Steel at the Sault

Steel at the Sault focuses on the emergence of steelmaking at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. As Canada's third-largest primary producer, Algoma Steel originated in the adventures of its two founders - the flamboyant American promoter F.H. Clergue and the 'last of the multimillionaires,' Sir James Dunn. Algoma's troubled but ultimately fruitful evolution cannot be explained in terms of daring, if at times devious, entrepreneurship along. The dictates of geology, corporate management, and industrial economics also play a crucial role, as do the intricacies of Canadian federalism. The principle thread in the pattern of development, McDowall argues, has been the symbiotic relationship of businessmen and politicians - a relationship typified by the friendship of Sir James Dunn and C.D. Howe, who joined forces at the Sault to pursue the common goal of increased steel production, albeit for different reasons and rewards.