Dependent Motorization: Canada and the Automobile to the 1930s

Abstract

This essay addresses two aspects of the motorization of Canada between the 1890s and the 1930s: the construction of a domestic automobile industry and of a modern highway system. Both were heavily influenced — to the point of dependency — by American money and technology. American dominance of the Canadian automobile industry (achieved by 1919) is explained by Canadian technological backwardness and the cultural values of indigenous entrepreneurs. It is also argued that American manufacturers and motorists accelerated the motorization of Canadian society, the former through their price cuts, the latter through tourism.

The commercial and regional imagery of big things: Establishing a foundation for the study of oversized roadside landmarks

“…The post-war era was also when fiberglass became widely available, and manufacturing firms such as California-based Prewitt Fiberglass (later renamed International Fiberglass) began creating giant three-dimensional objects for businesses to capture the attention of motorists (Butko and Butko, 2005: 15–16). While some of the same influences extended north across the border, Canada's highway network was slower to develop (Davis, 1986: 121–23) and this hindered the spread of Big Things. The Trans-Canada Highway project was instigated in 1949 and not completed until 1962, and as Sajecki has remarked, in this period Canadian tourism boards were primarily concerned with catering to the American rather than the domestic market (2017: 572–76).…”

Industries and Global Competition

“…However, the emerging Canadian cluster was a fraction of the size of its US counterpart. Moreover, Canadian firms often lacked technological capabilities, were short on capital, or were simply unable to sell enough of their product in such a geographically large but poorly linked and sparsely populated national market (Traves 1987;Davis 1990;McDiarmid 1940).…”

“…The pervasive American influence, however, was not entirely negative. Some scholars have argued that Canada's proximity to the US and the American presence in the Canadian industry actually helped to "democratize" the auto and helped to spread the motorization of Canada at a much faster and easier pace than Canadians could have done themselves (Davis 1990).…”

Automobile, transports urbains et mutations : l’automobilisation urbaine de Québec, 1919–1939

“…Stephen Davies s'est concentré sur le territoire en général 12 , tandis que G. W. Taylor s'est focalisé sur la Colombie-Britannique 13 , et Gérald T. Bloomfield s'est intéressé à la Saskatchewan 14 . Enfin, Donald F. Davies a focalisé son attention sur l'importance de l'influence américaine sur l'automobilisme au Canada et sur une histoire des taxis 15 . La grande majorité des travaux canadiens ont porté sur un nombre restreint d'espaces urbains, tels que London 16 (en Ontario) et Calgary 17 (en Alberta).…”