The Acadian and Acadian Beaumont was produced between the years 1962 and 1971 and were a stand
alone make sold in Canada through Pontiac - Buick dealerships.
Due to Canadian import tariffs put in place many years before, their was no compact car
available to the Canadian Pontiac dealer. Initially the U.S built Pontiac Tempest was not available to the Canadian buyer.
The Acadian was introduced to give the unhappy Canadian Pontiac dealer a car he could sale in the
growing compact market. A Corvair spin off was originally considered but due to numerous reasons; low sales, unconventional
design and the havoc cold weather starting would create (Corvair carb freeze was an issue in northern states), the idea
was dropped and the decision was made to base the Acadian on the Chevy II platform. The Acadian line expanded to
include the intermidiate Chevelle based Acadian Beaumont in 1964 as the new intermidiate size Tempast/Lemans were
still not available in Canada and the import duties made bringing one in from the U.S to expensive. We can thank Ford
for the introduction of the intermidiate Fairlane in 1962 which with out it, we may not have had a Chevelle and thus,
no Acadian Beaumont. By mid 1965, import tariffs were dropped which meant the auto manufactures could freely move
cars between the 2 countries. Due to its popularity and price (when compared to the Lemans), production of the Acadian
and Acadian Beaumont continued beyond mid 1965.
Acadian and Acadian Beaumont make and model availability was as follows;
Make:
1962 - 71 Acadian - Chevy II / Nova based
1964 - 65 Acadian Beaumont - Chevelle based
1966 - 69 Beaumont - Chevelle based
Model Availability: Chevy II Based
1962 - Beaumont, Invader
1963 - 67 Acadian, Invader, Canso, Sport Deluxe
1968 - 71 Acadian (SS option available)
Model Availability: Chevelle Based
1964 - Beaumont, Custom, Sport Deluxe
1965 - Beaumont, Deluxe, Custom, Sport Deluxe
1966 - 67 Beaumont, Custom, Sport Deluxe
1968 - 69 Beaumont, Deluxe, Custom, Sport Deluxe
Excluding the 2 door station wagon of 1964-65, body style availability for the Acadian,
Acadian Beaumont was the same as their Chevrolet counter part.
Due to the autopact , signed by Lyndon Johnson and Lester Pearson, Beaumont production ceased
in June 1969. In 1970, production of the Pontiac Tempest/Lemans started in Canada.
Production of the Acadian ceased in mid 1971 with the introduction of the Pontiac Ventura II,
which was based upon the X body Nova and carried Chevrolet engines.
From
mid 1970 on, the Canadian auto market looked much like the American market. With a few exceptions, same make and
models were available on both sides of the border.
