Goodyear’s first Canadian store opened in a small Toronto building in 1910. With growing success in the bicycle, carriage and the developing automobile industry, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Canada Limited was established later the same year.
The first Goodyear plant to open outside of the United States was in Bowmanville, Ontario – it’s still operating to this day. Near the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific rail systems, the plant was in a perfect location because it provided exporting and importing facilities nearby. There were also enough skilled people close at hand to help in the production of Goodyear’s top-quality products.
The Bowmanville plant employed 150 people, almost the entire working population of the town. The average starting salary was 12 cents an hour for production workers. Supervisors received 22 cents per hour, and tire builders were paid 27 cents. By the standards of the day, Goodyear salaries were considered to be quite high. These days, Goodyear Canada’s corporate headquarters are on Kipling Avenue in Toronto, Ontario.
With three manufacturing facilities and two offices, Goodyear Canada employs about 1,500 people nationwide. Goodyear tires are sold through various retail channels across the country -including hundreds of committed tire retailers and mass merchandisers like Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart.
To find out more about Goodyear’s international history visit our corporate site.
Learn more
The Goodyear Guy
The lighthearted Goodyear spokesman was embraced by the hearts of Canadians immediately after his first appearance in March 1991. That campaign went on to surpass all industry likability milestones. A Gallup Poll survey of Canadian consumers stated that The Goodyear Guy was one of the five most-liked campaigns in the country, rubbing elbows with campaigns by McDonald’s, Coke and Bell that year.
Subsequent Goodyear Guy campaigns have gone on to win numerous awards and merits for creative in the past 10 years. The Goodyear Guy started out telling consumers about the Goodyear brand, and he eventually worked his way into all retail messages. Now, his familiar and trusted face is seen everywhere Goodyear goes.
