Canadian Vickers

The Canadian Vickers yard was established by Vickers Sons & Maxim in 1912, on fifty acres of land in the old Maisonneuve district of Montreal, at the foot of Rue Viau.  The company acquired the nearby repair yard, Montreal Dry Docks, in the 1920s and in 1926 was spun off to Canadian investors.  Vickers UK reacquired control in 1956 and the company prospered, with several industrial activities as well as the shipyard.  In 1978 the company was again acquired by Canadian interests and became known as Vickers Canada Ltd., but was sold to Versatile Corporation in 1981, becoming Versatile Vickers Inc.  By 1987, however, it was no longer profitable and changed hands again, this time to the MIL Group, with the name changing to MIL Vickers Ltd.  The company closed in 1989 and the facilities were razed shortly thereafter.