In Canada, the FORGES SAINT-MAURICE, near Trois-Rivières, Qué, produced iron from local bog iron ore and charcoal to supply settlers and the military . The first ironworks in Upper Canada, the Marmora Ironworks, near Peterborough, Ont, began production in 1822. It consisted of two charcoal-fired blast furnaces, a forge with two sets of water-powered hammers and special hearths for the production of iron bar. In the late 19th century both the Marmora and the St-Maurice ironworks were closed; they could no longer compete with more modern ironworks in Ontario and Nova Scotia, which employed coke-fired blast furnaces.
Steel products were first manufactured in Canada in the 1880s. By the early 1900s steelmaking centres had been established in HAMILTON and SAULT STE MARIE, Ont, and in SYDNEY, NS. Iron and steel production grew slowly until WWII and then rapidly as the post-war economic boom created a tremendous demand for steel.
The Bessemer Process, invented in England in 1856, was the first large-scale steelmaking process. This method was followed by the invention, a few years later, of the open-hearth process, which from about 1900 to the early 1960s accounted for most of the steel production in the world. By 1910 the Bessemer Process was no longer in use in North America.
This was taken from the website - Canadian Encyclopedia - a little like Wikipedia, but it specifies everything Canadian.
This was taken from the website - Canadian Encyclopedia - a little like Wikipedia, but it specifies everything Canadian.
Because the modern steel making procedure was invented in Ireland, I think that has a large effect on the influx of migratory workers coming to North America for work. With the strong economy and landmass available it offered a more expedient opportunity for the steel industry and these drawing factors attracted many immigrants. That explains the huge diversity in the plant and the racial rifts that seperate the workers.
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