Our Story
In 1950, the Dufresne family—Fernand, Carmen, and their five children Pierre, Jacques, Louise, Lina, and Josée—moved to Rue des Frênes in Quebec City’s Limoilou district. With a fledgling fuel oil business run right out of the basement, theirs was no ordinary house. Over the years, the company has prospered and become a true family affair.
The company is founded by Fernand Dufresne. It starts distributing heating oil with a small tanker truck in Quebec City’s Lower Town.
Automatic heating oil delivery service is introduced.
The distribution area is expanded as new residential developments pop up in Sainte-Foy, Charlesbourg, and Beauport.
Ferdinand’s two sons, Pierre and Jacques Dufresne, join the company.
A maintenance and installation service for oil heating systems is created and the company builds a head office in Quebec City.
The first EKO service station opens its doors in Loretteville, a suburb of Quebec City.
The network now has ten service stations in the Quebec City area.
The company acquires Gulf Canada’s heating oil clientele for Quebec City’s north and south shores, doubling sales.
The company partners up with a national oil company to acquire 40 services stations in the Saguenay, Lac Saint-Jean, and North Shore regions.
The MILLIPLEIN loyalty program is launched.
Over 100,000 members have joined the MILLIPLEIN program. Groupe F. Dufresne wins the Vision award in the Visionary Company of the Year category.
A large-scale renovation program is launched for corporate service stations.
The head office doubles in size to accommodate additional staff.
A business partnership with a national oil company results in the acquisition of 25 service stations across the Gaspé Peninsula.
The company acquires a fuel distribution network of 105 service stations across the province, operating under the Sonerco and Axco banners.
Groupe F. Dufresne enters the fast food business with the Topla! chain of restaurants! It now has eight corporate restaurants and a central kitchen that supplies Topla! sauces to grocery stores across Quebec.
The company acquires fuel oil and commercial diesel customers from a family business in Quebec City.
Pierre and Jacques Dufresne celebrate 50 years with the company!
Launch of the Sprint brand for Groupe F. Dufresne corporate convenience stores. Over $3 million is invested to convert and renovate the group’s corporate EKO stores.
The third generation of Dufresnes—Jérôme, Pierre-Olivier and Francis—takes the reins!
Groupe F. Dufresne partners with Suncor to expand its network in Quebec and New Brunswick under the Petro-Canada brand. The transaction positions the Quebec City company as the largest Petro-Canada retailer and operator in the country, with 180 service stations. This brings the total number of Groupe F. Dufresne retail locations to 283.
Le Groupe F. Dufresne poursuit son expansion au Québec en accueillant l'entreprise amossoise Les Pétroles Alcasyna dans son réseau!
Supporting the community
At Groupe F. Dufresne, we have the opportunity to make a difference by supporting community development organizations in our area.
Partnership with the CHU Foundation
We Are Proud to Support the Baie-des-Chaleurs Palliative Care Home
Thanks to the initiative of Jacques Dufresne, Vice President of the Board of Directors, Sprint convenience stores are proud to support a deeply human project: the Baie-des-Chaleurs Palliative Care Home.
This donation reflects Mr. Dufresne’s sincere desire to give back to a region that holds a special place in his heart. His personal commitment embodies the values of generosity, respect, and solidarity that drive our company.
This project will provide compassionate and heartfelt care to individuals at the end of life, as well as to their loved ones in the Gaspésie region. With its six peaceful rooms, the home will offer free, adapted accommodations, respite for caregivers, and a setting that fosters calm, dignity, and comfort.
🎯 Already $3.9 million raised towards the $5 million goal! Let’s continue working together to make this hopeful project a reality.
👉 Learn more: https://mspbaiedeschaleurs.ca/campagne-majeure-2024-2028/
💙 Make a donation: https://mspbaiedeschaleurs.ca/don/
Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Québec
Nous avons été un fier partenaire de la première édition de la soirée du Petit Prince selon Donavan, initiée par le Centre de pédiatrie social de Québec.
