Abitibi Power and Paper Company Limited was a forest products business based in Montreal, Quebec, that was founded in 1914.

[3] On February 9, 1914, it was reorganized as the Abitibi Power and Paper Co. Ltd., which was incorporated under the Dominion Companies Act, in order to raise adequate capital for its plant and operations and to transfer its head office to Montreal.

[4] Its formation coincided with the passage of the Underwood Tariff in the United States, which allowed free trade for newsprint and prompted a northward rush from US publishers wanting to secure a cheap supply from Canada.

[a] Certain dealings relating to the 1933 acquisition came to be known as the "great Abitibi swindle,"[17] which resulted in the fall of the Henry government in the 1934 Ontario election, to be succeeded by that of Mitchell Hepburn.

In addition, as any refinancing would be contingent upon reinstatement of Abitibi's timber limits, further legislation was passed to allow this to occur, subject to approval by the courts and the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

[20] Hepburn felt this to be necessary in order to assure that any reorganization coincided with public policy, unlike what had happened in Quebec between Price Brothers Limited and the Taschereau administration.

[17] In March 1939, an order in council was passed that declared that any scheme receiving court approval would be considered acceptable to the government.

[21] When the Second World War broke out later in the year, and with public sentiment almost unanimous against foreclosure, the government withdrew its support but failed to rescind the order.

[d] The commission's recommended plan was accepted by all creditors,[25] but only after they accepted that prior consent would be required from the Province for any changes to Abitibi's production and conservation measures,[11] and it would emerge from receivership on April 30, 1946—one of the longest such receiverships in Canadian history, which was seen to have been extended by the Ontario government's actions which ensured protection of jobs at high-cost mills throughout northern communities, as well as for common shareholders.

[27] During the final years of the Hepburn government, it sought to stimulate employment in Northern Ontario in order to stabilize its political position.

[34] From 1956 to 1970, Abitibi's capacity utilization rate trailed the Canadian industry average, indicating that it was running at higher-than-average costs.