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 Ford Canada head office with the Oakville plant at right in 2009 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1904; 120 years ago (1904) |
| Founder | Gordon Morton McGregor Henry Ford |
| Headquarters | Oakville, Ontario, Canada |
| Area served | Canada, U.S. |
| Key people | Gordon Morton Gregorio |
| Products | Automobiles, pickups |
| Services | Automotive finance, Vehicle leasing, Vehicle service |
| Revenue | see Ford Motor Company for details |
| Parent | Ford Motor Company |
| Divisions | Lincoln Canada |
| Website | ford.ca |
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited (French: Ford du Canada Limitée) was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford automobiles in Canada. It was originally known as the Walkerville Wagon Works and was located in Walkerville, Ontario (now part of Windsor, Ontario). The founder, Gordon Morton McGregor, convinced a group of investors to invest in Henry Ford's new automobile, which was being produced across the river in Detroit, Michigan.
The firm manufactures and sells automobiles in Canada, and also in the United States and other countries around the world.
History
The Ford Motor Company of Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, although it once had its own distinct group of shareholders. At its formation, Ford Motor Company was not a shareholder of Ford Canada, but its twelve founding shareholders directly held 51% of Ford Canada's shares, and Henry Ford himself owned 13% of the new company. The company had gained all Ford patent rights and selling privileges to all parts of the British Empire, except Great Britain and Ireland. It eventually established and managed the following subsidiaries:
- Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa
- Ford India Private Limited
- Ford Motor Company of Australia
- Ford Motor Company of New Zealand
The Model C, the first car to be produced in Canada, rolled out of the factory in late September 1904. The company could produce two cars at a time and in its first full year of production, the company was able to produce 117 automobiles. The company's first export sales were to Calcutta, India. Ford is still an important manufacturing enterprise in Windsor.
With the growth in car sales after World War II, together with the acquisition of majority control by Ford Motor Company, Ford of Canada decided to move its head office and build a new assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario. The new Oakville assembly plant was opened in 1953. In order to meet ever increasing demand, the Company opened another assembly plant in Talbotville, Ontario, in 1967.
Historically Ford was one of the most powerful companies in Canada, and in the 1970s, Ford was the "largest" company in Canada.
By 1989, during a peak in the environmental movement, the Ford Motor Company of Canada (particularly its Oakville plant) was listed among the "dirty dozen" polluters in Ontario:
"Ford broke lots of rules with the 13.8 million litres of waste it pumped into Lake Ontario every day until a few months ago, when it began a two-stage cleaning process.
"The company used to flush out an average of 392 kilograms (875 pounds) of solids with that waste water every day. It also poured out chemicals that sucked oxygen out of the lake. Ford also had on-and-off problems with the amounts of phosphorus (the chemical largely responsible for nearly killing Lake Erie decades ago) and phenols it discharged.
"The first stage of cleaning up this mess was a $6.8-million, upgraded version of the treatment system it already had on its site. The second stage sends waste water through Halton Region's sewers, so that no water is flowing directly into the lake."
Ford of Canada celebrated its Centennial in 2004, shortly after the Parent Company Ford in the United States did in 2003. That year also saw the compulsory acquisition by Ford Motor Company of the last of the shares held by minority shareholders, which had been originally proposed in 1995. However, the last litigation in the matter, dealing with an oppression remedy claim by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System with respect to its shareholdings, was only resolved by the Ontario Court of Appeal in January 2006.
In 2010, Ford was embroiled in a controversy surrounding a plan to construct a massive gas-fired power plant to be operated by TransCanada on a disused 13.5-acre (55,000 m) portion of its Oakville assembly plant. Local residents and politicians pleaded with Ford not to continue with the plan, as residents believed it would negatively impact their health and safety. The province cancelled the generating station in October 2010 and both Ford and TransCanada withdrew their planned appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board the following January. The plant was one of two involved in the Ontario power plant scandal, which contributed to the resignation of Premier Dalton McGuinty and Energy Minister Chris Bentley.
Key executives
In 2021, Bev Goodman became president/CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada, replacing the legendary Dean Stoneley who has been appointed as general manager, North America truck, Ford Motor Company, a newly created position. Previous CEO's include Mark Buzzell who replaced Diane Craig effective January 1, 2017.
Before Craig, Mondragon had served as president and CEO since September 1, 2008, when he replaced Barry Engle who resigned to join New Holland America as its CEO. William H. Osborne had held the position since 2005 and was replaced by Engle in February 2008.
