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Irving Oil Ltd. is a Canadian privately owned intergenerational
gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
,
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
, and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
producing and exporting company, a subsidiary of the parent company
Irving Group of Companies The Irving Group of Companies is an informal name given to those companies owned and controlled by the Irving family of New Brunswick—descendants of Canadian industrialist K.C. Irving: his sons James K. (1928–2024), Arthur (1930–2024), a ...
, one of the largest "private conglomerates" in North America. Irving Oil was established in 1924 by Canadian oil baron and billionaire, Kenneth "K.C." Irving, whose family fortune when he died in 1992 was estimated by Forbes at USD$5 billion. His son,
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
, became chairman and president of Irving Oil. Arthur Irving died in 2024. Irving Oil operates Canada's largest refinery, the
Irving Oil Refinery The Irving Oil Refinery is a Canadian oil refinery located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is currently the largest oil refinery in Canada, capable of processing more than of crude oil per day. Over 80 per cent of the production is exported to t ...
, in
Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...
, and Ireland's only
refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...
, in
Whitegate, County Cork Whitegate () is a small village in East Cork on the eastern shore of Cork Harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It lies within the townlands of Ballincarroonig and Corkbeg. Whitegate is within the Cork East Dáil constituency. The ruins of a 14th-c ...
, as well as a network of gasoline stations, fleet of
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...
s, real estate and other related assets. Irving Oil's
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
is located in Uptown Saint John and was officially opened in 2019.


History


Origins

In April 1924, Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving, a then-25-year-old
automobile salesman An automobile salesperson is a retail salesperson who sells new or used cars. Unlike traditional retail sales, car sales are sometimes negotiable. Salesmen are employed by new car dealerships or used car dealerships. Car negotiation The pric ...
, started what would later become Irving Oil when he opened his first
filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
in his hometown of Bouctouche. On October 13, 1925, Irving took control over the
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
dealership business in
Saint John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...
. Most modern sources attribute 1924 as being the year Irving Oil was founded; the first incorporation of a company which eventually led to the establishment of Irving Oil was ''K. C. Irving, Limited'', which took place in late November 1926. Afterwards, the incorporation of ''K. C. Irving Oil and Gas Company, Limited'', which was done under
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
jurisdiction, took place in May 1928. Irving Oil was then incorporated in February 1929 as ''Irving Oil Company, Limited'', with the newly-formed company being headquartered in Saint John; it acquired the preceding ''K. C. Irving Oil and Gas Company, Limited'', the "gasoline and oil division" of ''K. C. Irving, Limited'', as well as the Bore Motor Fuel Company, a
Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...
-based company previously unrelated to Irving which was incorporated on March 20, 1924. By November 1929, the company expanded; throughout the
Maritime provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
, Irving Oil Company went from 10 wholesale bulk stations to 30 since its formation earlier that year. The company also went from having 27 retail service stations distributing its products to 450. The following year, the company went forward with developments toward creating an oil plant; the Saint John Harbor Commissioners leased out land for the company to go through with these developments. In August 1931, an unconfirmed report claimed that the company was acquired by
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...
; by the end of that year, Irving Oil had grown to become one of the largest gasoline distributors in the Maritimes. The company expanded across the Maritimes through the 1930s, to
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in 1940,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
in 1949, and to
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
in 1972.


Environmental initiatives

In 1977, Irving Oil became the first Canadian oil company to offer unleaded gasoline at its retail outlets. In the late 1990s it became the first oil company in Canada and one of the first in North America to offer gasoline with very low sulphur content, a fact which was recognized by many automobile manufacturers. Due to its investment in reducing emissions, Irving Oil was one of the few energy companies in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to publicly support the
Kyoto Accord The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occ ...
. The resignation of president Ian Whitcomb, in February 2024, amid ongoing leadership changes and a strategic review, suggests potential significant shifts in the future direction of the company.


