This weekend on NewmarketToday, I want to ‘close the circle’ regarding the history of our love affair with the automobile.
In past columns, I have written about the history of car sales and repair and the gas station in Canada along with the history of our road system, and this weekend I want to turn my attention to the history of the automobile in Canada.
This mini-series will be presented in two parts: this weekend’s column focusing on early automobiles and car dealerships, and next weekend’s column will document, chronologically, the development of the Canadian auto industry.
I should probably start with a bit of a confession: I am not really a car expert, nor am I particularly a car person. One of the beauties of history is if one has a healthy curiosity about any topic, one can bask in the joy of research and self-education.
Few inventions have left as profound a mark on the world as the automobile. The first automobiles built in Canada were regarded as novelties. Assembly-line production helped reduce the cost of automobiles and made it possible for more individuals to purchase them, and the rise of the automobile has impacted travel in all its forms.
The early introduction of automobiles in Ontario mirrors the global development of the automobile industry. The first automobiles in Ontario started to appear in the early 1900s. During that period, automobiles were still novelties and were primarily owned by the wealthy.
As the popularity of the automobile grew, automobile clubs and associations were established to promote the use of the car. One notable organization that can trace its origins to this time is the Ontario Motor League (now the Canadian Automobile Association), which was founded in 1903.
The Ford Model T, which was introduced in 1908 and was known as the ‘Tin Lizzie,’ played a significant role in making automobiles more accessible to the public. It was affordable and easy to maintain, and it became popular in Ontario along with the rest of North America.
The first car manufactured in Canada was the Redpath Messenger, built in 1903. It had the following features:
- A wooden carriage body
- A one-cylinder engine
- Shaft drive and a two-speed transmission
- A tilt steering wheel (the first vehicle in automotive history with this feature)
- It weighed approximately 650 pounds
- It sold for between $600 and $700
- Its top speed was about 16 km/h
Only one model of the Redpath Messenger is known to exist and it is currently on display at the Canadian Automotive Museum. The first large-scale production of automobiles in Canada took place in 1904 in Walkerville, near Windsor, where Gordon McGregor and Wallace Campbell produced 117 Ford Model C cars at the Walkerville Wagon Works factory.
Ontario eventually became home to more automobile assembly plants. In 1904, the Ford Motor Company of Canada was established in Windsor, followed by other companies like General Motors and Chrysler, which also had manufacturing operations in the province.
With the increase in automobile ownership, Ontario began to invest in road infrastructure, including the construction of better roads and highways to accommodate the growing number of cars.
In addition to United States automakers like Ford, some early Canadian car manufacturers, such as the McLaughlin Motor Car Company (later known as General Motors of Canada) and the Russell Motor Car Company, operated in Ontario.
The proliferation of early automobiles in Ontario brought about significant changes in transportation, lifestyle, and the economy. It marked the beginning of a transition from horse-drawn carriages to motor vehicles, which has had a profound impact on society and mobility in our region. I remember my grandfather much preferred the horse.
In those early days, there were hundreds of small Canadian automakers, some dating back before the turn of the century. Among them were names lost to time such as the Russell Motor Car Company, which survives today as CCM, the manufacturer of bicycles and hockey sticks.
Probably the best remembered of those early machines was the aristocratic McLaughlin-Buick.
We shall examine the industry in more detail next weekend, when we take a chronological look back at the evolution of the car in Canada.
The first recorded car sale dates to the 1880s, when Karl Benz (of Mercedes-Benz fame) designed a gas-powered vehicle known as the Motorwagen.
Benz sold about 25 Motorwagens throughout the late 1880s and 1890s, but by 1903, the demand had increased, and approximately 60,000 automobiles were being produced each year.
Initially, auto manufacturing factories were responsible for selling their cars, but this system had clear disadvantages. Buyers had to either live near a factory or organize the delivery of their vehicle.
On July 15, 1903, Henry Ford sold his first car, an $850 two-cylinder Model A, to Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning, who ordered the car from the factory and, one week later, the company had delivered it to his home in Chicago.
The car-selling model shifted when Fred Koller opened the first dedicated car dealership in 1889, the Reading Automobile Company, in Reading, Penn. This is believed to be the first dealership dedicated solely to selling cars, not converted from initially selling horse-drawn carriages. Koller sold the Winton automobiles priced from around $1,800 to $4,500 each, which today would be equivalent to about $50,000 to $124,000.
I mentioned in my previous column about local gas stations and repair centres around Newmarket that the First and Second World Wars had caused a slump in car manufacturing and purchasing. Wartime rationing and the need to conserve metals for weaponry purposes resulted in the halt and near grounding of the U.S. and Canadian auto industries. Although some manufacturers experienced success making vehicles for the war, consumer sales were greatly reduced.
