Canada: number of convenience stores 2021, by province

As of December 2021, there were 7,342 convenience stores located in Canada. Almost 3,000 of these were located in Canada’s most populous province of Ontario, whilst just one was in Yukon Territory. 4,037 of these stores had between one and four employees, whilst none employed over 200 people.

What are convenience stores?

Convenience stores are small retail establishments which sell a limited selection of food, beverage and other everyday products. Due to their small size, prices are often noticeably higher than their large grocery store counterparts. A convenience store may be a standalone establishment or part of a gas station.

Leading convenience store chains in Canada

According to sales figures, Couche-Tard Inc. was the leading convenience store chain in Canada in financial year 2019/20, with sales amounting to around 59.12 billion Canadian dollars. Parkland Fuel Corporation and Shell Corporation Ltd. ranked in distant second and third places, with sales reaching around 14.4 and 3.6 billion Canadian dollars respectively. There were 9,414 Couche-Tard locations in North America in 2020.