 Under the control of the head offices in Toronto and Aberdeen, the firm of Osler, Hammond & Nanton was created with Nanton as resident partner in Winnipeg.It was not an easy start, and at first Nanton was severely disappointed by the lack of the branch's growth, but he didn't give up and by 1896 the North of Scotland shareholders were told that the subsidiary firm in Winnipeg had become "the largest and best mortgage business in the west".Osler, Hammond & Nanton entered the Canadian West representing a considerable fortune, but their business was not centred on quick profits.