Company History

In 1957, David Scott, a University of Toronto law student discovered a need in the marketplace for a comprehensive directory of Canadian businesses. He, like many Scott’s Directory users today, recognized that businesses require accurate information to reach potential clients and to stay one step ahead of the competition.

With little or no information sources readily available, Mr. Scott decided to enter the publishing business with his own compilation. In the basement of his home, and with the help of his wife and friends, he compiled the first Scott's Directory covering Ontario Manufacturers. The new publication was well received by the market, and enough copies were sold to prove David Scott’s discovery of the “need for data” was genuine - and that his business plan was viable. The next step for the burgeoning Scott’s Directory team was to set up a proper office while they planned to produce the 2nd edition of their Ontario book.

The Company moved from the Scott residence to an office at 570 ½ Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Shortly after, it was a move to a property on the banks of 16-Mile Creek in Oakville, before settling into a converted century-home at 75 Thomas Street in Oakville, where the company remained from 1963 to 1991.

In 1960 David Scott decided to pursue his legal career, and so the business went up for sale that year - but not for long. John Haight, the General Manager at that time, decided to buy the company, and he ran it until his death in 1978. Under the leadership of Mr. Haight, the lineup of Scott’s Directories grew to include the first Quebec Manufacturers (1963), The Western Provinces (1969), and the Atlantic Provinces (1977) Directories.

From 1978 to 1983 Scott’s Directories was owned by a division of Thomson Canada Ltd., and then bought by Southam Communications where it remained under the ownership of Hollinger Canadian Newspapers until the end of 2005. Along with our parent company, The Business Information Group, Scott’s Directories was acquired by Vancouver-based Glacier Ventures International (GVC-T) in January 2006.

Almost five decades have passed since the home-based business of David Scott began life with a single book on manufacturing firms across Ontario. Today, Scott’s Directories remains the pre-eminent source on Canadian Manufacturers, yet also publishes varied and specialized information covering Corporate, Medical, Government, Education, and other sectors of the vibrant Canadian marketplace.

Our dynamic and ever-growing database continues to be verified and edited annually by our seasoned team of editorial professionals, providing accuracy you can trust. We make that data easily accessible through print, CD-ROM or online directories.

Scott’s Directories - - Canada's Source for Business Contact Information