First built in the small Quebec town of Valcourt, the snowmobile is one of the best-known machines ever made in Canada. Its inventor, a young mechanic named Joseph-Armand Bombardier, wanted to build a vehicle that could cross deep snow and reach the many rural towns that were cut off from their neighbours and from medical help each winter. His earliest machines were bulky, fully enclosed cabins mounted on tracks, and the largest of them could carry as many as seven passengers at once. Only much later did the sleek, single-rider sled that most people picture today gradually take shape.

The design that eventually became standard is simple in principle yet genuinely clever in practice. A wide, continuous rubber track extends beneath the rear of the machine; as it turns, its moulded ridges grip the loose snow and drive the vehicle forward. Set at the front, a pair of steerable skis supports the rider's weight and points the sled wherever the handlebars indicate. Because the track spreads the load across a broad surface, the machine can glide over powdered snow that would otherwise trap an ordinary wheeled vehicle. A modern engine can also drive it to considerable speed.