Dès le début de la création de la soirée du Petit Prince, notre co-président d’honneur, Francis Dufresne, président du Groupe F. Dufresne n’a pas hésité à faire tout ce qui était en son pouvoir en contribuant de son temps et en apportant des idées pour assurer la réussite de cette soirée. « Le Centre est là où il y a un vide; un vide qui nécessite absolument d’être comblé pour donner une chance à ces enfants de devenir des citoyens qui contribuent à la société positivement. Sans le Centre, des milliers d’enfants auraient probablement eu des destins différents depuis 10 ans. Merci à toute l’équipe pour votre amour envers les enfants et les familles que vous accompagnez. »
Plus de 125 000$ ont été amassés durant cette soirée.
Jimmy Pelletier Ride - Adaptavie
Once again this year, Dépanneur Sprint was a proud sponsor of the Jimmy Pelletier Ride.
The 7th edition of the Ride brought together 80 cyclists for a 500 km journey from Lac-Beauport to Baie-Comeau, passing through the towns of Baie-Saint-Paul, Sacré-Coeur, and Forestville.
Thanks to the donations collected by the 80 cyclists and the invaluable support of all participating partners, the Jimmy Pelletier Ride raised a record amount of $282,000. This funding will allow Adaptavie to support its sports and recreation program, which aims to promote inclusion and adapted physical activity for children, teens, and adults with special needs.
We are proud to invest in our community—creating meaningful change, one step at a time.
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Quebec City
Since 2011, we have been supporting Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Quebec City in its mission to fight poverty and social exclusion of disadvantaged people and families in the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches regions.
“We have donated over $100,000 to Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Quebec City since 2011. That money has gone directly to helping local people in need.”
Red Nose
As a partner of Red Nose since 2013, Groupe F. Dufresne repays volunteers’ travel in Milliplein rewards. We encourage everyone to be careful on the road during the holidays and to take advantage of this fantastic safe ride service when needed.
Our Senior Management Team
Groupe F. Dufresne draws on the talent and dedication of nearly 1500 employees at its various subsidiaries. It owes its position as a solid, innovative, and diversified company to its strong team of experienced managers.
Pierre Dufresne
Chairman of the Board
Pierre Dufresne joined the company in 1968 as a heating oil truck driver. Today, as president and CEO, he is constantly seeking out new opportunities and has extensive industry expertise. Under his leadership, the family business has grown from a small heating oil distributor to a large, 800-employee company. The Milliplein loyalty program is one of his biggest achievements. It launched in 1997 and now has over 200,000 members.
Pierre Dufresne sat on the board of Quebec’s association for energy distributors (ADEQ, formerly AQUIP) for a many years and also served as chair. He has been involved with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Quebec City for many years.
Jacques Dufresne
Vice Chairman of the Board
Jacques Dufresne joined the company in 1968 as a heating oil truck driver. For over 35 years, he and his team have been committed to providing thousands of customers with outstanding and reliable heating oil and diesel delivery and home heating services, 24 hours a day. Throughout his career, he has helped acquire petroleum product distributors to ensure a bright and sustainable future for Groupe F. Dufresne.
As vice-president, he brings solid industry experience to the senior management team, including in environmental management and petroleum product transportation logistics.
Jacques Dufresne is personally involved in many charitable causes.
Francis Dufresne, MBA
President
Francis Dufresne holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Laval University. He has over 10 years of experience in the service station and convenience store industry. He is trained as a lawyer and started his career at Lavery de Billy, before joining the family business in 2011 as business development coordinator. He subsequently held the title of director of legal affairs and shortly thereafter, in 2017, was promoted to senior director of legal affairs. He is involved in many of the organization’s development projects and acquisitions.
He is actively involved in the community, including as honorary president for the Adaptavie gourmet buffet and the “Le Petit Prince” benefit for Quebec City’s social pediatric centre.
Jérôme Dufresne
Executive VP, Retail, Marketing and Fuels
Jérôme Dufresne joined the family business in 2000, after majoring in business administration with a specialization in operations and production and inventory management at HEC Montreal. He has 20 years of experience in the petroleum industry. Before taking on the role of senior director of corporate networks in 2015, Jérôme Dufresne held various positions within the group, including regional manager of the EKO affiliate network, director of corporate operations, and senior director of Pétroles Cadeko.
