Turning the corner: The new age of Canadian convenience
As I was mining through 2024 retail data for CICC’s annual State of the Industry Report, it was apparent that the resilient nature of Canada’s convenience industry has prevailed and is helping us turn a corner.
While fewer stores and employees are still part of a multi-year trend, it’s how those trends have slowed that is the cause for optimism. Just three years ago, during the midst of the pandemic recovery, four stores closed their doors every day, with the majority of those in rural and remote areas.
The industry, by being innovative and agile while doing more with less, has reduced that to approximately 1.5 stores closing their doors daily. The number of employees remains steady, and sales are seeing a small uptick, partially buoyed by Ontario c-stores selling beverage alcohol in the last quarter of the year.
That’s cause for cautious optimism that our industry is figuring out its way in this new age of increasing competition, penny-wise consumers and soaring costs.
As we closed the chapter on 2024, no one could have predicted the impact of what would take place over the next 12 weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump literally rewrote the rules of global trade and forever changed the relationship to the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world—Canada and the U.S.
Tariffs and the ongoing threat of absorbing Canada into the U.S. as the 51st state not only eroded the very nature of that bilateral relationship, but they also awoke the giant within.
Trump was successful in doing something no Prime Minister or politician in Canada has been successful in doing—uniting our nation and its people from coast to coast in a short timeframe.
Yet again our industry was thrust into uncertainty as our supply chains were driven into chaos and forced to be retooled to avoid tariffs. Canadians, with a new sense of pride, embarked on a strong “Buy Canadian” campaign and opted for home-grown products. Again, our retailers were quick to pivot to meet this changing customer demand demonstrating their resiliency.
Resilient. Adaptable. Innovative. A major sense of community. That’s how we define the new age of convenience today. And while our c-store neighbours south of the border are also demonstrating resilience and innovation, there is one key component that sets us apart—sense of community.
For our 2025 Summit in Calgary, I had the opportunity to interview 7-Eleven’s Doug Rosencrans, who has worked in the industry on both sides of the border. His take was that the major difference between convenience in Canada and the U.S. is that our retailers and employees have a stronger sense of community and being essential to the residents they serve. In other words, our customers believe we are more essential and play a larger role in their day-to-day routines.
The data proves Rosencrans correct. In per capita terms, Canada has a higher number of stores (531) per million people than does the U.S.—448 per million. This difference—about 19% higher in Canada—stems from a mix of demographic, geographic, cultural and economic factors, amplified by rapid multicultural shifts as detailed in CICC’s new Beyond Convenience: Understanding the Multicultural Convenience Store Shopper report which will be shortly released to CICC members only.
Our multi-cultural advantage
While residents on both sides of the border rely on c-stores for essentials, Canada's model emphasizes hyper-local, walkable access over the American more car-centric way of life.
One of the key highlights identified in the new report are demographic shifts and multicultural reliance on local stores. Immigration drives 98% of Canada's population growth, with visible minorities projected to reach 40% by 2041 (from 22% in 2016). These groups—South Asian, Chinese, Black, and Filipino— are concentrated in urban hubs. Approximately 17% to 23% lack vehicles, fostering dependence on nearby c-stores for quick trips. This contrasts with the U.S., where car ownership exceeds 90% and suburban sprawl reduces neighbourhood store viability.
Geographic and urban planning differences: Canada's vast landmass (10x the U.S.'s per capita) but concentrated population which is 80% urban, necessitates dense retail in cities like Toronto or Vancouver. Harsh winters and public transit reliance boost walkable corner stores as lifelines. U.S. zoning favors big-box retail and “drive-thru,” diluting small-store density outside dense cores like Manhattan.
Cultural and community embedding: C-stores are "corner stones" of Canadian identity and reflect cultural communities, often serving as social hubs for chats, events, and even immigrant integration into communities. The new report underscores this—70% of multicultural shoppers view c-stores as community anchors, craving cultural items such as Halal snacks that help build loyalty. In the U.S., c-stores are more functional, with less emphasis on those community hub roles.
Economic and regulatory factors: Canada's fragmented market supports more small operators, which are often immigrant owned. Bilingual packaging and regional diversity also encourage tailored, localized products whereas in the U.S. offerings tend to be more standardized.
The convenience industries on both sides of the border have historically been very similar in terms of composition and trends. However, we are starting to witness Canada’s uniqueness emerge in the wake of increasing headwinds and political factors.
Our ability to adapt and pivot. Our innovation. Our resilience. Our diversity. Those are key qualities that have kept our industry viable through tumultuous times. We will need this, and more, to continue to respond to our changing customer, by providing what they want, how they want it and when they want it.
Our strength is in our ubiquity, the fact we are in 21,000 communities across the country, in small rural towns and large cities, and that the vibrancy of those communities depends on us.
