For the longest time, General Motors was the undisputed champion in car sales in Canada among American manufacturers. It seemed that GM’s invincibility north of the border would never go challenged, that is until Ford turned the tables on the perennial powerhouse in June.

Ford rose to the top of the June monthly sales in Canada with 27,408 cars sold in June, supplanting General Motors on the top of the list for the first time in 50 years. Ford’s total sales are a little over 5,000 more than GM, which sold 22,334 cars. Ford’s surprising surge to the top was in large part caused by the high demand for locally-manufactured Ford vehicles including the Crown Victoria, the Grand Marquis->ke1855 and the Lincoln Town Car. The Crown Victoria’s high demand among Canadians stems from the fact that these cars are widely used as fleets of taxi cabs and police cruisers all over the country.

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While Ford’s surprising performance in the charts – its sales percentage total grew 24.6% compared to its numbers in June of 2008 – showed that it was gaining in demand in Canada, other auto makers weren’t as fortunate.

GM Canada, despite ruling the sales charts for such a long time, witnessed a decline of 31% in sales from where they were a year ago. Meanwhile, Japanese auto giants Toyota and Honda both fell by 17%. But the biggest loser in sales goes to Chrysler Canada, which saw its figures plummet by 59%, thanks in large part to the company temporary shutting down its North American plants while the whole organization underwent a major overhaul and restructuring.

While the surge to the top came as great news for Ford, the company expressed even more satisfaction in Ford Canada’s improved performance for the past year, where it has gained market share for eight consecutive months.

"This is a historic day for Ford in Canada," David Mondragon, president and chief executive, Ford of Canada, said in a release. "Consumers are drawn to the quality, design and value of our vehicles and we're going to keep the momentum growing with great offers this summer."

While it remains to be seen just how long Ford Canada’s sales figures stay the top of the heap, it’s recent sales performance gives us an indication that it might stay in that position for a long time.