He is deeply involved in the industry and for a number of years has been a member of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) steering committee and the ADEQ economic affairs committee. In 2017, Jérôme Dufresne served as the ADEQ organizing committee’s conference chair.
Pierre-Olivier Dufresne
Executive Vice President, IT and Project Office
Pierre-Olivier Dufresne has nearly 15 years of experience in the family business and was promoted to senior director of information technology in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree in administration and organizational information systems from Laval University. Among many other projects, he was tasked with overseeing a complete overhaul of the company’s IT systems and business processes.
He sits on the ADEQ board of directors and has also served as honorary president of the Dare to Be Red cocktail fundraiser for the La Symboise youth centre in Cap-Rouge.
Saïd Ben Ahmed
Senior Director, IT and Project Office
Saïd Ben Ahmed holds a university degree in software engineering, a university certificate in project management and a DESS in digital business management from Laval University. He has also obtained several professional certifications: PMP, Prince2, ITIL V3 and Microsoft MCP.
With some twenty years' experience in the IT field, Saïd Ben Ahmed specializes mainly in software solutions development, technology governance and enterprise systems modernization.
Over the years, he has worked with a number of organizations, including Revenu Québec, CHUL de Québec, Desjardins, EBC and Groupe Sélection. He recently joined Groupe F. Dufresne in 2022. His current position is Senior Director - IT and Project Office.
André Berthiaume, Eng.
Senior Director, Logistics, Construction, Environment
André Berthiaume holds a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) and has more than 20 years of experience in the petroleum industry. He joined our team as senior director of logistics, construction, and environment in 2019.
Before making the move to Groupe F. Dufresne, André Berthiaume was a partner at Groupe SM Tardif for over 8 years. He held various leadership positions before serving as vice-president from 2014 to 2019.
Benoit Huard
Senior Director, Transportation and Logistics
With a degree in Administration from the Université de Chicoutimi and over 20 years' experience, Benoit Huard knows all there is to know about the world of transport. He has an impressive and well-rounded track record. He began his career as a driver, then moved on to positions such as dispatcher, coordinator, terminal manager and assistant operations manager.
Benoit Huard joined the Group in 2019 as Operations Manager before becoming Operations and Sales Manager in 2021. He was then promoted to Senior Director - Transportation and Logistics in 2023.
Gabriel B. Pelletier
Senior Director, Marketing, Sales and Communications
Gabriel B. Pelletier graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BAA) from Université Laval, specializing in marketing, SME management and entrepreneurship. After starting his career in the cultural sector, at just 28 he co-founded the TRAMWAY consulting agency, where he carried out numerous mandates. He went on to become marketing director of Complexe Capitale Hélicoptère, Groupe Huot and its subsidiaries.
Gabriel B. Pelletier was recruited by Groupe F. Dufresne as Marketing Director in 2014. Since then, he has initiated and participated in several projects, such as the creation of the Dépanneurs Sprint banner, the development of Topla! restaurants and the redesign of the Milliplein program. He was promoted to Senior Director, Marketing and Communications in 2022.
He was also involved in 2011 with La Fondation du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec as a founding member and VP of Cercle 179.
Stéphane Gélinas
Senior Director, Development and Affiliate Networks
Stéphane Gélinas studied Business, Administration & Marketing, and has over 25 years of experience in sales representation and management.
He joined the Group in 2005 as Director of Development, where he oversaw the growth of the affiliate network under the EKO banner. In 2022, he was promoted to Senior Director, Development and Affiliate Networks.
In parallel with his career at Groupe F. Dufresne, he was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for over 16 years as an officer in the Cadet Instructor Cadre, including 13 years as an instructor at the École Régionale des Instructeurs de Cadets. He is a recipient of the Canadian Forces Decoration and has been awarded the Silver and Gold levels of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. Over the years, he has been involved in a number of organizations that have enabled him to pass on his leadership and knowledge to the adults of tomorrow.
Mélanie Racine, CPHR
Senior Director, Human Resources
A member of the CPHR (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources), Mélanie Racine completed her studies in Industrial Relations at Université Laval in 2000.
