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General Motors Canada
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General Motors of Canada Limited (GM Canada) is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. The national headquarters office, their Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and the main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario.
908 the McLaughlin Carriage Company began to manufacture Buick automobiles under the McLaughlin-Buick name. This resulted from talks between Col. R. S. McLaughlin and "Billy" Durant (the entrepreneur who had created General Motors in the U.S.
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Encyclopedia
General Motors of Canada Limited (GM Canada) is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. The national headquarters office, their Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and the main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario.
History
In 1908 the McLaughlin Carriage Company began to manufacture Buick automobiles under the McLaughlin-Buick name. This resulted from talks between Col. R. S. McLaughlin and "Billy" Durant (the entrepreneur who had created General Motors in the U.S. around the same time). In 1915 the firm acquired the manufacturing rights to the Chevrolet brand. Within three years his firm and the Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada merged, creating General Motors of Canada. Col. R. S. McLaughlin became the head of this new operation, and his factory expanded rapidly, eventually covering several blocks
Founded in 1918, GM Canada was formed by the purchase of the McLaughlin Motor Car Co., manufacturer since 1907 of the McLaughlin automobile based on the Buick Model F, Canadianized with a McLaughlin carriage as its body. From 1910 onward, the cars were well-known across Canada as McLaughlin-Buicks and prominently identified as such, in recognition of their Buick heritage. Prior to becoming GM Canada, McLaughlin had acquired the approval of William C. Durant, then owner of the Chevrolet Motor Co. and preceding its entry into the GM product line, to produce Chevrolet automobiles in Canada.
GM has historically been one of the largest and most powerful corporations in Canada, and in 1975 it was listed as the third "largest".
General Motors of Canada opened its new head office building on the shore of Lake Ontario in 1989. It is a fixture on Highway 401 and usually displays an enormous picture of a new vehicle on the outside of its huge atrium.
GM's Canadian Regional Engineering Centre opened in June, 2001. It is primarily responsible for managing the design and validation of vehicles which are manufactured in Canada, though it supports many joint development efforts with GM operations in other countries.
The manufacturing plants located in Oshawa produce the all-new fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Impala, Buick Allure (rebadged as the LaCrosse for the U.S. market) as well as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The three plants have continually garnered top quality ratings by J.D. Power. The Oshawa facility was ranked number 1 facility in overall quality in North and South America by J.D. Power and Associates.
General Motors of Canada announced a naming rights deal for the General Motors Centre on October 5, 2006. The centre's main tenants will be the Oshawa Generals Junior hockey team, who were named for the corporation in 1937.
2008 Canadian Auto Workers bargaining
In an unusual move, General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining contract on May 15, 2008, a full four months before the existing contract was due to expire. As part of the agreement, GM pledged to maintain production at the Oshawa, Ontario pickup truck plant and made other production commitments.
On June 3, 2008, less than three weeks after ratification of the new contract, GM announced that, due to soaring gasoline prices and plummeting truck sales, it would close four additional truck and SUV plants, including the Oshawa pickup plant.
In response, the CAW organized a blockade of the GM of Canada headquarters in Oshawa. The blockade was ended by an Ontario Superior Court order, after 12 days. Further discussions between GM and the CAW resulted in an agreement to compensate workers at the truck plant and additional product commitments for the Oshawa car assembly plant.
Canadian factories
Former plants:
Models currently made in Canada
See also
External links
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