Gordon Morton McGregor
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Gordon McGregor (January 18, 1873 Windsor, Ontario - 1922) was a Canadian business man.
McGregor founded Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited.
McGregor's father was William McGregor, President of the Walkerville Wagon Company Limited in Walkerville, Ontario -- now Windsor, Ontario. He took over the management of the company in 1901 and, on the death of his father in 1903, Gordon McGregor became president of the company.
At a meeting with his brothers, Walter and Donald, in January 1904, Gordon McGregor said:
"There are men in Detroit who say every farmer will soon be using an automobile. I don't see why we can not build them here in the wagon factory." [1]
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[edit] Personal Life
On November 2, 1898 he married Harriett Dobbs. They had five children – two sons, Gordon and William, and three daughters, Harriett, Elizabeth and Nancy.
[edit] McGregor meets Henry Ford
His meetings with Henry Ford resulted in McGregor obtaining a personal agreement which allowed him to form and finance a company to manufacture and sell Ford products in Canada.
Additionally, he obtained the right to sell Ford products in the then existing British Empire, exclusive of the British Isles. This farsightedness on the part of McGregor has resulted in Ford of Canada having wholly-owned subsidiaries in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
[edit] Ford Canada
Production of Ford automobiles in Canada started in the Wagon Works on October 10, 1904.
The 1904 Ford Model C was the first call built at the plant.
In addition to building the business, he actively developed people. A young man, Wallace R. Campbell, whom he hired as bookkeeper, showed promise and was developed to become McGregor's assistant. When Mr. McGregor died, Campbell took over and ran Ford of Canada.
[edit] Death
Gordon McGregor died when he was only 49 years old as a result of injuries sustained in a railway accident.
[edit] Legacy
He saw the company he founded expand from producing 117 cars in its first fiscal year, to 51,341 in 1922. This resulted in almost seven out of 10 cars sold in Canada being built by Ford of Canada. He saw his company become the first automobile manufacturer in Canada to build the complete automobile from raw material to the finished product.
Gordon McGregor Public Elementary School in Windsor, Ontario
