Petro-Canada station

What Petro-Canada says about resales

Petro-Canada’s independent-owner page gives three ways to become an owner: own an existing gas station that can be changed into a Petro-Canada station, own a vacant property you are willing to build on, or find and buy a Petro-Canada gas station for sale by an independent owner. About that third route it adds, “Petro-Canada does not get involved in the sale of independently owned Petro-Canada stations” (as published, read Oct 22, 2026). The sale is therefore between you and the owner. The page does not say whether Petro-Canada must approve a buyer or whether the owner’s agreement can pass to you, so ask the seller for the agreement and ask Petro-Canada in writing.

The investment Petro-Canada publishes

For independent owners Petro-Canada gives an initial investment that “Ranges from $1.5 million to $6 million plus”, varying “based on land value, lot size and product service offering”. That is the brand owner’s figure for becoming an independent owner, not a price for any station on Deavo; a seller’s asking price is the seller’s own number. For retailers, who do not own the site, the page describes a working capital investment instead; its figure could not be read from the live page, so it is not quoted. The two arrangements are different and their costs should not be compared with each other.

What the price might cover

Check what each service-station listing includes. Ask whether the asking price covers the land and building or only the business, and whether it includes the fuel equipment, convenience store inventory, any car wash or restaurant. Ask whether underground tanks have been tested and what environmental records exist. If the seller is a retailer on a site Petro-Canada owns, there is no land to buy, and the question becomes what Petro-Canada will allow you to take over. Nothing on this page is a valuation or a recommendation to buy.

Support, and whether it is a franchise in law

Petro-Canada lists site development help, convenience store planning, the Petro-Points loyalty programme, corporate incentive gift cards, SuperPass fleet cards and national marketing. It states no training duration. Deavo’s Petro-Canada listings were in Ontario (12) on Oct 20, 2026. Ontario’s Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000 sets out its own definition of “franchise”: a right to engage in a business where the franchisee is required by contract or otherwise to make a payment or continuing payments, or a commitment to make them, to the franchisor or the franchisor’s associate, and either (a) the goods or services are substantially associated with a trade-mark owned by or licensed to the franchisor or its associate, and the franchisor or its associate has the right to exercise or exercises significant control over, or has the right to provide or provides significant assistance in, the method of operation, or (b) the franchisee is granted distribution rights for goods or services supplied by the franchisor or a supplier it designates, and location assistance is provided. Section 2(3) lists relationships the Act does not apply to. Whether a Petro-Canada agreement meets that definition is a question for a lawyer reading the agreement. See also who has to approve a franchise resale for the approval question on franchise brands.