The Colonial Group is a family owned and operated business, established almost 100 years ago, which has grown to become the largest privately owned aftermarket auto parts supplier in Atlantic Canada, with 20 locations located in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Colonial Garage & Distributors Limited was founded in 1926 by Gordon Elton as a service and gas station and slowly expanded to importing parts from Canada to meet the growing needs of the Newfoundland motoring public. In the 1950’s, Gordon’s two sons, Doug and Bill Elton, took over daily operations and opened a body shop and a machine shop, followed by a radiator fabrication facility.

Until the 1970’s, Colonial serviced the auto parts needs of the island of Newfoundland from its location in St. John’s. In 1974, Colonial opened its first branch in Corner Brook, NL, followed in the early 1980’s with locations in Grand Falls, NL, and Sydney, NS. During the 1990’s, Colonial added a further eight locations, then expanded to add two more in the 2000’s. In 2006, New Brunswick-based A.P.M. Limited, established in 1941, was acquired as an associated company, adding six locations in New Brunswick and one in Nova Scotia to the Colonial Group’s total store count.

The Colonial Group remains a family business to this day, with ownership held by family members Susan Elton Squires, Gillian Elton, and Douglas Squires. The executive management team is comprised of President Douglas Squires, CPA; Chief Financial Officer Susan Elton Squires, CPA; Vice President Philip Murphy, MBA and Special Projects Manager Stephen Squires, CPA.

The Colonial Group operates under the trade names of Colonial Garage & Distributors Limited, Colonial Auto Parts, A.P.M. Limited, C.B. Auto Supplies and Sydney Auto Parts. The Colonial Group is always looking for new areas for growth to expand its presence in the automotive aftermarket and interested in hearing about any opportunities. Please contact Douglas Squires at djsquires@colonialgroup.ca to discuss.