There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Monarch, that is, unless you’re Canadian. Monarch was a car brand distributed by Ford of Canada between 1946 and 1961. Monarch served as a mid-priced luxury option positioned above Ford but below Mercury in the corporate lineup, allowing smaller Canadian dealerships (often single-line Ford outlets) to offer a more upscale vehicle tailored to the local market.
Monarch: Forgotten car Brands
Discount Mercury
The cars were essentially rebadged and restyled Mercury models with unique Canadian-market trim, grilles, bumpers, and badging—generally marketed with royal/British monarchy themes (e.g., “Ride like a King in a Monarch”).
Royal Monikers
Brand models included the Monarch Six and Eight (based on similar Mercury offerings), with later models featuring more colorful monikers including Richelieu, Scepter, and Turnpike Cruiser. Every Monarch shared chassis and drivetrain elements with either an existing Ford or Mercury offering, but boasted distinctive styling.
Collectible
Surviving Monarchs are relatively rare today, as original production was, by Ford standards, relatively low. All told, 95,000 units were retailed during the brand’s run. Monarch was discontinued in 1958–due in part to the introduction of Edsel, which would occupy roughly the same price range—only to be revived very briefly, and shut down for good after the 1961 model year.
Monarchs are now collector vehicles, popular with Canadian car collectors, especially the rare convertibles. The name was later reused for the U.S.-market Mercury Monarch, a Ford Granada clone offered between 1975 and 1980. Click here for more Forgotten Car Brands.
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Monarch: Forgotten car Brands (Pictures)
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