Volvo Halifax Assembly

Volvo decided to open the plant to bypass hefty North American import tariffs on foreign goods and to capitalize on the newly signed Canadian/American Auto Pact.

The project was financed by provincial Crown corporation Industrial Estates Limited, which leased the harbourfront site from the National Harbours Board, providing the Volvo plant with its own unloading space on the pier.

[9] The new C$13.5-million plant, located in the Bayers Lake Industrial Park, began operating in late 1987, and achieved full production in April 1988.

Shortly after the closure announcement the plant became the focus of a dispute between Volvo and the Canadian Auto Workers Union.

[13] After several days, Volvo backed down and agreed to the union's payment specifications.

[15][16] In 1969, 26 Volvo bodies intended for the plant were dumped into the Bedford Basin after incurring severe water damage in transit across the Atlantic Ocean on a container ship.

Ken Langley and Gary Sowerby completed the feat in just 74 days, 1 hour and 11 minutes, smashing the previous record by over a month.