Alberta-based UFA Co-op preps first cardlock, fuel hub in Manitoba

An Alberta-based co-op plans to open its first Manitoba gas station later this year.

UFA Co-operative Ltd. has circled Portage la Prairie for a cardlock and bulk petroleum site. Meanwhile, it’s analyzing the keystone province for future locations.

“There is more to come,” Fred Thun, UFA president, said Wednesday.

The co-op counts at least 121 petroleum stations across Alberta and Saskatchewan and 125,000 member-owners. It already ships fuel to bulk customers in Manitoba.

With the new space, it’s eyeing Portage-area farmers and truck drivers passing through, Thun said. Portage la Prairie is situated along the Trans-Canada Highway, making it an ideal spot, the company noted in a news release this week.

Thun didn’t have a timeline for expansion or a set number of UFA Co-op sites — rural or urban — that could open in the province. It depends on customer demand and UFA’s ongoing analysis, he said.

“(This isn’t) just a fly-by-night, quick in-and-out offer,” Thun said, adding he wants new locales to be “generationally” useful.

Construction is ongoing at 105 Poplar Bluff Rd.; UFA targets a late 2026 opening date.

Clear and dyed fuel, premium diesel fuel and high-speed satellite pumps will be available. There will be 10 dispensers at the cardlock and bulk fuel ready for direct delivery.

“If you look at global events — especially recently — it’s really hard to figure out when is a good time,” Thun said of UFA’s expansion, when asked about turmoil in the oil industry due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“There may never be a good time to expand, based on global events and global uncertainty. But when we look at our customer, our customers’ needs are ongoing.”

Portage la Prairie has a number of gas stations, including a Homestead Co-op, which falls under the Federated Co-operatives Limited banner.

The local market can be “extremely tight,” especially in Winnipeg, said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.

“Gas stations … often sell gasoline at or below cost and make money doing other things,” he said, as convenience stores attached to gas stations can be the cash cows.

Cardlock, bulk buying and deliveries are more lucrative, McTeague said, as cardlock facilities have less overhead costs and cater to specific crowds.

“That’s probably an area that (UFA Co-op) feel they can do better at or they can do better than what currently exists,” McTeague said. “Even in questionable environments like this — economic uncertainty — the early bird gets the worm.”

UFA Co-operative has announced several expansions over the past three months. In April, it acquired assets from AgraCity, a company selling crop protection products.

Media reported a $48.2-million deal at the time. The changing-hands included agricultural chemical registrations and a Saskatoon-based packaging facility.

Also in April, UFA said it will build three new Saskatchewan cardlock sites and rebuild another. It opened its first full-service farm retail store in the province in May.

It’s also creating a 200,000-square-foot distribution centre in Alberta.

UFA Co-operative reported $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025 and a record $36.6-million payout to members. Its earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization hit $167 million.

Red River Co-ops populate southern Manitoba but don’t have a Portage la Prairie location. The company circulated $38.8 million in equity cheques to about 330,000 members earlier this year. It said a spokesperson wasn’t available Wednesday.

UFA originally stood for the United Farmers of Alberta. It began in 1909, as a political lobby group but left provincial politics in 1935.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com