10 Strange Canadian Car Facts

Canada is currently the world’s tenth largest auto producer, producing 2.1 million cars each year. There is a long history between Canada and the automobile, which has led to some of the interesting Canadian car facts below!

Did you know:

• The first vehicle ever driven in Canada is believed to be a steam-powered car imported from Philadelphia in 1866 by Georges-Antoine Belcourt.
• In 1926, the Ford Model T became the first car to cross Canada entirely on its own power.
• Officially opened in 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway spans 7,821 km and allows people to drive directly from St. John’s, Nfld., to Victoria, B.C. without having to cross the border.
• The first gas station in Canada was Imperial Oil, and was located at the corner of Cambie and Smythe in Vancouver. This was the first opportunity for customers to purchase gas from a pump; prior to this, customers had to dip pails into a large wooden barrel of gasoline. The first pump was made of a 59-liter kitchen hot water tank with a rubber garden hose attached.
• The Ford Motor Company was born in 1904 when automaker Henry Ford and wagon maker Gordon McGregor joined forces, transforming McGregor’s Walkerville Wagon Works Limited into The Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd, gaining Ford’s patent rights and selling privileges to most of the British Empire.
• On January 1, 1904, government reports indicate that there were 182 vehicles licensed in the province of Ontario. There are currently 10.4 million vehicles registered in Ontario, as reported by the Ministry of Transportation.
• Nova Scotia became the first Canadian province to set a speed limit in 1907. The first limit posted was one mile (1.6 km) every eight minutes.
• Canadians drive on the right side of the road, but this wasn’t always the case. Before the Second World War, Canadian territories controlled by the French drove on the right side of the road, but areas controlled by the English drove on the left. B.C. and the Atlantic provinces switched to the right in the 1920s, except Newfoundland, who did not conform to the rest of Canada in this regard until 1947.
• In the period from 1911-13, cars were available for order from the Eaton’s catalogue.
• Every winter, approximately 4.9 million tonnes of salt is applied to Canadian roads.