Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead – Petro-Canada to Merge with Suncor
March 24, 2009 · By Greg Farries
The government-created oil giant of 1975 was Liberal ideology at its most interventionist, vilified as the unfair advantage invading an Alberta oil patch where Petro-Canada stood for “Pierre Elliott Trudeau Rips Off Canada.” Its headquarters, which towered over a Calgary plaza, were derided as Red Square.
Don’t be so sure Greg. Petro-Canada may likely still be around….
Hmm, I think they’re overstating the power of the Petro-Canada brand. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’d put my money on Sunoco replacing Petro-Canada.
I concur, they are definitely over-valuing the Petro-Can brand.
Out of principle (or spite), in my 30 years of licensed driving and 24 years of vehicle ownership I have never filled up at a Petro-Can station.
I may be able to chin myself up to go to a Suncor-owned Petro-Canada station, but I would bet that there would be more upside to re-branding the PCA stations in the west as Sunocos than there would be losses in the ROC from that change.
I certainly prefer Sunoco myself, and if the weight is thrown behind the P-Can brand, I’ll miss the Sunoco 94 Octane.
So Trudeau is six feet under. Now his baby Petro-Can is gone. That leaves only Lalonde still standing.
But Peter Lougheed will outlast them all. He wins!
I lived in Alberta when the NEP was introduced and lost a fair bit of money on our home in Fort McMurray as a direct result. I like to joke that if I ran out of gas I’d have my wife push our van past ten Petro Canada stations rather than pull into one to fill up.
However, if Suncor changed the name I’d give wifey a break and pull into the very first one.
I like Suncor and I support the oil sands so this is a win-win situation for me but please, change the name.
NeilD