On top of that, the Great Depression removed the ability for most people to purchase a car. Consumers simply did not have the funds required to make a large purchase.
In 1936, the Canadian government imposed a tariff on imported cars to protect the Canadian automotive manufacturing base and encourage the sale of Canadian cars. During this period, Canada had the domestic automobile industry all to itself. We began to produce cars unavailable to the U.S. market, such as the Pontiac Beaumont, Ford Monarch and Chrysler Fargo.
Ultimately, we realized the tariff was hindering the Canadian economy by limiting trade with the U.S., and changes were proposed. The 1965 Canada-U.S. Auto Pact removed U.S.-Canada tariffs, allowing vehicles to be sold across the border without an imposed tax.
A fun fact to know: Vehicle identification numbers starting with the No. 2 indicate a vehicle that was made in Canada.
After the Second World War, returning soldiers and families had more money and increased spending power. People were eager to buy homes, appliances and cars. This led to a boom in manufactured items.
The public’s excitement for cars created a demand for new features and innovations in civilian vehicles. After automotive factories were permitted to cease production of wartime materials, carmakers began building models that showcased new and better options for consumers.
Post-war vehicles sported large tail fins and chrome detailing. Cars now started with the turn of a key and automatic transmissions debuted. With the popularity of cars at an all-time high, car dealerships began springing up.
Until the 1950s, dealer-owners had the freedom to manage their businesses as they saw fit. There were no regulations in place as to how vehicles were to be priced or how they needed to be sold to customers. In 1958, legislation required car dealers to place stickers on their vehicles listing the recommended price as well as detailed vehicle specifications. This was the first legislation of its kind, designed to protect and inform customers while engaging in the car-buying process.
Sales of new cars held strong throughout the 1960s alongside used car sales, which also grew in popularity. Cars from the 1950s and 1960s can still be found on the road today, in part due to the high production numbers that occurred during these decades.
The traditional car dealership model has remained virtually unchanged since Koller opened that first dealership more than 120 years ago.
Most consumers now research different vehicle models and package options online prior to visiting a dealership, but car buyers will still visit their neighbourhood dealership to take a test drive and explore the different financing options.
Ten years ago, few people would have considered buying a car online. Today, online car dealerships have become increasingly common.
As automobile sales have increased throughout the 20th century, so has production. Detroit has become the automotive centre of the world, and Windsor and southern Ontario have also prospered due to their proximity to Detroit.
With the establishment of the Ford Motor Company of Canada in 1904, Canada’s automotive industry expanded rapidly. By 1913, there were about 50,000 motor vehicles in Canada. Between 1918 and 1923, Canada became the world’s second-largest vehicle producer and a major exporter of automobiles and auto parts.
In Part 2, we will examine the importance of the automobile industry to the Canadian economy. We have one of the world’s highest ratios of automobiles to inhabitants, and Canada is regarded as fully automobile dependent. As of 2019, the number of registered motor vehicles in Canada was recorded at 35.7 million. Light motor vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks and vans, accounted for about two-thirds of the registrations.
The automobile has affected how people travel. People can now live farther from work and consequently have had a profound effect on our urban design. We require more streets, highways and freeways, spawning service stations, garages, insurance underwriters and numerous other types of services. Today the automobile, together with its suppliers, infrastructure and supporting industries, represents an important component of our economy. Transport consumes about half of all the petroleum used in Canada, and automobiles take half of that quantity as much as all the other modes of transport combined.
The enormous impact of the automobile has not been without cost; roads, highways and freeways require land that might otherwise be used for housing, parks or agriculture. We see ongoing concern from environmental groups over the loss of land to the automobile, leading to the cancellation of plans to build the Spadina Expressway. One can argue poor planning is the real problem. Traffic congestion due to inadequate roads result in higher levels of vehicle emissions, accounting for about 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
Join me next weekend, when we zero in on a year-by-year history of the Canadian automobile industry.
Hope to see you back next weekend.
Sources:
The Awesome Automotive History of Canada | AutoTrader.ca
Automobile - The Canadian Encyclopedia
Automotive industry in Canada - Wikipedia
Cars of National Pride
A Brief History of Auto Manufacturing in Canada
Canada and Formula One
Infographic by Valerie Mattocks. Images by Jil McIntosh; courtesy City of Toronto Archives
Articles by K.M. Ruppenthal, Laura Neilson Bonikowsky on the Canadian Encyclopedia
Made in Canada: A look at the long history of Canadian cars and the people who build them by Brendan McAller (Globe and Mail)
Newmarket resident Richard MacLeod, the History Hound, has been a local historian for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly feature about our town’s history in partnership with NewmarketToday, conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and leads local oral history interviews.
