He was born in a small town called Valcourt, in the province of Quebec. He was part of a large family. Bombardier showed curiosity for everything mechanical. At 13 years old he made his first mechanical toy, a miniature locomotive which was driven by a clock mechanism. He showed his sense of mechanical and aesthetic by painting it as well after it was made.
He enjoyed assembling and dismantling his father Alfred's car, so his father got him an old Model T Ford motor which was thought to be “irreparable”. With the help of his brother, Bombardier fixed it and made it into a vehicle of his own design. His father sent him to study at Sherbrooke's Seminaire Saint-Charles-Borromee at the age of 14. Alfred wanted his son to become a priest, following a tradition. When he was home for Christmas, he went back into his fathers workshop and prepared a surprise with his brother Leopold and a few cousins.
New Year's Eve day his father watched as a sled propelled by the old Ford motor emerged from his workshop. At 15 years old Bombardier created his first snow vehicle, which surprised everyone, but his father quickly told him to dismantle it, concerned about the dangerous propeller.
At the age of 17 he got his fathers approval to quit college to begin an apprenticeship in a Montreal garage. He learned English, took mechanical and electrical courses, and read all the science and technology books he could get.
In 1926, when he was 19, Joseph-Armand Bombardier returned to Valcourt to open his own garage. He uses his seasonal business to try to find out a way to eliminate snowbound winters. The challenge was to design a motorized vehicle light enough to travel on snow. In 1934 Bombardiers son Yvon died at the age of 2 because they could not get him to the hospital in time because of the snow, which made him try even harder to create a motorized vehicle that can run on snow.
In 1935 he created the “Sprocket”, his first major invention. He requested a patent from Ottawa on December 19th, 1936. Six months later, on June 29th, 1937, the patent was accepted. He decided to develop his patent, becoming an industrialist. He named the garage “Garage Bombardier”.
The first snowmobile he made had come in the winter of 1936-37. Its name was B7, B for Bombardier and 7 for the amount of passengers. The first snowmobile was equipped with solid wheels.
In 1941 Bombardier creates a new snowmobile called the B12, which got a patent on June 23rd, 1942. The B12 could fit 12 passengers and is more aerodynamic then the B7. During 1942-1946 more then 1900 military vehicles are produced using Bombardier's designs. Production in 1945-46 was increased from 27 units in 1942-43 to 230 units in 1945.
In 1947 L'Auto-Neige Bombardier builds an assembly line with a capacity of 1000 vehicles. The C18 could hold 18 adults and up to 25 children. It was used for transporting students, known as the school snowmobile. In 1947-48 Bombardiers company increased sales to 10x the amount they were in 1942-43.
In 1949 the Quebec government makes a law stating all main roads must be plowed, which took a lot of sales from the snowmobile market. Bombardier started making new machines, such as All-Terrain vehicles, Muskeg Tractor.
In 1958-59 Bombardier created his biggest invention, the Ski-Doo, a recreational snowmobile. He died on February 18th, 1964, at the age of 56.
Some environmental concerns are that fences and barriers to protect wildlife from automobiles are useless for snowmobiles. Engine exhaust is a concern, as well as noise.
