News Briefs

The Quickie and MacEwen station located at 33406 Richmond Street, Lucan, Ontario was closed for roughly one year for a major raze-and-build renovation.

The new-and-improved location features eight pumps, renovated car wash and ready-to-go favourites like hot dogs, sausages, Tornados, and sandwiches. The beverage fountains stock Slushies, Icee, and F'real Shakes. 

The press release noted that the familiar location is celebrating its reopening with deals across the store, and they're only available for a limited time. Check out the new space while the deals are still on and say "hi" to Pardeep and the entire team at the store.

Centex Petroleum announced the opening of two new locations. 

The privately held, independent Canadian fuel supplier and convenience store operator headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, owns and operates over 150 locations across Canada.

The company was founded in 1986 from a single gas station in Inglewood, Calgary. Operating primarily as an independent chain, it offers services such as Retail Fuel, GO Markets, Centex Cashback, FuelPass and including numerous partnerships with First Nation communities. 

They announced their most recent opening of Centex Penbrook at 5320 8th street South East in Calgary Alberta, following another that opened last week, at 12281 ON-35 in Minden, Ontario.

Manitoba is cutting its provincial sales tax on store-bought food starting today.
Most groceries are already tax-exempt, but the July 1 change means there will no longer be 7% PST charged on products such as chips, rotisserie chickens and baked goods. 
The tax cut applies to food sold at grocery and convenience stores, but it's still charged at restaurants, bakeries and bars.
The NDP government says the change could save the average family $100 a year. 
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives say the cut serves only to make junk food cheaper while doing little to help family finances.
Business groups, including Restaurants Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, want the policy expanded, saying the rule puts restaurants at a disadvantage.

After a fifty-year career with A&W, Nancy Wuttunee has decided to retire on March 12, 2027. 

Wuttunee's many contributions to the A&W business include leadership roles in corporate restaurants, marketing, restaurant training, restaurant operating systems and, most recently, vice president of people potential. Through all of her work she has successfully put herself in the shoes of an operator as she influenced decisions and led change.  

The company also announced that Corinne Hua will take on the newly created position of chief corporate and people development officer as of July 6, 2026, reporting to chief executive officer Susan Senecal. 

Hua has held senior roles at several Canadian companies, including leadership in strategic planning, finance, and leveraging technology. Most recently, she was the chief financial officer of Thinkific, an AI-native learning commerce platform built to sell and scale training programs. Hua's business experience will add a valuable mix of skills and knowledge to A&W's talented executive team. In this new role, she will take on executive leadership of the people potential department as well as other key growth areas. She will work closely with Wuttunee over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition.

Senecal commented, "I'm happy for Nancy as she prepares for her next chapter, grateful for her tremendous contributions to the business, and very excited for Corinne to join our team and contribute to A&W's continued growth and success".

Harnois Énergies' partnered with CANEX (Canadian Forces Exchange System) to create a unique version of its Proxi store. It is a national Canadian military store, providing retail goods and services to the Canadian Armed Forces community, veterans, and their families.  

Normally, CANEX stores are permanent fixtures, but the most recent Proxi is a mobile one, and set up at Canadian Forces Base Borden in Ontario for a two-week presence.

As a retailer dedicated to serving Canada’s military community, CANEX has been a valued business partner of Harnois Énergies for several years. Today, this collaboration spans four locations across multiple provinces. 

Empire, the parent company for Needs, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended May 2, 2026. For the quarter, the Company recorded net earnings and adjusted net earnings of $212 million ($0.94 per share) compared to $173 million ($0.74 per share) last year, an increase of 22.5% (or 27.0% on a per share basis).

"We delivered a solid finish to fiscal 2026, with adjusted EPS growth of 27%, reflecting disciplined execution and continued progress against our strategic priorities," said Pierre St-Laurent, the president and chief executive officer for Empire. "As we enter fiscal 2027, our focus remains on driving growth within our existing network, advancing key growth engines, and continuing to elevate our value proposition for customers in what remains a challenging economic environment."