"There are men in Detroit who say every farmer will soon be using an automobile. I don't see why we cannot build them here in the wagon factory."
It was 105 years ago this week (August 17) that Canadian entrepreneur Gordon McGregor signed an agreement with Henry Ford and invested $125,000 to establish the Ford Motor Company of Canada at the Walkerville Wagon Works in Windsor, Ontario. Under the agreement, the company could make vehicles for all countries of the British Empire except England.
Before automobiles, Gordon McGregor was a partner with his father, William McGregor, President of the Walkerville Wagon Company Limited, Walkerville, Ontario (now Windsor, Ontario). Gordon took over the management of the company in 1901 and, on the death of his father in 1903, he assumed the Presidency of the company.
At a meeting with his brothers, Walter and Donald, in January 1904, Gordon said, “There are men in Detroit who say every farmer will soon be using an automobile. I don’t see why we cannot build them here in the wagon factory.” Shortly thereafter he went to his banker, John Curry, and discussed his ideas. Together they visited existing manufacturers of automobiles in the Detroit area, including Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Ford. Buick was just getting started. General Motors was four years in the future as was R. S. McLaughlin in Canada.
McGregor was most impressed with Henry Ford and the feeling was reciprocated for it resulted in McGregor obtaining a personal agreement which allowed him to form and finance a company to manufacture and sell Ford products in Canada.
Additionally, he obtained the right to sell Ford products in the then existing British Empire, exclusive of the British Isles. This farsightedness on the part of McGregor has resulted in Ford of Canada having wholly owned subsidiaries in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. In exchange for this, McGregor agreed to give 51% of the stock of Ford of Canada to the shareholders of Ford U.S.A.
No Charter Needed!
A Provincial Charter was issued on August 17, 1904. On August 29, 1904 the first shareholders’ meeting was held to elect officers and set policy. John S. Gray, President, Ford Motor Company, Detroit, was elected president of the Canadian company, Henry Ford, Vice President, and John Curry, Treasurer.
In its early years, the Canadian company struggled to survive, building only 117 cars in its first year and employing 17 people. Over the decades, Ford of Canada became the longest-established automobile company “north of the border” and has played a major role in the country’s economic development. The Windsor plant closed in 1953.
The first car built by the Ford Motor Company of Canada in early 1904 was the Model C. Most were 2-cylinder Model C’s but a few 4-cylinder Model B’s were also built. Both were made in 1905 along with the Model F, a new 2-cylinder car. In 1906, both the C and B were discontinued, but two new models came on the scene. The Model N was a low-priced 4-cylinder car, but the 406 cid 6-cylinder Model K was big and expensive. The F was gone by 1907, but there were two new Fords–Model R and Model S. Both were 4-cylinder cars, and built along with the Model N and Model K through much of 1908.
Production of all those models ceased when the Model T made its debut in October 1908. The Canadian-made Fords were similar to the American models, although there have been departures due to marketing considerations and the use of Canadian components, for example the driver’s door.
During the Model T era, Ford of Canada did not produce all the body types. For instance, at times there were no Canadian 2-door Model T sedans. Four-door Model T sedans were made in Canada before they were produced in the U.S. Four doors were convenient for people going from province to province where right- and left-drive laws varied, and was also the reason right-hand drive and left-hand drive models were produced during the early years. (Passengers had to be able to enter and exit on the side away from traffic.)
Some body types were also sold under different names. When the American T Runabout was called a Roadster in 1923, Ford of Canada called it a Runabout. Also in 1923, when Ford called the 2-door sedan a Tudor, Ford of Canada began calling the 4-door sedan a Fordor. Five years before it was adopted in the States.
The arrival of the Model A for 1928 brought a much greater variety of body types, though Ford of Canada never produced quite all the body styles made south of the border. Model A station wagons, for instance, were never made in Canada.
Ford's famous V-8 was simultaneously introduced in both countries in mid 1932. Ford of Canada dropped 4-cylinder cars in 1933, while they were on the market a year longer in the U.S.