Operations


Refining

In 1960, the company partnered with Standard Oil Co. of California (SOCAL) to build the
Irving Oil Refinery The Irving Oil Refinery is a Canadian oil refinery located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is currently the largest oil refinery in Canada, capable of processing more than of crude oil per day. Over 80 per cent of the production is exported to t ...
on the east side of Saint John. Irving bought out SOCAL's share of the refinery in the late 1980s and expanded the facility to become Canada's largest refinery, processing over . In the late 1990s, the refinery was upgraded to create some of North America's lowest-emission petroleum. Since 1970, the refinery has been served by the
Canaport Canaport is a Canadian marine crude oil receiving terminal located on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at Mispec Point, approximately southeast of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Commissioned in 1970, Canaport was the first deep-water ...
crude oil receiving terminal southeast of Saint John. In 2009, this facility was expanded to host the Canaport LNG terminal for importing
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
(LNG). Irving Oil announced in fall 2006 that it had purchased more land near Canaport and was examining the feasibility of constructing another refinery in the area to complement the original modernized 1960s-era refinery in the east end of Saint John; the new refinery was to be named the "Eider Rock Refinery" and was to be built under a partnership between Irving Oil and
BP plc BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas "supermajors" and one of th ...
. On July 24, 2009 both companies announced that they were indefinitely postponing plans to build the second refinery.


Distribution


Marine

Irving Oil's core retail area is in northeast North America and is well served by a network of regional ports and harbours in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and New England - an area that is under-served by pipelines. Consequently, the company economically transports much of its petroleum products to regional distribution terminals at ports throughout the region using its own fleet of coastal tankers. The '' Irving Whale'', an oil barge owned by Irving Oil's sister firm
J.D. Irving Ltd. J. D. Irving Limited (JDI) is a privately owned conglomerate company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a part of the Irving Group of Companies and consists of various subsidiaries such as Irving Tissue, Irving Equipme ...
, was carrying a cargo of 4300 tons of No. 6 fuel oil for Irving Oil when it sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on September 7, 1970, causing a large initial oil spill and subsequent leaks for the next 26 years until it was salvaged by the federal government on July 30, 1996. In the 1990s, Irving Oil also took delivery of several Ultra Large Crude Carriers to deliver crude oil to the Saint John refinery from production locations in
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
.


Road

Irving Oil operates a large fleet of company-branded tanker trucks to deliver petroleum to retail locations from its Saint John refinery as well as the marine distribution terminals. Since the 1970s these semi-trailer tanker trucks were painted a distinctive golden yellow but the fleet underwent a paint scheme change in the 2000s to use white for both cab and trailer. Irving Oil's home heating fuel delivery truck fleet was similarly coloured and is undergoing a paint scheme change. Sister company J.D. Irving Limited owns and operates RST Industries which provides road tanker transport services for Irving Oil's wholesale deliveries, as well as for jet fuel, marine fuel, liquid asphalt, and other products.


Rail

Irving Oil once made extensive use of rail service to deliver petroleum from the Saint John refinery to rail-side distribution terminals throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec. The decline in rural branch rail lines operated by
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
and
CP Rail The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known unt ...
in the 1980s and 1990s, combined with the increase of 4-lane highway construction, has seen Irving Oil eliminate practically all retail petroleum delivery by rail and the closure of many of its rail-side distribution terminals in favour of newer highway-served terminals or direct deliveries. Irving Oil continues to make extensive use of rail service for wholesale petroleum deliveries from its Saint John refinery. Products such as propane, liquid asphalt and diesel are delivered daily to locations in Quebec and New England via
New Brunswick Southern Railway The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglo ...
, owned by sister company J.D. Irving Limited as well as by CN.


Retail network

Irving Oil operates bulk furnace oil and propane outlets in most major centres across
Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...
,
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
and
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
as well as select locations in eastern
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, almost all of which are supplied from its Saint John refinery. Irving Oil also operates over 900
gas stations A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
in these jurisdictions. In recent decades, smaller stations have been closed and consolidated as newer, larger facilities are constructed - Irving owns many choice real estate locations in communities across northeastern North America, some of which are no longer used for gas retailing, and others being held in speculation of some future need. Older stations are typically franchise operations and still have automobile service and repair shops, which in recent years are branded by Meineke.


