Our Mission
To make people feel better.
Our Vision
To be the drug store of first choice in every community we operate in.
Our History
C.A. MacQuarrie opened his first drug store in downtown Truro in 1920, after serving in the First World War. The business would survive the Great Depression, and several moves back and forth across Prince Street. C.A. was later joined and then succeeded by his son Malcolm, would grow the business through the acquisition of other small drugstores in and around Truro (including Archibald’s, Greer’s, Stern’s, and Moxon’s).
In the late 1980s Malcolm’s son Charles would receive his MBA and came home to join the family business. Together Malcolm and Charles would open new stores in Bible Hill and Brookfield, two communities adjacent to Truro. Around this time MacQuarries would become an original member of Pharmasave in Atlantic Canada. A new flagship store would also be opened on downtown Truro’s Esplanade.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, MacQuarries grew through the acquisition of other stores within the Pharmasave group. These included Wilsons in Berwick, Kinburn in Mahone Bay, and MacKinnons in Antigonish. Also in this period, a small store would also be opened in the town of Kentville, jointly owned with other Pharmasave owners. MacQuarries would ultimately buy out the partners, and this store became a second Wilsons location.
At the onset of COVID in 2020, MacQuarries operated a total of seven stores. Charles’ son Matthew had joined the business and was the fourth generation of the MacQuarrie family to work in the company. A pair of deals in 2021 and 2022 saw MacQuarries more than double its store count, now numbering sixteen locations.
For over a century of family ownership, MacQuarries has remained steadfast in its commitment to independent community pharmacy. Our mission has always been to make people feel better, and we strive to accomplish this by providing the highest possible level of patient care, seeking new ways to meet the needs of our patients – be it through the evolving scope of practice for pharmacists, online shopping through Instacart, our partnership with Air Miles, or even bringing in a new kind of candy bar – as well as our commitments to supporting our communities beyond our four walls.
About Pharmasave
Pharmasave is a group of over 800 independent pharmacies located across Canada. Unlike our corporate-owned competitors, the Pharmasave banner is owned collectively by its membership.
