Joseph-Armand Bombardier patents the snowmobile

March 3, 2017

Armand Bombardier. National Film Board of Canada, Photothèque, Library and Archives Canada, MIKAN 3196447

1937

Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Valcourt, Quebec, was a gifted mechanic and inventor. In 1935, he developed a winter vehicle that was easy to manoeuvre in all snow conditions. This was something Bombardier knew was needed in rural settings, having lost his own son one winter when his family was unable to transport the sick child to a hospital. The snowmobile was a vehicle on caterpillar tracks, steered by skis. It was patented and went onto the market in 1937.

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