Convenience stores

Most of Irving Oil's corporate owned-and-operated stations also contain
convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
s. These locations operated as simply "Irving" stations until the late 1990s, when the "Mainway" banner ("Marché Mainway" in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
) was introduced; "Mainway" being a brand appropriated from one of Irving's U.S. acquisitions. By the early 2000s, 56 of the company's Quebec locations had been leased to the Couche-Tard chain and rebranded accordingly, conversely 60 of Couche-Tard's fueling stations were supplied by Irving fuels and re-branded accordingly. By the mid 2000s, Irving began to renovate and rebrand its old "Mainway" stations under the name "Bluecanoe" as part of the company's modernization plan. The Bluecanoe brand was first introduced in New England and was introduced to some stations in eastern Ontario and the Atlantic provinces; however, many others were not upgraded and retained the older name "Mainway". On May 8, 2008, Irving announced that they would lease 252 of its gas stations in Atlantic Canada and New England to Couche-Tard for 20 years. Their gas remain supplied by Irving, but their convenience stores were converted to
Circle K Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian-American chain of convenience stores headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., based in Laval, Quebec. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the comp ...
. In 2018, following Couche-Tard's acquisition of
CST Brands CST Brands, Inc. was an American publicly traded fuel and convenience retailer. It was the second-largest of its kind in North America, with 1,900 outlets in the U.S. and Canada. CST Brands had 2013 revenues of about $12.8 billion and made approxi ...
(which saw most of its Canadian assets sold to
Parkland Fuel Parkland Corporation (formerly Parkland Fuel Corporation) is a Calgary, Alberta-based energy and retail company. Parkland operates gas stations under the Esso, Ultramar, Chevron, Pioneer, and Fas Gas Plus brands. The company holds the rights to ...
), 36
Ultramar Ultramar is an Eastern Canada, Eastern Canadian gas and home fuel retailer, with its head office located in Montreal, Quebec. Ultramar operates gas stations and home fuel delivery in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. History British oil co ...
gas stations in Atlantic Canada were converted to Irving/Circle K locations. Of them, 13 were in turn sold to Irving Oil and leased by Couche-Tard.


Big Stops

Irving Oil also operates several "Big Stops", which are truck stops featuring family restaurants, facilities for truck drivers, and convenience stores. These large stations are located at strategic locations throughout
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, the
Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
and
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. They occupy several hectares near important highway interchanges and junctions and have been developed since the 1970s; some of the oldest Big Stops are still in operation with the interiors being evocative of that era. These locations, aside from their convenience store operations, continue to be operated by Irving Oil. In the past decade, Irving Oil has opened several new Big Stops in New Brunswick to reflect the modernized and realigned arterial highway network in that province, and these facilities contain restaurants that have their own name and identity which are often reflective of the local area. The first modern Big Stop is in Salisbury, NB, and its restaurant is called "The Silver Fox"; the second one to open was in Lincoln, NB and has a restaurant called "The Blue Canoe"; the third was in Grand Falls, NB with a restaurant called "The Back Forty"; the most recent is in Enfield, NS with a restaurant called "Crossing" - the original name for the community.


