Made in Canada
The auto industry brings big bucks to our economy

Canadians purchased just under 1.6 million new vehicles last year, but we also built more than 2.5 million of them, making us the eighth largest producer of automobiles in the world. We used to be sixth largest, but that was in the late 1990s when production numbers peaked at just under three million units.

It's a big business, and an important one to the Canadian economy as the largest single contributor to manufacturing Gross Domestic Product and our largest manufacturing employer.

Canada's automotive assembly plants employ more than 50,000 people and produce vehicles, 90 per cent of which are exported, worth about $62 billion dollars annually. Industry suppliers employ another 98,000 people who produce $32 billion in automotive parts, 60 per cent of which are exported.

The Canadian auto assembly industry essentially began in 1904 with the production of 117 Model C Fords by the Walkerville Wagon Works in Walkerville, Ontario. It later became the Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited. By 1923 the industry had grown into the second largest in the world. It didn't maintain that status for long, as other nations adopted mass production techniques, but with strong tariff protection managed to survive having the powerful U.S. as an industrial neighbour.

The Auto Pact of the mid-'60s, restructuring in the 1980s in response to global pressures and continued investment by General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford kept the plants humming. The arrival of new ones, opened by Japanese manufacturers, and the North American Free Trade Agreement have kept the industry strong, but still facing challenges. As the Canadian automotive industry is now fully integrated with the U.S. industry, it is obviously subject to fluctuations in demand and political pressure south of the border.

General Motors remains top dog here, with its three assembly operations in Oshawa and numerous parts operations. GM Canada was created from Canadian Sam McLaughlin's carriage company in 1918 and today operates three assembly plants, two that build cars and one for trucks. Last year they built 939,372 vehicles, up 3.7 per cent over the previous year.

Oshawa Plant No. 1 employs 2,775 workers who build about 250,000 Chevrolet Impalas and 75,000 Monte Carlos a year. Oshawa Plant No. 2 has a workforce of 2,480 and churns out 175,000 Buick Centurys and more than 40,000 Buick Regals. The truck plant's 3,500 employees build 250,000 Chevy Silverados and just under 80,000 GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

DaimlerChrysler Canada's history in this country dates back to the establishment of Chrysler Canada in 1925. Last year the automaker built 446,369 units, down 16.7 per cent. It currently operates two plants here.

The Windsor Assembly Plant, built in 1928, employs 5,900 people who last year produced 287,127 Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans (down about 4,000 units) and the Chrysler Pacifica crossover vehicle. Expected demand for a new generation of minivans had Chrysler contemplating overtime at this plant at press time.

Its Brampton Assembly Plant saw production by its 3,500 employees drop to 140,642 vehicles last year from 201,723 in 2002, in part due to a lengthy, $1.4 billion plant makeover to produce the new rear-drive Chrysler 300 sedans and Dodge Magnum wagons, which will hit the streets this spring.

These Big Three plants have dominated the Canadian industry for decades, but in the 1980s the first Japanese plants began to appear, and now play a significant role. Honda and Toyota plants, and a joint-venture operation owned by GM and Suzuki, were opened in the late 1980s.

Honda of Canada Mfg. was the first to get into production in the fall of 1986 with the capacity to build 40,000 Accords at its Alliston, Ont. plant. A second plant was kicked into gear in 1998 and between them they now have a capacity of more than 390,000 units, with 4,200 employees working on two shifts. Last year the Honda operation produced its three millionth vehicle and is closing in on DaimlerChrysler and Ford's annual production numbers. Additional overtime could boost output beyond 400,000.

Plant one produces the Honda Civic sedan (the two millionth model was built last fall) and the Acura 1.7 EL. Plant two builds the Honda Odyssey minivan, the Honda Pilot SUV and the Acura MDX SUV. Plans have just been announced to build Honda's new pickup truck, the SUT, at the plant starting in 2005.

The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. plant in Cambridge, Ont. rolled its first Corolla off the production line in 1988. Ten years later a plant expansion added Solara production and a year later total production passed the one million mark. Today the plant and its 3,900 employees produce the 4-door Corolla sedan, the Matrix wagon and the Lexus RX 330 luxury SUV. It is the only manufacturing facility outside Japan that produces both Toyota and Lexus products. Last year it built 227,543 vehicles, up 4.4 per cent.

General Motors and partner Suzuki operate the CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, which was opened in 1989. Its workforce of under 2,000 turned out 51,475 Suzuki Vitaras and Chevrolet Trackers last year, down 18 per cent. The good news is that last month the first 2005 Chevy Equinox compact sport-utility vehicle rolled off the plant's assembly line, which will give the facility a major boost.