Hiram Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts on July 4, 1816. At the age of 20 he joined the westward march and settled in Detroit where he gained experience as a grocer and grain merchant. By 1856, he had $40,000 to invest and a desire to go into milling and distilling. However, unstable temperance laws at the time encouraged him to look across the Detroit River to Canada to set up his business.

Canada offered a steady supply of quality grains, land, materials and labour cheaper than at home, and a more tolerant attitude towards the distilling of spirit beverages. Walker purchased a 468 acre tract of land and built a mill and distillery. By 1858, he was selling feed, flour and whisky. He made good, distinctively light-bodied whisky and its popularity increased.

Walker was a benevolent entrepreneur, who through his Walkerville Land & Building Company built and leased homes to his employees, both managers and workers. He provided amenities which many larger communities lacked, such as street lamps, plumbing, a fire brigade and free police protection, as well as financing for schools and churches. In 1885, Walker incorporated his own railway, which in four years enlarged his one industry village into a town supporting many diversified companies. In 1890, Walkerville was officially incorporated as a town and remained so until it was amalgamated with the City of Windsor in 1935.
 

Package changes of Canadian Club over the years have maintained the identity of the brand which dates back to 1879.

Walker was the first in the industry to brand his whisky and the first distiller to put his whisky into individually sealed bottles — a step ahead of the usual practice of selling it in bulk from wooden barrels. He called it “Club” whisky as the uniquely smooth, mellow taste was enjoyed by gentlemen of the finer clubs of the day.

The success of “Club” whisky in North America alarmed U.S. distillers. They felt that consumers were not aware they were drinking a “product of Canada” and petitioned Washington for a law requiring Walker to clearly state his whisky as “Canadian.” Walker complied, “Canadian Club” was born, and contrary to the predictions of the American distillers, this new brand did not falter. Rather it “ ... hastened its growth and was firmly placed on the road to fame and fortune.”

This success however spawned yet another problem for the company and the brand. Due to the unregulated nature of the marketplace, a number of fraudulent imitators tried to copy the trademark label. In defence of his reputation for quality, Walker lashed back with an advertising campaign exposing the “rascality” of the named men trying to sell “bogus liquors” and boldly challenging them to sue for slander.

Today, Canadian Club is the world’s leading, premium Canadian Whisky and is available in 150 countries.