Criticisms

Examples of vertical integration within the "Irving Group of Companies" (as the Irving family refers to their holdings) include the acquisition or formation of businesses along the entire chain of production, from the Irving refinery (an Irving Oil subsidiary) and its retail outlets, to the transportation subsidiaries of J.D. Irving (RST, Midland, NB Southern, Sunbury), to various construction and engineering companies that assist in building, maintaining and expanding the conglomerate's facilities. Further examples of vertical integration within the conglomerate include Industrial Security Ltd. (ISL), the wholly owned security company that guards facilities, as well as industrial suppliers such as Thornes, Universal Sales and Commercial Equipment Ltd. which provide specialty goods and services to its companies. J.D. Irving, the sister firm to Irving Oil, is a dominant forestry company in northeastern North America, growing trees, harvesting trees and producing lumber, pulp and paper, and various enhanced value products such as magazine grade paper, tissue, and personal care products. James Irving also owns
Brunswick News Brunswick News Inc. (BNI) was a Canadian newspaper publishing company based on Bloor Street in Toronto. Once privately owned by James K. Irving and based in Saint John, New Brunswick, it was sold to Postmedia Network in 2022. BNI was incorpora ...
which controls most English-language newspapers in New Brunswick. The City of
Saint John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...
, where Irving Oil is located, is closely tied to the Irving Group of Companies, which are mostly headquartered there. In 2000,
New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (NB NDP; ) is a social democratic political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. History Origins and early history The origins of the New Bruns ...
leader
Elizabeth Weir Elizabeth Jane Weir (born February 20, 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in New Brunswick. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick in June 1988 and became an opposition voice to the Liberal government, whic ...
released documents accessed under the ''Right to Information Act'' surrounding $1 billion upgrades being put in motion for the oil refinery by the government without being completely assessed for its environmental impact, suggesting that the government "ignored the public interest and pandered to big business." The July 2013
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Lac-Mégantic () is a town in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Lac Mégantic, a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the former Frontenac County in the historic Eastern Townships, Lac-Mégantic is the ...
rail tanker explosion increased awareness in Saint John of potential rail safety issues involving Irving Oil crude shipments, since the train that exploded was on its way to the Irving Oil refinery there. Irving Oil's siting of a crude oil rail terminal in an east neighbourhood of the city drew heavy criticism from environmentalists and residents. Irving Oil was allowed to establish the terminal without environmental assessments. The facility has since faced complaints regarding air quality and noise. There was also conflict in Saint John over the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline that was to cross through a major municipal park. However, it is unknown if there would be any health risks to the community. '' The Dominion'' newspaper, an independent Canadian newspaper, has criticized Irving's ownership of Brunswick News, as well as the newspapers' journalistic integrity, particularly when reporting on companies controlled by the Irving family such as Irving Oil. Even the Canadian Senate has examined the issue; a report from the Senate in 2006 on media control in Canada singled out New Brunswick because of the Irving companies' ownership of all English-language daily newspapers in the province, including the Telegraph-Journal. Senator Joan Fraser, author of the Senate report, stated, "We didn't find anywhere else in the developed world a situation like the situation in New Brunswick." The report went further, stating, "the Irvings' corporate interests form an industrial-media complex that dominates the province" to a degree "unique in developed countries." At the Senate hearing, journalists and academics cited Irving newspapers' lack of critical reporting on the family's influential businesses. There have also been accusations of Irving family political patronage, notably involving
Allan Rock Allan Michael Rock (born August 30, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, former politician, diplomat and university administrator. He was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations (2003-2006) and had previously served in the Cabinet of Jean Chrétien, ...
and
Claudette Bradshaw Claudette Bradshaw (April 8, 1949 – March 26, 2022) was a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, New Brunswick. She was first elected on June 2, 1997, and served until t ...
of the
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
.


Irving Oil and taxes

In 1987, Irving Oil sued the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
for $141 million, citing the amount as being "taxes and interest" which were "wrongly assessed against the company from 1971 to 1975." In response, the government alleged that Irving Oil used a "
sham Sham may refer to: Arabic use * Al-Sham or Shām (شام), the Arabic term for the Greater Syria region, known in English as the Levant or the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus ...
"
price system In economics, a price system is a system through which the valuations of any forms of property (tangible or intangible) are determined. All societies use price systems in the allocation and exchange of resources as a consequence of scarcity. Eve ...
to "hide swollen profits from
Revenue Canada The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...
, which has disallowed the company's claimed costs."


