Vast oil and gas reserves fuel the fortunes of old and new generational wealth in Canada. But it takes hard work and humility to build wealth in this quintessential boom-and-bust sector, say West Oak Family Office senior wealth advisors Kelly Demo and Andrew McQuiston.
West Oak serves families in Calgary, where many oil-and-gas major players are first-generation or transitioning into the second generation.
“Regardless of the levels of wealth that they have, they still want their kids to be able to stand on their own two feet. And they raise their families, in addition to themselves, on hard work and taking risks,” says Demo.
McQuiston adds that entrepreneurs who succeed in the sector have mastered ways to take the longer view and de-risk the rollercoaster aspects of commodities with price points determined in a global arena. (And sometimes the rollercoaster goes up, of course: In the first few months of 2026, the price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude bounced from the low US$60s to more than US$100.)
But as McQuiston points out, “This is not just one cycle that they’re investing in—it’s multiple cycles.”
Calgary’s wealthy oil families are savers, say McQuiston and Demo, and not given to flamboyant displays of wealth. They often come from humbler origins.
They are passionate about oil and gas and know the sector very well, but they are diversifying their investments outside of it. They like mining, real estate and public and private investment, but they usually don’t buy or operate companies in other sectors, says McQuiston.
And they tend to stay in Alberta, or at least in Canada.
Demo says that as families grow, second-generation members may leave for their education, but they return to Alberta, attracted by the outdoor lifestyle, the city of Calgary and the political environment.
Energy sector businesses also contribute heavily to the community, notes Demo. “The names are all over hockey rinks … baseball stadiums, the arts. They really do give back in a meaningful way.”
There are some old-money, multi-generational billionaire families in oil and gas and related businesses, too. New Brunswick’s Irving family, which has vast wealth in oil refining and gas stations, as well as forestry and media concerns, is among them. Calgary’s Southern family has made its fortune in gas utilities and camp trailers and is branching into a variety of other avenues. And the Mannix family, also from Calgary, includes ManCal Energy in its portfolio of companies, though its holdings are widely diversified across real estate, energy and private equity.
There aren’t a lot of reliable estimates of the wealth of these entrepreneurs and families, but here are some of the most prominent players in oil and gas and related industries in Canada.
N. Murray Edwards
The 66-year-old chairman of oilsands giant Canadian National Resources Ltd. and part-owner of the Calgary Flames hockey team pops up on richest Canadian lists such as Forbes and Maclean’s. His wealth was estimated at about $4.8 billion this spring.
According to Forbes, the Saskatchewan-bred lawyer started investing in natural gas in the 1980s. He eventually built CNRL into one of the biggest oil-and-gas producers in Canada.
Edwards also has holdings in Ensign Energy and Imperial Metals, according to Maclean’s.
He moved from Calgary to London, UK, in 2016 and has since moved to St. Moritz in Switzerland.
The Irving family
New Brunswick’s Irving empire includes Canada’s largest oil refinery, a refinery in Ireland and about 900 gas stations and gas terminals in Canada and the northeastern U.S.
Maclean’s estimates the family wealth at $15.8 billion, and Forbes said Arthur Irving, the Irving family member controlling Irving Oil, was worth $6.3 billion in 2024, the year he died.
Family business founder K.C. Irving opened a gas station in 1924 in Bouctouche, N.B., and went on to create a sprawling conglomerate of oil, forestry and newspaper businesses.
In the second generation, Arthur Irving took over the oil side of the empire, buying out his brother Jack in 2018. In 2025, it was announced that Irving Oil would remain privately owned, following the death of Arthur and Jack.
A third generation of Irvings is now involved in the business.
Adam Waterous
The 64-year-old chairman of Strathcona Resources was formerly a successful banker, heading up Scotiabank’s global investment banking arm. His Waterous Energy Fund has a $6.5 billion stake in Strathcona, Canada’ fifth-largest oil producer.
Waterous was born in Brantford, Ont., and has lived with his wife, Jan, in Banff since 1997, according to the Horatio Alger Association. Their three sons work for the Waterous Energy Fund.
