[2] It was founded in 2003, when the Recreational Products Division of Bombardier Inc. was spun off and sold to a group of investors consisting of Bain Capital, the Bombardier-Beaudoin family and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

BRP has manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States (Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas, Michigan and Minnesota), Mexico, Finland, and Austria.

In January 1934, a blizzard prevented Joseph-Armand Bombardier from reaching the nearest hospital in time to save his two-year-old son, Yvon, who died from appendicitis complicated by peritonitis.

[6] In 1935, in a repair shop in Valcourt, Quebec, he designed and produced the first snowmobile using a drive system he developed that revolutionized travel in snow and swampy conditions.

[8] In 1947, during a blizzard in Saskatchewan, the company received positive press coverage when army snowmobiles resupplied isolated radio communication towers.

[10] In 1948, the Government of Quebec passed a law requiring all roads to be cleared of snow; Bombardier's sales fell by nearly half in one year.

In 1951, the wooden bodies were replaced with sheet steel, and these vehicles were powered by Chrysler flathead six-cylinder engines and 3-speed manual transmissions.

A breakthrough occurred in 1957 when Bombardier developed a one-piece molded rubber continuous track with enough durability to provide snow-gripping traction for lightweight vehicles.

[5] The public soon discovered the fun of speedy vehicles zooming over snow, and a new winter sport was born, centered in Quebec.

[14] In 1968, Clayton Jacobson II invented the jet ski and the company licensed his patents to create the Sea-Doo personal watercraft.

From the start, the company made truck-sized half-track vehicles, with skis in the front and caterpillar tracks in the rear, designed for the worst winter conditions of the flatland Canadian countryside.

After producing half-tracks in World War II for the Canadian Army, the company experimented with new forms of track systems and developed an all-tracked, heavy duty vehicle designed for logging and mining operations in extreme wilderness conditions, such as heavy snow or semiliquid muskeg.

The front ski design was incapable of being used in deep snow and rough ground conditions, which opened the door for the development of dual-track and quad-track snowcats.

The Snow Trac was produced, virtually unchanged, until 1981, but it was successful, with over 2,000 units sold, and it was used all over the globe for exploration and commercial purposes, as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.

The Ski-Doo was intended to be named the "Ski-Dog" because Bombardier meant it to be a practical vehicle to replace the dogsled for hunters and trappers.

In 1971, Bombardier completed the purchase of the Moto-Ski company to expand the Ski-Doo line and eliminate a competitor from the marketplace.

Ski-Doo snowmobiles have been competitive for performance and in the marketplace, taking national titles in racing events from Sno-X to hill-climbing.

In 1999 Ski-Doo introduced the ZX aluminum chassis which was lighter weight with better suspension and thus successful in sno-cross competition.

The engine produces 10 more horsepower (170 hp) than its predecessor, it is also more efficient 40 percent less oil burn than the previous Etec.

During the 1970s, Bombardier built the Can-Am brand of off-road competition motorcycles designed for motocross and enduro with Rotax engines displacing 125, 175, 248, 366, 500 and 800 cc.

The bikes competed successfully in professional racing with Gary Jones winning the 1974 US 250cc AMA motocross national championship.

Can-am Off-Road has seven models of ATVs, the Outlander, the Renegade, the Commander, The Maverick, the DS, the Traxter, the Quest, and the Rally.

The Outlander 800R X-XC is a version of the Renegade with the same trim level for cross country racing and non-racing trail riding.

The XT-P is the modern outlander XXC and features the XT package with front sway bar and beadlock wheels.

Commander has several trim levels, including XT, X and LTD (Limited) at the time the only engine option for the extra packages was the 1000.

Commander Limited includes air ride suspension, an am/fm radio with four speakers, an iPod adapter, XT package and built-in touch screen GPS.

[citation needed] In December 2004, Bombardier Recreational Products Inc, sold the industrial vehicles division to the Camoplast of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

[27][citation needed] In October 2007, Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. ordered at least some U.S. ATV dealerships to stop selling vehicles to Canadian customers, as the sales were a violation of dealer agreements to respect assigned geographic boundaries.

Newspaper articles revealed that some models were being sold in Canada for as much as 40% above prices in the U.S.[28] In September 2012, the company announced that it would exit the sport boat business citing a decline in global sales in the marine industry.

Opened in 1971, with renovations in 1990, the museum is professionally curated and features Ski-Doos, other industrial designs, and a selection of books, booklets and other items of interest to snowmobile enthusiasts.