Canadian Car and Foundry

Canadian Car and Foundry, Can-Car, built railway cars, buses, and aircraft from Montreal. It was formed on 29 October 1909 from Rhodes Curry of Amherst, Canada Car of Turcot, and Dominion Car and Foundry. Railcars were made at Montreal and Amherst. A Fort William plant, opened in the First World War, built Hawker Hurricanes and Curtiss Helldivers in the Second, more than 2,300 fighters.

It was a principal Canadian car builder. The Fort William wartime plant made Canada a Hurricane producer. The Thunder Bay works later became the country's main transit-car plant.

Why it mattered

It was a principal Canadian builder of freight and passenger cars. The Fort William wartime plant made Canada a Hurricane producer and trained a large female workforce. The Thunder Bay works later became the country's main subway- and transit-car plant.

Now

A.V. Roe Canada bought the company in the mid-1950s for Hawker Siddeley. Montreal car building ended in the early 1960s. The Thunder Bay plant passed through Hawker Siddeley, UTDC/Can-Car Rail, and Bombardier. Alstom took Bombardier Transportation in 2021. The Thunder Bay plant still builds and overhauls cars.

Sold (1957) · Now: Hawker Siddeley Canada / Bombardier Transportation / Alstom (Thunder Bay)