Ford’s famous V-8 was simultaneously introduced in both countries in mid 1932. Ford of Canada dropped 4-cylinder cars in 1933, while they were on the market a year longer in the U.S.
In the decade of the Thirties, the Canadian firm also produced some body types not made in the States. From 1929 through 1936, Rumble Seat models were available in more varieties for Canadians than Americans. Also for 1936, all Canadian-built Tudors had trunks, while this was not true for some models in the States. In addition, Canadians were treated to the Special DeLuxe, a top-line series of 10 models above the DeLuxe.
The small 134-cubic-inch 60-horsepower V-8 appeared in both countries in 1937. It was an economical alternative to the regular 221-cid 85-hp V-8. But Ford of Canada stopped offering it in the 1939 lineup, while it continued to be available in the U.S. the following year.
Ford’s first 6-cylinder car since the Model K made its debut in the 1941 models. Buyers could choose it or the V-8, but only in the States. Not until many years later did Ford of Canada offer a 6-cylinder engine.
The 1941 Fords in both countries came in three series: Special, DeLuxe and Super DeLuxe. There were only two series for 1942, but not the same two in both countries. Ford of Canada kept the entry-level Special and deleted the Super DeLuxe. In contrast, Ford in the States deleted the Special and kept the top-line Super DeLuxe.
Although the British Empire had been at war with Germany since 1939, Ford of Canada continued producing passenger cars for three months after such production ended in the U. S. in 1942. Thus Ford’s last “pre-war” North American-type passenger car was a right-hand-drive 1942 Mercury produced at Windsor for shipment to a customer in Kenya.
In the post-war years the Canadian company introduced unique Canadian brands to accommodate its new Lincoln-Mercury dealer body. These included Mercury trucks, a Monarch that was a Ford with a Mercury grille and badging, and a Meteor that was a Mercury with Ford grille and badging. Otherwise Canada offered the American-designed product line. Even when a body type was omitted from Canadian production, it was still offered in limited numbers as an import from the U.S. Some of the variants, a Mercury Econoline for example, lasted until 1980, though most ended in the Sixties.
There was one other change in postwar Canadian Fords from the U.S., which concerned 1954 models. That year the U.S. eliminated the old flat-head V-8 to introduce a more powerful overhead-valve V8. Ford of Canada did not offer the new engine until the 1955 model.
After the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact came into effect in 1965—a forerunner of NAFTA– a greater quantity of the models not made in Canada were imported duty-free from the States and Ford products produced in Canada were sold in the U. S. The Mustang and Thunderbird are two examples. Curiously, many Mustangs and Thunderbirds destined for Canada had Canadian-made engines installed.
On some occasions, dealers would offer variations from the normal production model. In 1968 and 1969, at least one Ford dealer sold a special Custom two-door sedan model with components from his parts bin. It featured a vinyl-covered roof, and the LTD front end with hidden headlights. This was an unusual combination of prestige in the very bottom end of the full-size Ford range. It is unknown the reaction of U.S. Ford’s marketing department.
Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant became the sole source of Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis beginning with 1984 models. Likewise, Ford’s Oakville Plant produced all Windstar minivans from 1994 model introduction until the model was dropped in both countries. Likewise, Ford’s Oakville Plant has produced all the new Edge models. In recent years, Ford of Canada replaced its Lincoln-Mercury dealer body with a new distribution system of Ford-Lincoln dealers, who sell a Ford Grand Marquis rather than a Ford Crown Victoria.
Last month for the first time in more than 50 years, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, regained its top-selling spot in the country. Ford of Canada sold 27,408 units representing a 25% increase over sales the same month last year, marking its first year-over-year sales increase of 2009.
This is progress of a sort for the company, which since inception produced more than 28 million vehicles including cars, trucks, minivans, crossovers, military vehicles, and of course farm tractors. It has also made more than 21 million engines.
Edited by Mike Davis, author of among others the Ford Dynasty: A Photographic History