Stanley Owerko
Stan is married to Marge Owerko, and they have three children and five grandchildren. Stan moved to Alberta from Saskatchewan in 1962.
In 1986, Stan founded Petrogas Energy Corp. and built it to be one of the largest privately held midstream energy and logistics companies in North America, marketing propane, butane and crude oil throughout North America and internationally.
Stan currently holds a number of principal shareholder positions, including CEO and President SAM Holdings Ltd,, a family business enterprise, CEO Midstream Energy Partners, CEO General Land & Power and CEO and Director of Whitemud Resources Inc.
The Owerkos have a strong philanthropic ethos of giving back - here as well as around the world. Since 2010, as Patrons of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Owerkos have committed $70 million to the children’s hospital, including $50 million towards building the Centre for Research & Innovative Care. Their donations to ACHF have supported brain health research for kids, including neurodevelopmental disorders and mental health treatment at the Owerko Family Walk-in Services Clinic at The Summit.
They recently committed $30 million towards the OWN.Cancer Campaign for the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, towards Immunotherapy, Biomanufacturing and Clinical Trials for adults and children facing cancer and in partnership with the Alberta Government, acquired two MR Linac machines (of which there are only two others in Canada) with initial focus being on treating prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer.
They have supported affordable housing initiatives with a commitment of $3 million for the building of Bishops Manor, providing housing for more than 250 vulnerable Calgarians – including more than thirty children – who, without affordable housing, would struggle to meet their basic needs. And thanks to their generosity of $1.5 million, St. Mary’s University, in South Calgary, opened its state-of-the-art Heritage Centre, expanding student enrolment capacity.
Globally, they are members of The Canadian Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts and have made substantial contributions to the restoration, preservation and artistic patrimony of the artworks at the Vatican and its Museums.
They are also significant supporters of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada and in Ukraine, being the anchor supporters having provided the funding to build a church, residence and seminary near Kyiv, which opened in 2017 and where currently 64 young men are studying to become priests. Stan and Marge were the catalysts in funding and raising over $3 million which was used by the International Red Cross and the Catholic Church Charity in Ukraine to provide food, clothing, medicine and shelter to displaced mothers and children fleeing the war zone after the commencement of the war in 2022. They have also been long-time supporters of many local charities in Calgary, including the United Way, the Food Bank, the Mustard Seed and Inn from the Cold, among others. In addition to the above, for many years, they have supported AARC and recently pledged $1 million through Midstream Energy Partners, supporting the initiative to build a new Renfrew Educational Services School to provide special education for children with significant disabilities.
On a personal front, for over 40 years, Stan has supported his large family of approximately 350 descendants in Ukraine, including, to date, funding the education for 55 university students. Marge has been an unwavering source of strength, managing with minimal outside assistance the purchasing, sorting and packing of hundreds of moving boxes filled with goods for all family members, as well as for the seminarians, priests and nuns at the seminary.
Stan characterizes his philanthropic work as “people helping people”.