While Waterous’s net worth isn’t public, in 2024 EnergyNow.ca estimated he had holdings of at least $1 billion. He is also the owner of Mount Norquay Ski Resort in Banff. The Waterouses are promoting a proposal for a new rail line from Calgary to Banff.
Nancy Southern
Nancy Southern, 69, is chair and CEO of Calgary’s $27 billion ATCO empire started by her father, Ron Southern. The firm is publicly traded. Southern’s net worth is unknown, but Ron Southern’s fortune was estimated in the US$1.5 billion to $2 billion range before his death.
Ron Southern embarked on providing movable trailer accommodation for the oil industry when he partnered with his father at 17 years of age. By the 1980s, the burgeoning company branched into utilities. ATCO owns hydro, wind and solar projects and natural gas pipelines, as well as electrical transmission lines.
Nancy Southern took the helm of ATCO in 2003. Ron Southern died in 2016.
The family built and owns Spruce Meadows, a renowned equestrian complex in south Calgary. Nancy’s sister Linda Southern-Heathcott is president and CEO of Spruce Meadows. Kelly Koss-Brix, Nancy Southern’s daughter, is on the ATCO board of directors.
David Werklund
David Werklund’s first job in the sector was as an oilrig worker. The 80-year-old, Alberta-born Werklund started his entrepreneurial career with Dave’s Oilfield Service. In 1979, he founded Concord Well Servicing, which grew into the third-largest well service company in Canada. He went on to create a number of other well- and rig-servicing and oilfield waste treatment companies.
In 2006, Werklund established the Werklund Family Office, providing wealth management services for family members and the investment firm Werklund Ventures.
He is known for his philanthropy, including a family donation of $75 million that resulted in the Calgary Arts Commons being renamed the Werklund Centre, a concert and gallery venue in downtown Calgary.
No current estimate of Werklund’s wealth is available, but in 2021 Canadian Business estimated it at more than $1.4 billion.
The Riddell family
Family founder Clay Riddell died in 2018 at the age of 81. His wealth, derived from oil-and-gas exploration and resource development, was estimated in the $1.1 billion to $3.3 billion range.
The Manitoba-born Riddell worked early on as a geologist for Chevron and is known for founding Paramount Resources. He was also a co-owner of the Calgary Flames and owned restaurants in Calgary.
Son Jim took the reins of Paramount in 2015 and still serves as the firm’s chair and CEO.
Daughter Sue Riddell Rose is also an entrepreneur in the oil industry, serving as president and CEO of junior heavy oil explorer and developer Rubellite Energy.
Allan Markin
The native Calgarian co-founder of Canadian Natural Resources served in senior management positions in a few oil exploration firms before co-founding Canadian Natural Resources with Murray Edwards in 1989. Markin, 80, was the chair of CNRL until his retirement in 2012.
In 2007, he founded Pure North S’Energy Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that drew controversy over its promotion of the use of alternative health treatments, including high-dose vitamins.
Markin has become a notable philanthropist, donating to a variety of post-secondary institutions, with a particular focus on health and health education.
He is also a co-owner of the Calgary Flames.
Mike Rose
In 2021, energy media was estimating that Calgarian Mike Rose’s stake in his Tourmaline Oil Corp. had pushed past $1 billion. Rose, with more than 39 years in the oil business, is a geologist by education and has founded four successful oil-and-gas companies. His company Duvernay Oil Corp. was bought by Shell in 2009 for $5.9 billion.
Tourmaline, which Rose founded in 2008, became the largest natural gas producer in Canada in 2021.
Rose is married to Sue Riddell Rose, an oil-and-gas explorer and company executive in her own right.
Kathy Kerr is a veteran online and print journalist who, as a newspaper reporter, editor, and now freelance writer has covered the Canadian business and financial scene for more than three decades. Kathy has contributed to Canadian Family Offices for four years and has also written for The Globe and Mail,the Real Estate News Exchangeand various commercial business publications. She also comments on Alberta politics for TV, radio and online publications.
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