Automobiles have played a key role in Canada's success
This Tuesday is Canada's 141st birthday, and citizens across the country will be celebrating the occasion with family and friends.
I want to pay tribute to the automobile and reflect on how it has affected our identity and culture over the past 100 years.
In the early 20th century, Canadians had few options when it came to travel. In those days, the primary forms of transportation included horse and buggy, train, boat, bicycle and walking. Most people didn't travel very far, and when they did, it took forever.
The introduction of the Ford Model C in 1904 signalled the start of a new era of transportation in this country. Just as the railway linked Canada from coast to coast in the 19th century, the automobile brought our country closer together in the 20th century.
From the 1920s until the 1950s, automobiles were regarded as more of a luxury than a necessity. If a family member was fortunate enough to own a DeSoto or a Studebaker during that period, it was a rare privilege.
It wasn't until the early 1950s that car ownership in Canada achieved mass acceptance. A robust, post-war economy created jobs, and along with jobs came the incomes to afford cars.
Owning a car in Canada has always carried with it a promise of freedom. As a kid growing up in Brampton, I remember taking car rides with my parents and marvelling at the beautiful scenery along the highways, looking forward with great delight to reaching our intended destinations.
When I was old enough to buy my first car, it was like a rite of passage into adulthood. I spent hours crisscrossing the province with friends, exploring new places and enjoying my newfound freedom behind the wheel.
Even today, looking back on those younger years, so many great memories were created by owning a car and being able to go places. I'm sure many Canadians can relate similar tales of joy about their first cars and how liberating it felt to take to the highways.
If owning a car has given Canadians a sense of freedom, it has also allowed friends and families to come together for all types of occasions.
Think about all of the weddings, family reunions and events that we take for granted today because of the automobile. The great distances between us, geographically, are easily bridged with the use of cars.
Aside from providing basic transportation, cars speak volumes about who we are as individuals, too. Cars are an extension of our personalities, styles, attitudes and societal status. Car ownership gave rise to that old cliché, "You are what you drive."
The automobile has also played an important role in shaping our economy.
From the manufacturing of automobiles, automobile components and systems to new-vehicle sales, service and aftermarket parts, the automobile industry is a prime engine of our economy.
Ontario produces more vehicles than any other site in North America (2.5 million in 2007), and one out of every six jobs in this province is linked to the auto industry.
The manufacturing sector must always adjust to new realities, and I don't want to minimize the job losses that have occurred at some assembly plants as a result of those adjustments. But the auto sector is resilient, and it will continue to provide a livelihood for thousands of Canadians for years to come.
On Canada Day, if you are driving to a destination to celebrate the occasion, take a moment to appreciate the role of the automobile in taking you to and from where you're going.
Happy Canada Day!
This column represents the views of TADA. Email: president@tada.ca
or visit www.tada.ca.
Bob Attrell, president of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association, is a new-car dealer in the GTA.
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