Tax breaks and concessions

In 1981, the provincial government, then-led by
Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life ...
, granted a
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
towards provincial
property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
es for Irving Oil's
Canaport Canaport is a Canadian marine crude oil receiving terminal located on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at Mispec Point, approximately southeast of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Commissioned in 1970, Canaport was the first deep-water ...
crude oil farm. Hatfield, who, according to
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
, "was on record opposing special tax treatment for Irving Oil's Canaport oil terminal," granted the exemption following the
1979 oil crisis A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...
. Despite the issues caused by the crisis having long been resolved, the tax exemption has never been removed, saving Irving Oil from having to pay for over $20 million in property taxes since its introduction.
Blaine Higgs Blaine Myron Higgs (born March 1, 1954) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 34th premier of New Brunswick from 2018 to 2024 and leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) from 2016 to 2024. Higgs grad ...
, the current
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, stated during a 2016 CBC interview with Harry Forestell that he would "support ending a provincial property-tax exemption on Irving Oil's Canaport oil terminal, if a review showed it was no longer needed," though progress regarding the matter has yet to have been made, despite calls for the removal of the exemption, including by provincial
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
leader
David Coon David Charles Coon (born October 28, 1956) is a Canadian Conservation movement, conservationist and politician who has served as leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick since 2012 and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick ...
, whose campaign for the 2018 election included the removal of the exemption. In March 2023, Service New Brunswick accidentally reverted the exemption and charged Irving Oil about $580,000 in Canaport property taxes, in what was described as an "inadvertent internal computer incident." The charge was later reverted and the exemption was reinstated. In March 2005, Irving Oil received a controversial municipal
tax concessions A tax incentive is an aspect of a government's taxation policy designed to incentivize or encourage a particular economic activity by reducing tax payments. Tax incentives can have both positive and negative impacts on an economy. Among the posi ...
for the Canaport site which were initially passed by the
Saint John City Council The Saint John City Council or Saint John Common Council as distinguished by the city's own charter, is the city council for the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The council consists of the mayor and ten councillors. In the 2007 Saint J ...
and subsequently the Progressive Conservative government led by
Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Ear ...
. The concessions, which reduced Irving Oil's municipal property taxes from $8 million down to being capped at $500,000 until 2030, were initiated in order to develop the Canaport LNG (
liquid natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
) terminal; it was apparently negotiated one-on-one with the city's then-mayor
Norm McFarlane Norman McFarlane is a Canadian businessman and politician. He was the 64th Mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. He was first elected on May 10, 2004, and sworn into office on Tuesday, May 25. He was defeated in the 2008 New Brunswick m ...
. The concessions have cost the City of Saint John approximately $75 million over ten years, with a potential total loss of over $180 million. The tax break was cancelled in December, 2016 at the request of Saint John city council, with unanimous support in the Legislative Assembly. In 2015, the ''
Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is the only New ...
'', a daily newspaper then-owned by Irving, published an
editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...
arguing against reconsideration of the tax concessions granted to Irving Oil, without acknowledging the conflict of interest. In 2016, coverage of Saint John Common Council advocacy for higher taxation of Irving Oil's refinery was notably absent from the newspaper, despite extensive coverage in CBC and other news outlets. In 2022, it was revealed through leaked financial documents that during 2005, the same year that they had persuaded municipal and provincial governments in what ultimately granted them the tax concessions, Irving Oil made $250.7 million in profits. The corporation even profited $111.2 million during the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, which severely dropped oil prices.


See also

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Kenneth Colin Irving Kenneth Colin Irving, (14 March 1899 – 13 December 1992) was a Canadian businessman whose business began with a family sawmill in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, in 1882. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Biography Earl ...
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J.D. Irving Limited J. D. Irving Limited (JDI) is a privately owned Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a part of the Irving Group of Companies and consists of various s ...


References


Citations


Works cited

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External links

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Canaport LNG
* https://web.archive.org/web/20061120092728/http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2006/10/04/nb-newrefinery.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20070825112052/http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2005/06/07/irving-050607.html {{Irving Group of Companies Irving family (New Brunswick) Oil companies of Canada Natural gas companies of Canada Automotive fuel retailers Gas stations in Canada Chemical companies of Canada Companies based in Saint John, New Brunswick Convenience stores of Canada Energy companies established in 1924 Canadian companies established in 1924 1924 establishments in New Brunswick