Industry | Gas distribution |
---|---|
Founded | 23 March 1848 |
Defunct | 1 January 2019 |
Fate | Merged with Union Gas |
Successor | Enbridge Gas |
Headquarters | Consumers' Gas Building, |
The Consumers' Gas Company was a Canadian gas distribution utility that existed from 1848 to 2019. The company was founded as the Consumers' Gas Company of Toronto and was the city's main gas supplier. In 1957, reflecting its expansion beyond the city, "Toronto" was removed from its name. For the entirety of its history, Consumers' was Canada's largest gas distribution company.
In 1994, the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company (now Enbridge) acquired an 85 per cent stake in Consumers', and in 1996 bought the remainder of the company. In 1998, Consumers' was renamed Enbridge Consumers Gas, and in 2002 became Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. On 1 January 2019, the company merged with Union Gas to form Enbridge Gas Inc.
The company originally manufactured gas from coal. This ended in 1954 when manufactured gas was replaced by natural gas shipped by pipeline from western Canada.
In January 1980, it was announced that Consumers' Gas intended a friendly takeover of the distiller Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts Limited. [1] On 9 April 1980, Consumers' and Walker completed their merger. [2] A new holding company, Hiram Walker-Consumers Home Ltd. was created and would operate three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, Consumers' Gas, and Home Oil. In February 1981, shareholders approved that the holding company be renamed Hiram Walker Resources Limited. [3] In July 1981, HWR announced that it would sell between 10 and 15 percent of Consumers.' By the end of 1985, it had reduced its holdings to 83.5 per cent.
In December 1990, British Gas purchased Consumers' outright. [4] The company paid C$915 million for the 82 per cent stake held by GW Utilities, and then paid $34 a share for the remaining 18 per cent of the company. For the foreign takeover to proceed, Investment Canada ruled that by the end of 1992, British Gas would have to sell off 15 per cent of the company to Canadians. British Gas made this sale in February 1992 for $170 million, thus reducing its holdings to 85 per cent.
In November 1993, the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company struck a tentative deal to purchase for C$1.2 billion the 85 per cent stake in Consumers' held by British Gas. The deal was approved by the Ontario government in June 1994. [5] In January 1996, Interprovincial applied to the Ontario government to remove the requirement for a 15 per cent public float of common shares in Consumers'. [6] The application was approved that summer, and in October, Interprovincial offered the shareholders of Consumers' $24.00 per share, or cash plus shares in IPL energy. The deal was completed on 11 December. [7]
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as "rye". Today, as for the past two centuries, the terms "rye whisky" and "Canadian whisky" are used interchangeably in Canada and refer to exactly the same product, which generally is made with only a small amount of rye grain.
Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, donuts, sandwiches, breakfast egg muffins and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 5,701 restaurants in 13 countries, as of September 2023.
The Canada Trust Company was a Canadian trust company founded in 1894 in Calgary, Alberta, as the General Trust Corporation of Canada. In 1899, it was acquired by the Huron and Erie Savings and Loan Society, which moved the company to London, Ontario, and changed its name to the Canada Trust Company.
Imperial Oil Limited is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, diluted bitumen, and natural gas. Imperial Oil is one of Canada's major petroleum refiners and petrochemical producers. It supplies Esso-brand service stations.
Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, and also generates renewable energy. Enbridge's pipeline system is the longest in North America and the largest oil export pipeline network in the world. Its crude oil system consists of 28,661 kilometres of pipelines. Its 38,300 kilometre natural gas pipeline system connects multiple Canadian provinces, several US states, and the Gulf of Mexico. The company was formed by Imperial Oil in 1949 as the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company Limited to transport Alberta oil to refineries. Over time, it has grown through acquisition of other existing pipeline companies and the expansion of their projects.
Olympia & York was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the World Financial Center in New York City, and First Canadian Place in Toronto. It went bankrupt in the early 1990s and was recreated to eventually become Olympia & York Properties.
BP Canada was a Canadian petroleum company and subsidiary of British Petroleum that existed between 1955 and 1992. The name refers to a group of companies that engaged in various segments of the petroleum industry lifecycle. BP entered the Canadian market in October 1953, when it purchased a 23 percent stake in the Triad Oil Company. In 1955, BP formed a Canadian subsidiary, based in Montreal, called BP Canada Limited. The company began acquiring retail stations in Ontario and Quebec and in 1957 started construction on a refinery in Montreal. By the end of the 1950s BP Canada was a fully-integrated operation. In 1964, it acquired from Cities Service the Oakville Refinery, and then expanded its operations significantly in 1971 when it acquired Supertest Petroleum.
Canadian Club is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by Suntory Global Spirits. Popularly known as CC, Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker and Sons, an evolution of a brand around a product that took place over the second half of the nineteenth century. Hiram Walker merged with Gooderham & Worts, Ltd. in 1926, yielding Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, Ltd.
