Early in 1937, the Ford Motor Company of Canada and General Motors of Canada were both invited by the Canadian Department of National Defence to provide a prototype of 15-hundredweight (cwt) ¾-ton U.S. payload rating light infantry truck. This was a first step, destined to provide the small Canadian army with a suitable vehicle, in peacetime.
By 1938, heavier 4×4 and 6×4 designs were sought after. Ford and GM Canada Ltd were asked to design a 6×4 medium artillery tractor. In 1939, as war seemed imminent in Europe, a whole range of vehicles and a mass production program were introduced, all based on a strict “CMP” set of specifications (for “Canadian Military Pattern”). Canadian factories manufactured 850,000 vehicles from 1939 to 1945.
During the Second World War, Ford and General Motors produced vehicles for defence with nearly 817,000 manufactured by Canada. Over 410,000 (CMP) 1500-weight trucks were “made in Canada”. GM trucks alone represented 201,000, Ford made the rest.
Ford 1500 weight (photo on wall) General Motors (side & front view in model case)