Fuelling Progress

One Hundred Years of the Canadian Gas Association

Tim Krywulak
Norman Hillmer, foreword

11 X 9 inches, 180 pages

In Fuelling Progress, Tim Krywulak examines the first one hundred years of the Canadian Gas Association. Moving beyond the confines of traditional administrative history, he situates the association within its wider economic and political context. By doing so, he provides a history not only of the CGA, but also of the gas industry and Canadian energy policy.

Over the course of the twentieth century, Canada was transformed from a rural-agrarian society to an urban-industrial one. In the process, it underwent numerous booms and busts, fought two world wars, and emerged a wealthy and independent nation. Energy Services of all types played a major role in piloting Canada through these upheavals, even as the nature of those services and of society's energy needs underwent rapid changes. Throughout it all, Krywulak demonstrates how the key to the CGA's success has been its adaptability.

Seeking to forge a collective response to the emerging threat of publicly funded hydroelectric competition, a handful of Ontario-based gas manufacturers gathered in 1907 to create the Canadian Gas Association. By mid-century the CGA had evolved into a major national trade association representing both manufactured and natural gas suppliers, as well as a host of related companies in the pipeline, manufacturing, and gas-services industries. In the postwar era, the association offered vital support in building up the gas market through its appliance-testing and certification program, economic research, and promotional efforts. But as the gas industry expanded and became global in scope, the national orientation and services of the CGA were called into question. After a period of reflection and restructuring, the association re-emerged as a policy organization focusing on finding optimal energy solutions for and within Canada.