Facilities
Current
| Plant | Location | Employees | Year opened | Year closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakville Assembly Complex | Oakville, Ontario | 3550 | 1953 | Still active | Also Canadian Headquarters |
| Windsor Engine Plant | Windsor, Ontario | 950 | 1978 (original engine plant opened in 1923) | Main building closed, annex still active | Produces 7.3L V8 engine for Super Duty pickups and commercial vehicles |
| Essex Engine Plant | Windsor, Ontario | 930 | 1981–2007; reopened late 2009 | Still Active | Flexible engine plant, produces 5.0L V8 engine for Mustang and F-150 |
Former
| Plant | Location | Year opened | Year closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor Casting Plant | Windsor, Ontario | 1934 | May 30, 2007 | Now Demolished |
| Essex Aluminum Plant | Windsor, Ontario | 1981 | February 13, 2009 | Built originally to make cylinder heads for Essex Engine Plant, later as joint venture with Alfa SA of Mexico subsidiary Nemak; once produced engines for Mustangs, E-series vans and F-series trucks |
| Ontario Truck Plant | Oakville, Ontario | 1965 | 2004 | retooled and reopened as part of Oakville Car Plant |
| Walkerville Plant | Windsor, Ontario | 1904 | 1954 | near 3001 Riverside Drive East; former Canadian Headquarters and main assembly operations also known as Plant 1; demolished 1969 and now abandoned lands facing the Detroit River |
| St. Thomas Assembly Plant | Talbotville, Ontario | 1968 | September 2011 | Only production facility for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for fleet orders, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car for limo operators. |
| Niagara Falls glass plant | Niagara Falls, Ontario | 1961 | 1994 | The factory used to produce windshields, windows and lights for cars and trucks from plate and sheet glass provided by suppliers. The plant produced parts for the Canadian and American operations. |
| Dupont St Assembly Plant | Toronto, Ontario | 1910 | 1927 | Assembly relocated to Danforth Plant. The building (672 Dupont St) now houses Condominiums |
| Danforth Avenue Plant | Toronto, Ontario | 1922 | 1946 | Sold to Nash Motors and then by American Motors Corporation 1954 to 1961. Converted as mall, Shoppers World Danforth. |
| Portage Ave Assembly Plant | Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1915 | 1941 | Now known as the Robert Fletcher Building |
| Hamilton St Assembly Plant | Vancouver, British Columbia | 1919 | 1938 | Production moved to Burnaby plant in 1938 |
| Burnaby Assembly Plant | Burnaby, British Columbia | 1938 | 1968 | Building demolished in 1988 to build Station Square |
| Montreal Assembly Plant | Montreal, Quebec | 1916 | 1932 |
Vehicles produced
Ford Canada has produced the following models over the years:
| Model | Oakville | St. Thomas | Walkerville |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Military Pattern truck (World War II) |  Y
| ||
| Edsel Citation | Y |
||
| Edsel Pacer | Y |
||
| Edsel Corsair | Y |
||
| Edsel Ranger | Y |
||
| Ford Crown Victoria | Y |
||
| Ford Custom 500 | Y |
||
| Ford Econoline | Y |
||
| Ford Edge | Y |
||
| Ford Escort/Mercury Lynx | Y |
||
| Ford Crown Victoria | Y |
||
| Ford EXP/Mercury LN7 | Y |
||
| Ford F-150 | Y |
||
| Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr | Y |
||
| Ford Falcon | Y |
Y |
|
| Ford Flex | Y |
||
| Ford Freestar | Y |
||
| Ford SVT Lightning (2nd Generation) | Y |
||
| Ford LTD | Y |
||
| Ford LTD Crown Victoria | Y |
||
| Ford Maverick | Y |
Y |
|
| Ford Model A | Y
| ||
| Ford Model C | Y
| ||
| Ford Model K | Y
| ||
| Ford Model N | Y
| ||
| Ford Model T | Y
| ||
| Ford Pinto/Mercury Bobcat | Y |
||
| Ford Super Duty | Y |
||
| Ford Tempo/Mercury Topaz | Y |
||
| Ford Torino | Y |
||
| Ford Windstar | Y |
||
| Frontenac | Y |
||
| Lincoln MKT | Y |
||
| Lincoln MKX | Y |
||
| Lincoln Nautilus | Y |
||
| Lincoln Town Car | Y |
||
| Mercury Comet | Y |
||
| Mercury Grand Marquis | Y |
||
| Mercury Marauder | Y |
||
| Mercury Meteor | Y |
Y
| |
| Mercury Monarch | Y |
||
| Mercury Monterey (Minivan) | Y |
||
| Meteor (various models) | |||
| Monarch (various models) |
References
- Anastakis 2004, p. 218.
- ^ Anastakis 2004, p. 219.
- Government of Canada, Innovation (13 February 2003). "Archived — Automotive Innovation Fund Investment Announcement—Ford Motor Company of Canada". www.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- Anastakis 2004, p. 213.
- Anastakis 2004, pp. 223–224.
- Anastakis 2004, p. 221.
- "The Top 200: Canada's Largest Companies (c 1973-74)". Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- Tom Spears (March 11, 1989). "The Dirty Dozen". The Toronto Star. p. D1 and D5.
- "FORD OF CANADA BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES BUYOUT OF SHAREHOLDERS AT (CDN) $185 PER SHARE". thefreelibrary.com. 1995-07-05. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
- Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. v. Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board, 2006 CanLII 15, 79 OR (3d) 81 (6 January 2006), Court of Appeal (Ontario, Canada); leave to appeal dismissed with costs, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board and the Persons set out in Schedule "B" v. Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited, Ford Motor Company, 2006 CanLII 29064 (24 August 2006), Supreme Court (Canada)
- "Proposed TransCanada Power Plant – Cancelled by the Province". Town of Oakville. 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
- "General News » Ford of Canada names new president". CanadianDriver. 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- "Barry Engle, the new President of Ford Motor Company of Canada (video) - Car News | Page 1". Auto123. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- "Facilities | Ford Motor Company Newsroom". Media.ford.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- Includes livery and Police Interceptor models
- Includes livery and Police Interceptor models
- MY2008 to MY2011
- MY2003 to MY2004
Further reading
- Austen, Ian (October 11, 2016). "Ford Reaches Tentative Deal With Union in Canada". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- Anastakis, Dimitry (2004). "From Independence to Integration: The Corporate Evolution of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, 1904-2004". The Business History Review. 78 (2): 213–253. doi:10.2307/25096866. JSTOR 25096866. S2CID 154176025.
- Mays, James C. (2003). Ford and Canada : 100 years together. Montreal: Syam Publishing. ISBN 0-97338120-5.
External links
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