Canadian Kodak Ltd., which became Kodak Canada Inc. in 1979, manufactured photographic films, papers and equipment for over a century in Toronto, Ontario. The company formed the Canadian branch of the successful Eastman Kodak Company, and officially opened its doors in 1900 at 41 Colborne Street under the direction of John G. Palmer. The company expanded and moved to 588 King Street West in 1908, but already plans were underway for an expansive complex to the north of the city. In 1912, Canadian Kodak purchased 25 acres of farmland near Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue to build a major manufacturing facility known as Kodak Heights. By 1925, there were over 900 employees working in seven buildings at Kodak Heights. Over the years, the company earned a reputation for having a cooperative and supportive relationship with its employees, adopting many of the successful practices in place at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York. In 1940, an Employee's Building was constructed to accommodate the activities of the flourishing Recreation Club, the Department Mangers' Club, and the Kodak Heights Camera Club. During the 1990s, the rise of digital media began to have a serious impact on manufacturing programs at Kodak facilities around the world, causing the Eastman Kodak Company to reduce its production of traditional print photography by one third globally. The company chose to focus on digital products, which did not require the extensive facilities used in the production of traditional photographic materials. On December 9, 2004, Kodak Canada Ltd. informed its employees that manufacturing operations in traditional film products would cease entirely at Kodak Heights. The company's facility faced the same fate as many of its foreign counterparts in England, Australia and France, being completely abandoned and demolished shortly after closure in 2005. Kodak Canada still maintains a sales and support office in downtown Toronto, while the manufacture of traditional photographic chemistry has returned to Rochester.

The Polaroid Corporation was founded by Edwin H. Land. He registered his first patent (for a synthetic polarzier) in 1926, and created the Land-Wheelwright Laboratories in Boston with George Wheelwright III in 1932. The company initially produced glasses with polarized lenses, including 3D glasses and Army issue goggles. The inspiration for instant photographs reportedly came to Land from his daughter, who while on vacation in 1943, asked her father why she couldn't see a photo he had just taken right away. By 1947, the first demonstration model of the instant camera was complete. The first Land instant cameras (Model 95) were sold in 1948, and by 1956 the one millionth Polaroid Camera was manufactured in Cambridge Massachusetts. Colour instant film was introduced by the company in 1963, and soon after automatic film pack cameras were developed. Over the years, the company had many spokespeople for its products, including Lawrence Olivier, Steve Allen, the Muppets, James Garner, Mariette Hartley, Sinbad and the Spice Girls. The original Polaroid company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and by 2002 it was a new private company held by Bank One.