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Ford Motor Company expanded to Canada in 1904 through a partnership between Henry Ford and Gordon McGregor, the “Father of the Canadian Automobile Industry” and owner of the former Walkerville Wagon Works.
Less than a year after its founding, Ford Motor Company was primed for expansion, as founder Henry Ford and his vision for the future of his young namesake company met a family trying to preserve its legacy company as the early automobile industry began to take shape 120 years ago.
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The former Walkerville Wagon Works building is seen in this 1914 photo.
Today, Ford has operations in more than 125 countries and territories around the world, but back in 1904, the new company had yet to set foot outside of the U.S. Gordon McGregor, of Walkerville (now known as Windsor), Ontario, is acknowledged as the father of the Canadian automobile industry. But in 1904, the Canadian entrepreneur had inherited the struggling Walkerville Wagon Works from his father. Concerned about the company’s future, he and his brothers sought to partner with one of the many up-and-coming automakers across the Detroit River in a plot to convert the company’s Riverside Drive factory to car production.
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Ford of Canada had just 17 employees when it was established in 1904, a number that had grown quickly by time this photo was taken in 1917.
“There are men in Detroit who say every farmer will soon be using an automobile,” Gordon McGregor said in January 1904. “I don’t see why we can’t build them here in the wagon factory.”
Along the way, the McGregors were thoroughly impressed with Henry Ford’s vision for the future – one in which the Model T was still four years away and the modern assembly line a few years beyond that.
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Ford of Canada produced 117 vehicles in its first year.
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited was incorporated on Aug. 17, 1904 – barely 14 months after the company’s founding in the U.S. Henry Ford and his fellow shareholders in the U.S. received 51% stake in the new company in exchange for the right to produce Ford cars for sale in Canada and other parts of the then British Empire, with the exception of the United Kingdom.
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The Model C, at right in this photo, was among the first models produced in Canada.
The Canadian automaker had humble beginnings which included just 17 employees, and production of just 117 vehicles in its first year which included a combination of two- and four-cylinder versions of Model Cs, Model Bs, and Model Fs. Its first car, a 1905 Model C with a side-entry tonneau, was produced on Nov. 30, 1904. Canadian production mirrored its American counterparts but with subtle variations such as unique components and offerings, as well as nomenclature. In addition to Ford vehicles, Ford of Canada has also ultimately produced Mercury, Lincoln, and even Edsel vehicles in the years following.
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Ford of Canada was producing a half-million vehicles annually by the time the company reached its centennial in 2004.
A post-war boom in automobile sales in the 1940s and 1950s led to further expansion. Oakville Assembly Plant began production in 1953, followed by the Ontario Truck Plant in Oakville in 1965 and the St. Thomas Assembly Plant in 1967. By 2004, Ford of Canada was producing some 500,000 vehicles each year, and the Canadian automotive industry had grown to represent 12% of Canada’s manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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Employees celebrate Job One of the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz.
Today, Ford of Canada employs approximately 7,000 people across its operations, which include a national headquarters, three vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing plants, three parts distribution centers, and three connectivity and innovation centers. Ford’s connection to Windsor has endured, with Windsor Engine Plant, which opened in 1923, and Essex Engine Plant, which opened in 1981, remaining within the city. Ford has also had manufacturing facilities located in cities including Toronto and Niagara Falls.
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Ford has had operations in Canadian cities including Windsor, Ontario, Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Just as Ford Motor Company has outlasted countless American automakers in the past 120 years, so too has the company’s Canadian firm, which will play a big role in the company’s future. Oakville Assembly will soon begin producing the popular F-Series Super Duty, which will also result in additional jobs being added to the Windsor Site.
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The first Ford Mustang ever built, a preproduction model intended for promotional purposes, was sold to airline pilot Capt. Stanley Tucker by a Ford dealer in Newfoundland.
Love Ford history? Access http://fordarchivesonline.com with your CDSID to search your favorite topics. Or visit http://fordheritagevault.com , where no CDSID is needed, to browse and download product history.
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