Joan Donald grew up on a farm near Millet, Alberta, one of 11 children who learned early that when your own harvest was finished, you went and helped the neighbours with theirs. That lesson shaped a life that would eventually help build one of Canada’s largest independent fuel companies and decades of community fundraising in Red Deer. In 2021, the Government of Alberta inducted Donald into the Alberta Order of Excellence for her contributions to business, education, health and culture across central Alberta.
From a One-Room School to the Boardroom
Born in Wetaskiwin in 1935, Donald attended a one-room country school until Grade 9, when her family moved to Edmonton. There she met Jack Donald at Garneau High School, and the two married in 1955. After working at the Royal Bank of Canada and taking evening business classes, Joan and Jack ventured into the service station business together in 1957. In 1964, they moved to Red Deer to raise their children, co-founding Parkland Oil Products Ltd. and growing it from a single station into 38 outlets across central Alberta before selling the company in 1971.
Building Parkland Fuel
Five years later, in 1976, the Donalds bought Parkland Industries Ltd., the company behind the Fas Gas chain. Joan served as the company’s Assistant Corporate Secretary from 1977 until her retirement in 2001, handling investor relations, annual meetings and board planning while sitting on its board of directors for 28 years. By the time she stepped back, the company, by then known as Parkland Fuel Corp., operated its own refinery and 454 retail stations across Western and Northern Canada. Her full record is available on the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Order of Excellence profile for Joan Donald.
A Half Century of Giving Back in Red Deer
Donald has volunteered in Red Deer for more than 50 years, organizing horse shows at Westerner Park for two decades, serving on its board and executive, and later helping start the Festival of Trees in 1994. The Donald School of Business at Red Deer Polytechnic, formerly Red Deer College, carries the couple’s name after their support of the college’s expansion in 2007. Donald also served on the board of STARS air ambulance and on two of its capital campaigns.
In 2011, Donald was made a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
