Although founded in Quebec in 1949, the roots of GTE Sylvania Canada Limited were planted before the outbreak of World War I. In 1908, Canadian Winter Joyner launched a manufacturers' agency in Canada for imported electrical products. Other Canadian companies serving the rapidly expanding lighting and electrical industries were Electrolier Manufacturing, Iberville Fittings and Canadian Electrical Box. Meanwhile, two U.S. based incandescent lamp companies, Hygrade and Novelty, were buying burned out light bulbs for pennies and inserting new carbon filaments for recycling. Later, both companies began the manufacturing of new bulbs and, subsequently, radio tubes. By the early 1930s they merged to become Hygrade Sylvania Corporation.

During World War II, all electrical companies were booming. Electrolier made naval lighting fixtures, airplane canopies and fluorescent fixtures. Winter Joyner's company, now called Powerlite, produced lighting and power distribution equipment. A new Montrealer, Fleetwood, made record players and television sets, marking another step in the expansion of the Sylvania family. Sylvania, in the U.S., destined to merge in 1959 with General Telephone to form General Telephone & Electronics, devoted 85 per cent of its efforts to war production and grew from six plants to 29 and from 6,000 employees to 30,000.

Following the war, Sylvania set out to capture the Canadian market. On April 6, 1949, it launched its Canadian sales and manufacturing subsidiary on a national basis. In the first year, Sylvania Canada sold 2,000,000 photo flashbulbs along with a variety of incandescent bulbs. A plant was built in Drummondville, Quebec, and over the years has been expanded and modernized.

Meanwhile, Canadian companies that would eventually become part of Sylvania kept writing their own success stories: Electrolier added a second plant; Powerlite manufactured mercury vapour luminaries, relays, lighting arresters, aluminum standards and floodlights; a newcomer, Canadian Driver, produced resistance wire and thermocouple alloys.

By the mid-1970s, GTE Sylvania Canada Limited, having acquired all these companies, now operated 11 Canadian plants with 4,300 employees. Its products included all forms of incandescent and fluorescent lights and fixtures, photo flashbulbs and colour TV sets and tubes, while exporting to more than 30 countries. However, nothing in business ever stands still. just as transistors replaced radio tubes, the electronic flash now rendered photo flashbulbs obsolete and Asian companies learned to manufacture TV sets for world consumption.

To serve such fast changing markets, GTE Sylvania Canada also changed rapidly. It closely studied world market trends while attending to customers. By concentrating on research and development, Sylvania became the Total Lighting Company.

By 1989, celebrating the 40th birthday of its Canadian federal charter, GTE Sylvania Canada Limited can claim to meet the needs of communities, companies and consumers at home and abroad. It provides indoor lighting fixtures, for commercial and industrial use, outdoor lighting fixtures, including street and road and security lighting, 3000 types of light bulbs for industry and the home, automotive headlamps, and total lighting services that include design, installation and maintenance.

Guided by President William McCormick, this dynamic and successful company will continue evolving as market needs and opportunities keep changing. By the 1990s, GTE Sylvania Canada Limited will continue as a leader in energy conservation, and will be a major factor in the development of electronic devices for every conceivable lighting system as part of the global GTE Lighting Group.