CBC4Kids: History of Inventions, a timeline from Pottery to Computers.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier,

Valcourt, Quebec,

1959.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Valcourt, Quebec was a born mechanic, who loved to tinker with old machines and develop new ones. The death of his young son Yvon from appendicitis one winter convinced Bombardier that there must be a way to travel long distances rapidly in conditions where a car was not suitable.

Antique Skidoo

In 1959, he patented the Ski-Doo, originally christened the Ski-Dog, but renamed because of a typographical error that Bombardier decided not to change.

Source: "Inventing Canada: One Hundred Years of Innovation," by Roy Mayer, published by Raincoast Books.
This book is full of interesting stories about Canadians who developed gadgets and processes that affect our everyday lives.