Farmers in the Oil Business
A 90-year history
The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) began its partnership with Maple Leaf Petroleum in 1935 and later acquired the corporation in 1953, a visionary move that helped to secure UFA’s petroleum future. How did this deal unfold and what happened to Maple Leaf Petroleum since then? Using historic records from our collection, including 1935 agreements, correspondence and contracts from the 1950s sale, marketing materials, and photographs, this blog post will look at the early relationship between UFA and Maple Leaf.
In the 1920s, industrial technology was introduced to Alberta farms, requiring fuel and petroleum products to operate this equipment. The Maple Leaf Oil and Refinery Company was established by a group of Americans at Coutts in 1925 after demand from local farmers and established outlets around Alberta.
The first co-operative bulk fuel outlet opened at Huxley in 1929, and was backed by the Loyalty UFA Local. Farmers at Arrowwood also organized a purchasing pool and there were other, similar activities in various areas of the province organized by individual UFA Locals. Locals were branches of UFA established in various communities. They served as the grassroots foundation of UFA, connecting farmers and ranchers within their respective regions to address their needs and concerns.
In 1932, the UFA Central Co-operative Association Limited, a subsidiary of UFA was formed to centralize the buying of farm supplies for the Locals. This was to separate commercial activities from the 1909 formed UFA which primarily functioned as an advocacy group.
Also in 1932, the Maple Leaf Oil and Refinery Company was purchased by Standard Oil. The Maple Leaf outlets were purchased by Northern Oils and Maple Leaf focused on petroleum refinement at Coutts.
The UFA Central Co-operative then backed the Alberta Oil Consumers Co-op to enter into an agreement with George MacKenzie of Northern Oils for the distribution of petroleum products to UFA members.
With this new business endeavor, UFA needed a supervisor to help smooth out their field operations. They hired Art Riley as Petroleum Manager and he was given UFA’s first company vehicle, a used 1932 Chevy Coupe. Art remained in this position until his death in 1958.
Shipping petroleum products was done by rail and it was soon realized that unloading the tanker cars and transporting the product was labour intensive, wasteful and time consuming. In addition, Northern Oils had become indebted to Maple Leaf Petroleum and they ended up taking back their Maple Leaf outlets, putting Northern Oils and MacKenzie out of business. In 1934, Maple Leaf became a subsidiary of Imperial Oil through an arrangement with Standard Oil.
All of this made for a complicated system of fuel delivery and from UFA’s perspective, more difficult than it needed to be.
This period was also in the midst of the Great Depression During, with the impacts of severe drought, low agricultural prices for farm products, and widespread unemployment prompting UFA to seek ways to help farmers.
With economic issues at the forefront, and UFA’s departure from politics in 1935, they focused their endeavors on commercial operations. With this in mind UFA members pressed the UFA Central Co-operative to be more involved and turn the physical handling of petroleum goods into a more manageable system. They wanted to see their own bulk facilities built for proper storage and the ability to sell to members on demand. The proposed plan was for UFA to own fuel facilities and take responsibility for the handling of goods and an agent would manage the agency for a commission.
UFA used their purchasing power as a co-operative and struck a deal for UFA to be the general agents handling Maple Leaf branded petroleum, oil and grease products, and the Maple Leaf brand and its holdings became the exclusive use of UFA. UFA was considered a petroleum marketer of Maple Leaf, and Imperial Oil still owned a majority share of Maple Leaf Petroleum.
Maple Leaf was responsible for accounts receivable, inventories, product transportation, and field auditing. They also provided financial assistance in building additional bulk plants. UFA provided some of the sales force and received a commission from which they set up the patronage dividend program.
Early on, it was the UFA Local and their secretary who would manage the agency and its records. When locations had bulk tanks installed, and an office and loading dock built, it became a more professional operation and easier to bring on an independent agent. Many agents were also farmers and farmer-agents installed tanks and sheds on their own properties to serve neighboring farms. Other agents began fuel delivery to farms and ranches with drums loaded on delivery trucks or even a horse drawn wagon.
1936 was the first official contract year between Maple Leaf and UFA. This partnership was considered very successful and sales totaled 1.8 million gallons with total earnings of $12,000 (which would be worth over $260,000 today). Within 5 years, UFA had over 100 outlets distributing 4 million gallons per year. A Calgary Maple Leaf service station opened in 1940, along with UFA’s new head office.
Second World War
At peak wartime in 1942, the manufacturing of storage tanks and steel drums was restricted and many UFA and Maple Leaf agents resigned to enlist in the war.
Fuel rationing came into effect, and the building of the Alaska highway greatly reduced the number of truckers available for fuel transportation. Reportedly, efforts were made to re-use the used drums piled up along the Alaska highway.
The Second World War saw shortages of labour, fuel and steel, which caused supply issues at a number of agencies. Repairs and replacements for fuel transport trucks were also difficult to find. There were even agencies that closed during this time. This made for several difficult years, until all wartime regulations were eventually lifted in 1945.
