Nova Scotia Carriage and Motor Car Company

[1] After establishing the Nova Scotia Carriage and Motor Car Co., Ltd., the brothers began constructing a second factory in Amherst.

The McKay brothers had previous experience working in their family carriage business in Prince Edward Island and had learned the trade from their father and had also been agents for agricultural implements.

[4] The company built the car bodies for the Mckay Penn "30" in their factory and ordered the rest of the parts from a different manufacturer to assemble in-shop.

The Mckay Penn was introduced in March 1911, and by September 1911, twelve of these motor cars had been registered by their owners in various places around Nova Scotia.

The Nova Scotia Carriage Co. furthered their promotional efforts by entering their motor car in hill climbs, races, and long-distance runs.

During the summer of 1911, Daniel and A. L. Pelton, the company’s mechanical superintendent and car dealer, drove from Kentville to Regina, Saskatchewan in a Mckay Torpedo Roadster in a long-distance promotional run.

[1] The trip was successful and Daniel, as the sales manager, secured a large number of orders for the company’s motor cars and carriages.

The company had spent a lot of money to establish their motor car department by adding more rooms in their factory and hiring more employees to keep up with their automobile production.

[6][2] The McKay brothers decided to expand their company by negotiating with other towns in Nova Scotia, seeking aid in building a second factory.

A Board of Directors was established for the new company consisting of the two McKay brothers, four Amherst business and industry owners, four Halifax men, and two others from out-of-province.

During a meeting with the Directors in February 1913, John formally requested to retire from his active connection to the company due to his ill health.

By March 1914, their production of carriages and motor cars was steady and fast-paced, requiring workers to do double shifts.

During the summer of 1914, after World War One was announced, the Nova Scotia Carriage and Motor Car Co., Ltd. stopped manufacturing automobiles and the Kentville premises were deeded back to the McKay brothers.

There are very few McKay Automobiles left, but one reproduction of a 7- Seater Touring automobile is part of a display at The Nova Scotia Museum of Industry in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and a restored McKay Roadster is on display at the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario.