New Canada Publications, division of NC Press Ltd. 1985 ISBN 0-920053-31-9
Ontario Stock Yards was located in West Toronto between the Canadian Pacific Railway shops and yard, and the meat packing houses and abattoir of Canada Packers and others. It was created in 1944 by the Government of Ontario to succeed The Union Stock Yards Company Limited, a private business chartered in December 1900 and opened on August 28, 1903 in Toronto Junction at Keele Street and St.Clair Avenue West on part of a one hundred acre site planned to also include abattoir and packers. It was to be a replacement for the earlier established facilities in downtown Toronto. These included the Harris Abattoir near Strachan Avenue, the Matthews-Blackwell plant (1898-1929) at the foot of Bathurst Street and the William Davies Company on Front Street East at the Don River.
St. Lawrence Market 1888 Public Archives of Canada
The very first place in Toronto for the sale of cattle, sheep, poultry and other farmer's goods was the St.Lawrence Market established one hundred years earlier in 1803 at King, Jarvis and Front Streets. It still continues to operate in its newer (1833) location to the south.
In 1873, Donald Gunn of Beaverton established a produce business at 73 Front Street East. He later became a packinghouse operator opening a plant in West Toronto.
In 1874, William Davies built a packing plant near the GTR Don station at Front Street East and Overend Avenue. Here, ice was cut from the Don River and used in the summer to cool meat products. Davies, a butcher, had come from England in 1854 and set up in a stall at the St.Lawrence Market.
The Western Cattle Market was established in 1877 on the south side of Wellington Street West just west of Tecumseth Street to replace the livestock section of the St.Lawrence Market on account of the growth of that area. It was served by the Grand Trunk.
Toronto Municipal Abattoir and Cold Storage foot of Niagara Street. May 10, 1915
In 1905, the Levack Company built the first slaughter house in West Toronto. It was quickly bought by the D.B.Martin Company who in turn sold it to Swift Canadian in 1911. Nearby, Gunns Limited opened another plant in 1907. Harris Abattoir Company Limited also relocated in the same area.
Collection of R.L.Kennedy
The Harris Abattoir Company Limited c.1920
A major fire in 1908 destroyed most of the stock yards buildings which were then replaced with new ones.
The Union Stock Yards was involved in a unique situation whereby a charter was sought for a railway to serve it following the refusal of the Grand Trunk Railway to build a siding into the stock yards. Junction Terminal Railway
CNR siding, track on the right is lead from CNR West Toronto to Canada Packers and Swift's.
The stock yards were served by both CNR and CPR with two tracks along the north side of West Toronto Street going to the CPR and one track along the south side of St.Clair Avenue connecting to a CNR lead running between their West Toronto yard and the various packing houses which were also served by CPR.
In the 1920's farmers and drovers began to truck animals to the stock yards instead of shipping them by rail. Trucks include Geo.Constable of Churchill, Ernest Crickmore of Lynden and Percy Reynolds of Bond Head.
Click to enlarge
In 1927, the financially troubled Gunns was acquired by Harris as well as the U.S.-owned Matthews-Blackwell plant. Harris and Davies merged, creating Canada Packers Limited on August 13, 1927. Canada Packers was by far the largest plant, by the 1950's it had some 26 tracks and often over 150 cars including a small fleet of intra-plant wooden box cars that never went beyond their property. Swift Canadian had seven tracks which were in the 1950's switched only by the CNR. The CPR switched most of Canada Packers providing a switch engine and crew two shifts a day five days per week and one day shift on Saturday. Canada Packers had its own weigh scale, yardmaster and car checker! They never had their own locomotive. The CPR had a lead track running from West Toronto Yard through a city park north across St.Clair Avenue. The CNR had a lead running west from their West Toronto Yard past the stock yards and curving north where it connected with the Canada Packers private trackage at the same point where the CPR lead also connected. By 1980 active sidings had dwindled to only 8 or 9 in the Packers, still including a scales and 4 in Swifts.
Other small plants included Frank Hunnisett Limited (1932) on St.Clair
Avenue with a short siding next to the CNR lead as it curved into the
Packers. Canada Packers acquired Hunnisett in 1940 although it continued
to operate under its own name. Canadian Dressed Meats on Ryding Avenue
(since 1948) which was owned by Burns Foods of Calgary. It was served
by the CPR directly from West Toronto Yard. Grace Meat Packers (York)
Limited on Glen Scarlett Road since 1969, had no siding. Prime Packers
Ltd. built a plant in 1954 on Ryding Avenue. Prime sold their plant in
1983 and it continued to be operated by Ryding Meat Packers and its affiliate,
Regency Veal. All Lean Boneless Beef was another small operator.
The stock yards peaked in 1977 and began a rapid decline thereafter until it closed February 10, 1994. Redevelopment began with Home Depot, the first of the "big box" stores to locate on the stock yards site and the CPR shops. A new stock yard was established near Cookstown a small community north of Toronto without any rail service which was no longer required. Following a corporate takeover, Canada Packers closed, the property was levelled and eventually redeveloped with housing.
Swift's was sold to Can Amera Foods in 198x which by this time produced only edible oils at the plant. In another corporate takeover it was acquired October 15,2002 by Bunge which on 3/29/2004 became Bunge Canada and continued to operate and receive daily rail service by the CPR. Following an expansion of their plant in Hamilton the plant was shutdown and demolished 5/2009. The property was sold to developer Trinity Development Group which began in 2012 a big box mall of nearly 20 acres known as The Stockyards. A side effect of this was the abandonment of the CPR spur from West Toronto Yard through the former Canada Packers plant since this was the last industry using rail. The right of way was sold off to Ken Shaw Toyota which used parts of it for their automobile dealership and sold what they didn't need.
The coming of mechanical refrigeration in the late 19th
century meant a reduction in the cost of meat. Another factor contributing
to lower costs was the new-found ability to refrigerate by-products that,
in the case of some of the larger processors, number as high as 150! It
was said that the packer should end up with "not an atom left."
One packer suggested that from a hog "everything should be used but
the squeal and apparently some people use that too!"
Back to Toronto Division