Acquisition of Maple Leaf
According to Cecil Robb, the Petroleum Sales Manager after Art Riley, Imperial Oil encouraged UFA to have greater investment and responsibility in Maple Leaf. There had also been questions raised about the legality of the “marketing organization” arrangement between Imperial Oil and Maple Leaf Petroleum.
In 1953, UFA acquired the Maple Leaf Petroleum bulk plants. This was financially successful for UFA and put them in a position to purchase the entire assets of Maple Leaf Petroleum from Imperial Oil on January 1, 1957 for $1,000,000, a sum that was paid in full within 3 years. Imperial Oil continued to be UFA’s supplier for many decades.
This move was done to provide independence for UFA’s operations and to increase earnings. The assets consisted of the bulk plants, plant inventories, accounts receivable, and the Maple Leaf brand name, which had grown to be recognized and trusted among farmers.
The purchase was made while George Church was president of UFA and Wilf Hoppins was General Manager. Maple Leaf employees with five years of service were given the opportunity to transfer to UFA and many of them did.
This was considered a visionary move that helped to secure the co-op’s economic future and it gave UFA more control over the business including branding. After the purchase, UFA phased out the Maple Leaf name, but continued to use the maple leaf logo on petroleum products into the 1970s. When metrification was phased in, the maple leaf was eventually dropped from petroleum product branding for a standardized UFA design.
Professionalizing UFA Petroleum
The 1970s saw a steady increase in the mechanization of agriculture and petroleum consumption. An oil boom saw UFA agencies spring up in country towns all over the province, some with added tire shops and mechanic garages. Petroleum sales climbed steadily and by 1977, UFA’s Petroleum Division achieved sales of over 115 million gallons and became the #1 marketer of farm fuel products in Alberta.
UFA professionalized their petroleum operations and in 1978, there were 16 head office employees working for the Petroleum Division. Lawrence Proudfoot became the Petroleum Manager in 1965. He was originally from Lacombe and started as a Jr. UFA member. He joined UFA as an employee in 1947 and other than two years in the Educational Department, he was associated with the Petroleum Division for his entire career.
UFA hired marketing supervisors to transform their patchwork of fuel outlets into a well-run network. Marketing supervisors ensured efficient distribution of petroleum products. They also needed to maintain current market knowledge, train agents, provide leadership, maintain UFA property, and control and oversee inventory at the agencies.
Agents are in the service business and in the early days were known to be on-call 24 hours a day when fuel was needed. In areas with a petroleum agency, the UFA agent is often well-known and has established long-term relationships with their customers. UFA agents are entrepreneurs, many who have created generational businesses passed on to their family members.
In 1975, the Million Gallon Club was created to recognize the work of the agents and member associations that sold one million gallons or more per year. In recognition of this achievement, each member of the Million Gallon Club received a plaque for selling one million gallons and a gold bar for each of the next million gallons sold. There was also an Agent of the Month feature printed in The United Farmer.
The petroleum industry became quite volatile in the 1980s, prices rose, business became more competitive and fuel agents struggled to compete, resulting in the closure of a number of UFA agencies. Despite this, UFA still managed to maintain market share and this was attributed to customer loyalty and staff efforts.
UFA continued to modernize their Petroleum Division and service systems by introducing new technologies. 1984 was the opening of UFA’s first Cardlock, a 24 hour automated fuel station, which became a network that continued to grow to be the largest of its kind in Alberta.
Today, there are over 100 petroleum agencies throughout Alberta, and in BC and Saskatchewan. UFA’s Petroleum Division continues to play an important role in the expansion and success of the co-operative. Beginning 90 years ago, UFA successfully marketed petroleum products and became the only major petroleum organization wholly owned by Alberta’s farmers and ranchers.
Archivist note: This text has been adapted from a presentation for Historic Calgary Week that took place July 31, 2025.
Sources
“Farmers in the Oil Business” and “People in the Petroleum Division.” The United Farmer 1978 July-August Page 8.
“Farmers in the Oil Business.” The United Farmer 1984 May-June Page 3.
“Farmers in the Oil Business.” The U.F.A. Co-operator 1.2, (July, 1963) Page 9.
Margach, Bill. “U.F.A.s Venture into Petroleum Marketing.” 2002 (Maple Leaf Reference Collection).
“Petroleum Division.” The United Farmer 1978 January-February Page 6.
“The Individual and UFA.” The United Farmer 1979 November-December Page 8.
Tolton, Gord. Deep Roots. Farmers in Business: Maple Leaf Forever, Petro in the Fifties. Page 125 – 129 & 140 – 143.
Thank you to Erin Hoar and the United Farmers Historical Society for permitting Pioneer Acres to reprint this amazing Alberta story from their blog.
We are also very grateful for the UFA historical display in our museum provided by the United Farmers Historical Society.
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