About Us
Our Beginnings
John Leckie emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1861, bringing with him the selling agency for W. & J. Knox Limited of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, manufacturers of commercial fish netting of all types. The company he founded prospered, working gradually into the marine and commercial fishing hardware business. In 1908 it was purchased by The Linen Thread Co. Ltd., of Glasgow, Scotland (now Lindustries Limited, London, England) but the name John Leckie Limited, by this time well known and highly respected, was retained.
During the Leckie regime The Linen Thread Co. Ltd., operated branches in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, selling linen threads for the Canadian shoe industry. In 1925, marine hardware was added to the branches in Montreal and Quebec and in 1930 a branch was opened in Winnipeg where the company continues to be a prominent supplier of commercial fishing supplies.
Branches were opened in Halifax and Vancouver in 1933. In 1956 a new and modern warehouse was constructed to handle the company's growing business in Winnipeg and in addition, a new manufacturing unit was opened at Don Mills, Ontario, processing such items as tents, tarpaulins, sleeping bags, canvas articles for the mining industry, flags and government approved lifesaving equipment. Since 1956 additional branches have been opened in Gaspe, P.Q., Caraquet, N.B., and St. John's, Newfoundland, and a previous net hanging loft in Grand Harbour, N.B., has been enlarged.
On October 5, 1961, the company's 100th Anniversary, it was presented by Toronto's Mayor Nathan Phillips with a testimonial acknowledging the contribution made by John Leckie Limited to the orderly progress and development of the City of Toronto.
On November 1, 1965 the head office of the company moved from 77 Wellington St. W., Toronto to 30 Upjohn Rd., Don Mills, Ontario, and at the present time the new head office and warehouse facilities, coupled with the manufacturing unit, occupy a space of 70,000 sq. ft. The company is continuing to grow, diversifying into lines allied with those it has been selling for over 100 years, and is the largest business of this type in Canada.
In 1980, the Company officially incorporated the name “Lakefish Net & Twine Ltd. – to better reflect our enhanced product lines - including specialty ropes & twines for our Commercial Fisheries marketplace.
The Company has furthered expanded our Winnipeg warehouse in 2010 and celebrates over 150 years serving our Commercial Fishermen, our Scientific Research Community and various Industrial and Residential customers throughout Canada & the U.S.A.