Gulf Canada
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| Subsidiary, Independent | |
| Industry | Oil and gas, Conglomerate |
| Predecessor | British-American Oil |
| Successor | ConocoPhillips Canada |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Parent |
Gulf Oil Corporation, Olympia and York, ConocoPhillips |
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| Subsidiary, Independent | |
| Industry | Oil and gas |
| Successor | Gulf Canada |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Founder | Albert Leroy Ellsworth |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Parent | Gulf Oil Corporation |
Gulf Canada, originally British-American Oil and eventually Gulf Canada Resources, was a major Canadian integrated gas, oil, and resources company that operated between 1906 and 2001. It was Canada's 4th largest oil company and operated over 9,000 retail gasoline outlets. The company expanded rapidly through growth and acquisition to eventually be valued at over $6 billion. It was a highly visible company that was the subject of controversial acquisition strategies, the federal government's efforts to Canadianize the oil and gas industry, and the failure of the world's largest property developer. At its peak, it was a diversified conglomerate whose assets included a major distillery company, the world's largest pulp and paper producer, a major pipeline, and Canada's largest natural gas distributor. Since 2001 it has operated as Phillips 66 Canada.
The British American Oil Company (B/A) was founded in Toronto, Ontario, in 1906 by Albert Leroy Ellsworth (1876–1950). He was born in Welland, Ontario, and had worked for 9 years at Standard Oil's Acme Refinery in Buffalo, New York. The company was organized with a Province of Ontario Charter dated October 17, 1906, and its first office building was located at the corner of King and Yonge Streets in Toronto.
In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp. B/A acquired a Dominion Charter which allowed it to expand eastward into Quebec as well as west into other provinces. Expansion was swift, with the refinery expanding to 40 acres and crude oil production was up to 32,000 barrels per month. Most of the product was hauled on horse-drawn wagons and in wooden barrels by rail.
In 1920 B/A purchased the Winnipeg Oil Company and established regional headquarters in Winnipeg. The company was by then marketing a variety of products, including gasoline, motor oil, benzene, anti-freeze, and others under a variety of brands, both in-house and from other companies. In 1924 B/A entered the U.S. as a producing company with the formation of the Toronto Pipeline Company. In 1925 B/A formed the British-American Oil Producing Company in Delaware to develop producing oil fields which were then being discovered in Oklahoma. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of B/A with operations confined to the United States.
In 1922 Ellsworth, together with several partners, established the Clear Vision Pump Company Limited (CVPC) which amongst other products, was the first pump that provided a visual check of the gasoline being dispensed. CVPC acquired similar companies in Canada and the United States which led to the formation of the Service Station Equipment Company Limited in 1927, later renamed International Metal Industries Limited.
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