CUC Broadcasting was a Canadian media company, active from 1968 to 1995. Active primarily as a cable television distributor, the company also had some holdings in broadcast media and publishing.
Bauer Hockey LLC is a Canadian manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates and apparel. Bauer produces helmets, gloves, sticks, skates, shin guards, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey jocks and compression underwear, as well as goalie equipment. Some of its equipment, such as its ice hockey skates, are also approved for use in the sport of ringette.
Harold Clifford "Harry" Hatch (1884–1946) was a millionaire industrialist from Prince Edward County, Ontario, specializing in the business of wine and spirits.
Corby Spirit and Wine Limited is a Canadian alcohol manufacturing and distribution company. It was founded in 1859 in Corbyville, Ontario. As of 2008, the company is 46% owned by Pernod Ricard. The company distills several Canadian specialities, as well as marketing Pernod Ricard's products in Canada. Corby is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols CSW.A and CSW.B. Corby is known for funding free travel on the TTC on New Years Eve in Toronto.
Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged firm was eventually sold to Allied Lyons in 1987.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) is a Canadian-American multinational fast food holding company. It was formed in 2014 by the $12.5 billion merger between American fast food restaurant chain Burger King and Canadian coffee shop and restaurant chain Tim Hortons, and expanded by the purchases of Popeyes and Firehouse Subs in 2017 and 2021, respectively. The company is the fifth-largest operator of fast food restaurants in the world after Subway, McDonald's Corporation, Starbucks and Yum! Brands. They are based alongside Tim Hortons in Toronto. For multiple purposes, Burger King, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs retain their existing operations and headquarters, with BK and Popeyes in Miami, and Firehouse in Jacksonville. The 2014 merger focused primarily on expanding the international reach of the Tim Hortons brand and providing financial efficiencies for both companies.
Gulf Canada was a Canadian integrated petroleum company that existed between 1944 and 2001. Gulf Oil Corporation began operating in Canada in 1942, and two years later formed a Canadian subsidiary called the Canadian Gulf Oil Company. In 1956 Canadian Gulf Oil merged with the British American Oil Company and until 1969 operated under the British American name. In 1969, British American amalgamated with its subsidiaries into a new company called Gulf Oil Canada Limited.
The Alberta Energy Company Ltd. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed from 1973 to 2002. The AEC was created by the Government of Alberta under Premier Peter Lougheed as a mechanism for Albertans to invest in the Syncrude oil sands project. Besides its participation in Syncrude, the AEC also received the rights to produce gas in the Suffield Block. The company was established as a mixed enterprise and at its inception was half owned by the provincial Crown and half owned by the public. A restrictive charter, which prevented individual shareholders from acquiring more than one percent of the company and mandated directors be residents of Alberta, ensured control remained within the province. Until 1982, the company was barred from participation in conventional oil and gas exploration, but after that time was given the right to compete with private companies in that area. In 1983 the government began to decrease its equity, and in 1993 divested of its remaining shares.
The British American Oil Company Limited was a Canadian integrated petroleum company that operated between 1906 and 1969. British American was founded in Toronto in 1906 by Albert Leroy Ellsworth (1876–1950). By the 1950s, the Gulf Oil Corporation of Pittsburgh had become British American's controlling shareholder. In 1956 Gulf merged its Canadian subsidiary, the Canadian Gulf Oil Company, with British American using the latter's name. In 1969 British American amalgamed with its subsidiaries into a new company called Gulf Oil Canada Limited. After several name changes ending at Gulf Canada Resources Limited, the company was acquired in 2001 by Conoco, becoming Conoco Canada Resources Limited.
Home Oil Company Limited was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed from 1925 and 1995. Home was founded to produce oil in the Turner Valley field, and by the end of World War II was the country's largest independent producer. Between 1952 and 1972, Home was controlled by Robert A. Brown Jr., who pursued an aggressive and high-risk strategy. From 1979 and 1991 Home Oil operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary, first of the Consumers' Gas Company, then of Hiram Walker, and lastly of the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company. On 1 May 1991, Home Oil regained its independent status, which it retained for the duration of its existence. In 1995, Anderson Exploration acquired Home for C$879 million. After Devon Energy acquired Anderson in 2001, Home was finally struck off in September 2002.
The Toronto General Trusts Corporation was a Canadian trust company that existed from 1872 to 1961. The country's first trust company, the TGT received its charter in 1872, but did not begin operations until 1882. Founded as the Toronto General Trusts Company, in 1899 it took over the Trust Corporation of Ontario, at which time it changed its name to the Toronto General Trusts Corporation. By the 1950s, Toronto General was Canada's fourth largest trust company after Royal Trust, Montreal Trust, and National Trust.