Calgary coming for Slurpee Capital of the World title held by Winnipeg for 2 decades

Crime has tarnished Winnipeg’s Slurpee Capital of the World crown, along with corporate restructuring that has led to the closure of at least eight 7-Elevens in the city since 2024.

The prize is awarded on the basis of how many Slurpees are sold per 7-Eleven store in a region.

Now, another Canadian city is coming for the title that Winnipeg has held for more than 20 years.

“Calgary is really closing in on that gap and with some pretty impressive Slurpee consumption over the past few years,” says Marc Goodman with 7-Eleven Canada.

Winnipeg, which has a population of 850,000, drinks an average of 188,833 Slurpees a month. Calgary, however, has been an increasingly close second.

Folks outside a 7-Eleven in St. Boniface Tuesday said they don’t believe Winnipeg can be nudged off the throne.

“Oh heck, that’s not going to happen,” said one Slurpee drinker. “We drink them in the winter — all four seasons.”

Goodman says the title is based on per capita consumption, so Calgary’s 1.7 million population isn’t the reason the race has tightened.

7-Eleven executives met with Winnipeg city council in August 2024 to warn of impending store closures, some due to crime.

“Sometimes you’ve had a store in a geography that’s been there for 40 years and the environment around us has just changed where it no longer supports a 7-Eleven,” Goodman says.

“The retail theft can be an issue and hence profitability of the store. It’s a really challenging topic of how we can reduce and curtail some of the challenges that we have, which is not unique to Winnipeg — it is a Canadian challenge.”

7-Eleven Inc. is closing 645 underperforming stores across North America, including 200 in 2026, as part of a restructuring. So far, 45 have been closed.

The company says 205 new stores will open, of which 30 are already up and running.

“We’ll be introducing a franchise model for store growth,” Goodman says, adding the company will share more about its growth plan in the “not too distant future.”

In the meantime, Winnipeg retains the Slurpee Capital of the World title at least until July 2027 when the winner is named.