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On August 17, 1904, the Ford Motor Company was founded in Walkerville, Ontario. The Company had gained all Ford patent rights and selling privileges to all parts of the British Empire, except Great Britain and Ireland. The Model C, the first car to be produced in Canada, rolled out of the factory in late September 1904. The Company could produce two cars at a time and in its first full year of production, the Company was able to produce 117 automobiles. The Company's first export sales were to Calcutta, India. The Company is still an important manufacturing enterprise in Windsor. With the growth in car sales after World War II, Ford of Canada decided to move its head office and build a new assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario. The new Oakville assembly plant was opened in 1953. In order to meet ever increasing demand, the Company opened another assembly plant in Talbotville, Ontario in 1967. Historically Ford was one of most powerful companies in Canada, and in the 1970s, Ford was the "largest" company in Canada. Ford of Canada celebrated its Centennial in 2004, shortly after the Parent Company Ford in the United States did in 2003. In 2010, Ford was embroiled in a controversy surrounding a plan to construct a massive gas-fired power plant to be operated by TransCanada on a disused 13.5 acre (54632.6 m2) portion of its Oakville assembly plant. Local residents and politicians have pleaded with Ford not to continue with the plan, which is believed by many to threaten the health and safety of local residents. With the recent catastrophic explosion at a gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Connecticut, and the 2008 Toronto propane explosion, many believe that a buffer zone for such plants is required and that the Ford site is inappropriate due to its close proximity to homes and schools. Current CEO and President of Ford Motor Company of Canada is David Mondragon, effective September 1, 2008, replacing Barry Engle who resigned to join New Holland America as its CEO. William H. Osborne had held the position since 2005 and was replaced by Engle in February 2008. The firm both sells automobiles in Canada, and manufactures automobiles, for sale in Canada and other countries. |
