TBT: Why Henry Ford Made a Deal with The ‘Father of the Canadian Automobile Industry’

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.?

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.?

“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.?

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.

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.?

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).

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.?

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.??

From its humble beginnings in 1904, fueled by the foresight of Henry Ford and the entrepreneurial spirit of Gordon McGregor, Ford of Canada continues to be a key piece of Ford Motor Company’s global operations.??

Love Ford history? Access?https://fordarchivesonline.com ?with your CDSID to search your favorite topics. Or visit?https://fordheritagevault.com ?, where no CDSID is needed, to browse and download product history.?