In 1799 he was appointed master carpenter of the Royal Engineers at the Halifax garrison by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the commander-in-chief in British North America.
[2] Cunard provided timber to the Royal Navy's Halifax Naval Yard and to export markets in Britain and the West Indies.
Cunard prospered during the War of 1812: he purchased captured ships and cargoes and he supplied British forces with risky but rewarding wartime trading.
His sons, William, Samuel, Edward, Joseph, John, Thomas and Henry[4] followed into the family firm as well as founding their own ventures.
Abraham Cunard retired in 1822 and moved to the family's country home at Rawdon, Nova Scotia, in East Hants County.