Below is a list of individuals from Ontario who have had a substantial impact on Canada’s Industrial History. All information for these individuals can be found by clicking on their name; you will be redirected to Parks Canada’s website.
Brymner, Douglas. 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON. Brymner is recognized as the first Dominion Archivists, whose work over a period of thirty years, resulted in the establishment of the Public Archives of Canada.
Carling, Sir John. 300 Dufferin Avenue, London, ON. Carling’s contributions to industrial heritage can be attributed to his position as Minister of Agriculture (1885-92) and his founding of the Dominion Experimental Farms.
Clergue, Francis Hector. Canal Drive, Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Clergue is remembered for his work in transforming Sault Ste. Marie into a major industrial centre. Clergue created Sault Ste. Marie Pulp and Paper (now St. Mary’s Paper), Canadian Copper Company (now part of INCO), amongst others.
Fleming, Sir Sandford. Observatory Lane, Ottawa, ON. Fleming was a survey and construction engineer for the Intercolonial Railway (1836-76) and the Canadian Pacific (1871-80); he advocated for they laying of the Pacific cable to link in a globe-circling imperial network.
Hill, James Jerome. Highway 7, Rockwood, ON. Hill had an impressive impact on the transportation industry, having organized the Red River Transportation Company, which resulted in the creation of a transportation line between St. Paul and Winnipeg. He later became the Canadian Pacific Railway’s greatest competitor.
King, William Lyon Mackenzie. 528 Wellington Street North, Woodside National Historic Site, Kitchener, ON. King is recognized for his authority on industrial relations and as a public servant he organized the Department of Labour.
Mackenzie, Sir William. 1011 Portage Road, Kirkfield, ON. Mackenzie, along with his partner Sir Donald Mann, built the Canadian Northern Railway which opened large areas of the west to settlement.
Massey, Hart. 8560 Tremaine Road, Milton, ON. Massey is recognized as a leader in the transformation of Canadian agriculture.
McLaughlin, Robert Samuel. 270 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON. McLaughlin is remembered as a famous industrialist and philanthropist, while also being recognized as the founder of the automotive industry in Canada.
Saunders, Sir Charles Edward. London, ON. Saunders was the Dominion Cerealist at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa where he developed the famous Marquis Wheat. An improved variety of Marquis created in 1947 now bears his named.
Saunders, William. Saunders is recognized as an expert in scientific agriculture and was appointed Director of the new Experimental Farms Branch of the federal Department of Agriculture in 1886.
Shadd, Mary Ann. 177 King Street East, Chatham, ON. Shadd created the Provincial Freeman, a newspaper that encouraged self-reliance and pushed for rights of Blacks and women. The paper became the leading voice for refugees in Canada.
Willson, Thomas Leopold ‘Carbide’. Middle Street at Portage Bridge, Ottawa, ON. Willson is remembered as a prominent inventor in the fields of electricity, electro-chemistry, and metallurgy, as well as the production of fertilizers. In 1892 he discovered a method to mass produce calcium carbide at the Old Willson Carbide Mill, in Ottawa.