Upon graduation, she began her career as an HR consultant and health and safety coordinator for all Groupe Permacon inc. plants in Quebec.
In 2014, she joined the Groupe F. Dufresne's management team as Director of Human Resources, where she supported the company's growth by building a solid team of professionals in payroll and benefits, training, talent acquisition and prevention. Mélanie Racine was promoted to Senior Human Resources Manager in 2022.
Stéphane Pomerleau, CPA
Senior Director, Finance and Accounting
A member of the Quebec SPA Order since 2009, Stéphane Pomerleau holds a BAC in administration and a DESS in public accounting from HEC Montréal.
He began his career with EY, mainly on audit mandates for public companies. Stéphane joined Groupe F. Dufresne in 2012 as Accounting Manager. In 2022, he was promoted to Senior Director - Finance and Accounting.
Over the years, he has been involved in all phases of the SAP ERP implementation, the creation of the Topla! restaurant chain and several business acquisitions.
Jean-Claude Gadras, CPA
Conseiller spécial, Finances, administration et ressources humaines
Professionnel agréé (CPA, CA) depuis 1989, Jean-Claude Gadras a commencé sa carrière comptable comme vérificateur externe dans un cabinet d’expert-comptable, avant de se joindre au Groupe F. Dufresne en 1995.
Au cours des 25 dernières années dans l’entreprise, il a participé à l’élaboration de nombreux projets qui lui ont permis de développer des compétences en matière d’acquisition d’entreprises, de financement et de gestion.
Promu Directeur principal, finances et administration en 2008, il a dirigé jusqu'en 2022 les services de la comptabilité, du crédit et des ressources humaines avant de passer le flambeau à Stéphane Pomerleau et Mélanie Racine en prévision de la retraite vers la fin 2023.
Comme Conseiller spécial, Jean-Claude a maintenant le mandat d’assurer une transition efficace et harmonieuse de ses tâches vers Stéphane Pomerleau et Mélanie Racine. Il continuera d’appuyer la haute direction dans la réalisation de notre plan stratégique et assumera lui aussi certains mandats
management team
Le Groupe F. Dufresne peut compter sur l'expérience et la passion d'une équipe de direction de haut niveau.
Stéphane Blouin
Operations Manager, Transport Norcité
Matthieu Bouchard
IT Operations Manager
Stéphanie Bouchard
Director of billing and accounts receivable
Marie-Pierre Caron
Director of Payroll and Benefits
Benoit Castilloux
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
Hassan El Kouraichi
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
Yves Fournier
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
Vincent Gagnon
Accounting Director
Raphaël Gaudreault
Directeur des affaires juridiques
Audrey Lapointe
Directrice des opérations - Restaurants A&W
Éric Marchand
Directeur des opérations corporatives, Dépanneurs Sprint
Ouassim Mhaya
Directeur des systèmes d’entreprises et du bureau de projets
Jeff McLeod
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
François Ritchie
Directeur des opérations corporatives, Dépanneurs Sprint
Fabiola Trujillo
Directrice de la commercialisation
Sébastien Turgeon
Directeur de production, approvisionnement et développement des affaires, La Cuisine Centrale
Luc Vachon
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
Claude Villeneuve
Territory Manager, Affiliated Networks
Join our team!
For more information on job opportunities at Groupe F. Dufresne or in one of our divisions.
Groupe F. Dufresne
Groupe F. Dufresne was founded in Quebec City in 1950. Today, it’s a third-generation family business that employs nearly 800 people. It includes companies under multiple brands active in convenience store operations, retail fuel sales, restaurant and food services, home comfort, and transportation logistics.
Mission
We are driven to innovate and have always had an entrepreneurial mindset. We are a pioneering organization, both in terms of service quality and optimized resource management.
Contact us
We’re only satisfied when you are. Experiencing a problem or simply want to give us feedback on our services or products? We’ll be happy to respond to you quickly.
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careers
Join the Groupe F. Dufresne family
Whether as part of the administrative team at our head office or in one of our divisions, we’re always looking for new talent to join the Groupe F. Dufresne family.