Petro-Canada was originally created as a crown corporation by Prime Minister Trudeau's government in 1975 to counter perceived foreign control of Canada's oil and gas industry. Together with the Foreign Investment Review Agency and the National Energy Program, Petro-Canada formed part of Trudeau's project of increasing Canadian ownership and control over energy production.
In 1991, Petro-Canada was partially privatized through a public share offering of 30%. The government retained a 70% share as an investment.