North Star Coin Machine Company

North Star Coin Machine Company was a pinball manufacturer in Montreal, Quebec, founded by brothers Jacques and Gerard Tremblay. It owed its existence to trade policy: in 1947 Canada barred the import of non-essential goods to conserve US dollars, and coin-operated amusement machines were on the list. Pinball parts could still cross the border, so the Tremblays set up to build games on the Canadian side of it.

The company put out two titles, both dated 1949: Richelieu and Sea Breeze. Neither started as a new cabinet. North Star salvaged bodies and mechanical parts from 1940s machines and fitted them with new playfields and new artwork, credited to the brothers' brother-in-law Louis Leger.

The import ban that created North Star was gone by the early 1950s, and the company built nothing beyond those two games. The name stayed in circulation in Montreal: a pinball bar that opened on St-Laurent Boulevard in 2015 took it in the company's honour.