Between 1963 and 1998 Volvo produced over 300,000 cars in Canada from an assembly plant on the outskirts of Halifax. Join Andrew Philips from the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry and Neville Britto as they explore why a Swedish car manufacturer decided to open their first overseas plant in the Maritimes, and how the Halifax Assembly produced some uniquely Canadian cars.
This online talk will take place over Zoom and is part of the Canadian Automotive Museum's Third Thursday lecture series. These online talks are free and open to the public, but registration is required. The Canadian Automotive Museum is a registered Canadian charity and a suggested donation of $10 goes toward covering the cost of hosting these virtual events. Donors who make an annual contribution of over $25 will receive a charitable tax receipt.
About our speakers:
Andrew Phillips
Mr. Philips' interest in Nova Scotia’s history started early with family trips to local museums. While attending Dalhousie University he started working at the Halifax Citadel, first as a military re-enactor, and later as a heritage interpreter. He has also worked at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Prescott House Museum. Since 2005 he is the Curator of Education and Public Programs at the Museum of Industry. He loves working in a field that gives him the opportunity to tell good stories about Nova Scotia’s heritage.
Neville Britto
A life-long Volvo enthusiast and part-time historian, Neville Britto is a proud graduate of the University of Toronto’s Political Science and History program. Passionate about history from a young age, his typical areas of study and research include Canadian political history, post-1945 Canadian history with an emphasis on the North American auto sector and Cold War industrial and cultural periods.
Neville is an expert on Volvo’s Halifax Operations and has spent the past decade compiling artifacts, extensively researching and interviewing former employees for an upcoming book he is writing on the plant. In addition to this, Neville has served on the board of several organizations, including most recently as an Executive Board Member and Special Events Coordinator for the Canadian Volvo Club.
He has also assisted the Canadian Museum of Science and Innovation with their Volvo exhibit, Volvo Canada and Volvo’s Heritage Services Division in Gothenburg, Sweden with compiling information on Volvo’s Halifax Assembly operations. Residing in Scarborough, Ontario he is an expert on Canada’s auto sector and is currently employed as a Senior Sector Advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade’s Automotive Unit.