Redpath Sugar Ltd. (french: Sucre Redpath Ltée) is a Canadian sugar refining company that was established in 1854 and the first refining cane sugar in Montreal, Quebec. Headquartered in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario (with an additional packaging plant in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its population ...

), the company is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of the multinational

American Sugar Refining American Sugar Refining, Inc. is a large privately held cane sugar refining company, with a production capacity of 6.5 million tons of sugar. The company produces a full line of consumer, industrial, food service, and specialty sweetener product ...

History

The business was founded in 1854 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, by

Scots-Quebecer Scots-Quebecers () are Quebecers who are of Scottish descent. Background Few Scots came to Quebec (then New France) before the Seven Years' War. Those who did blended in with the French population. Perhaps the first Scot to settle was Abra ...

entrepreneur

John Redpath John Redpath (1796 – March 5, 1869) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec the largest and most prosperous city in Canada. Early years In 1796, John Redpa ...

(1796–1869). Located on Saint Patrick Street on the bank of the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French (language), French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroug ...

, the sugar refinery complex was the first of its kind in Canada, using

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

imported from the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...

. Its construction was part of the economic boom that, during the 19th century, turned Montreal from a small town to (then) the largest city in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the country's economic engine. In 1857, John Redpath's eldest son,

Peter Redpath Peter Redpath (August 1, 1821 – February 1, 1894) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar. Biography Redpath was born in Montreal, Lower Canada, the son of a Scottish immigrant, John Redpath, a ...

(1821–1894), became a partner; his brother-in-law,

George Alexander Drummond Sir George Alexander Drummond, (11 October 1829 – 2 February 1910) was a Scottish-Canadian businessman and senator. Life and career Born in 1829 at Edinburgh, he was a younger son of the entrepreneurial stonemason, building contracto ...

(1829–1910), joined the firm in 1861. Unable to compete with the giant low-cost producers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, for the three years between 1876 and 1878, the company ceased operations. Following the tariff protections implemented under the

National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. Th ...

by the government of

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, the company reopened in 1879, as did St. Lawrence Sugar, a new competitor established in Montreal. At that time, the company was reorganized as the Canada Sugar Refining Company Limited. George Drummond took over when Peter Redpath retired in 1888. Under his guidance, the company's success allowed for construction of a new six-storey plant built on the existing site, doubling production capacity. In 1930, the company merged with the Dominion Sugar Company Limited of Chatham, Ontario, and became known as the Canada and Dominion Sugar Company Limited. In 1959, a controlling interest in the company was acquired by

Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...

, a British firm. In 1973, the company changed its name to Redpath Industries Limited. The

Redpath Sugar Refinery The Redpath Sugar Refinery is a sugar storage, refining and museum complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Toronto waterfront The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east. History Lake Ontario is a recent lake. ...

in the late 1950s, at the time of the completion of the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...

, and it is still in operation. Tate family member Saxon Tate and David Davis, later a senior

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, were sent from Britain to restructure its Canadian subsidiary. In 1980, the Montreal plant was closed and production was shifted to Toronto. In 2007, the company became a subsidiary of

(ASR Group) following the sale of Tate & Lyle's sugar division, and it was renamed as Redpath Sugar Ltd. at that time.

Refinery

The Redpath Sugar Refinery is a sugar storage, refining and museum complex in Toronto used by Redpath for sugar production. The refinery was founded in 1958 and has included a museum since 1979.

Imagery

The Redpath sugar label shown at right celebrated the company's 150th anniversary in 2004. The Redpath logo, which is derived from John Redpath's own script, is Canada's oldest continuously-used food product trademark.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies Economic history of Canada Food and drink companies established in 1854 Redpath family Manufacturing companies based in Montreal Food and drink companies based in Montreal Manufacturing companies based in Toronto Food and drink companies based in Toronto Sugar companies Tate & Lyle Canadian companies established in 1854

History

Refinery

Imagery

References

Further reading

External links