The Connor-Ruddy Company was founded in 1904 or 1905 by newspaper advertising executive Ernest L. Ruddy.E.L. Ruddy Company fonds, Toronto City Archive, accessed online 6 Feb 2023DALE, M. Signs of Urban Life: A History of Visual Communication in Toronto Indefinite run: City of Toronto Archives. Urban History Review / Revue d’Histoire Urbaine, [s. l.], v. 33, n. 2, p. 69–73, 2005. DOI 10.7202/1016391ar. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=45023023&site=eds-live&scope=site. Acesso em: 6 fev. 2023. The corporate headquarters were located in the Confederation Life Building on Richmond Street East. Later, Ernest L. Ruddy merged his business with sign-writer Walter Sutton and renamed the company E. L. Ruddy & Co. Sign-writing took place in yard at the intersection of Yonge Street and Church Street. By 1912, the company had expanded operations to Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, and St. John. The company became more commonly known as E. L. Ruddy & Co starting from around 1912-1913, and moved its headquarters to 371 Spadina Avenue around 1921, where it remained until around 1959. During the 1940's, Ernest L. Ruddy passed the management of the company to John R. Robertson. In the 1960's the Claude Neon division of the company grew and to become Mediacom in 1973, later becoming CBS Outdoor Canada.
