Unique amongst contemporary Canadian machine-tool makers in producing only smaller lathes,  Cowan & Co. and Cowan Engineering were the same family-operated maker who operated during the first half of the 20th Century.  Better known for their heavy-duty wood machinery, Cowan nevertheless managed to produce a high-precision bench lathe (along the lines of the original American Stark model) and a most interesting and well-built round-bed metal-turning machibe - perhaphs best described as being rather like a Round-bed Drummond on steroids, Obviously intended for serious work, the Cowan Round-bed was manufactured in Toronto, Canada and marketed by the tool-distribution Company H. W. Petrie. Some notable and unusual features for a round-bed lathe included: T-slotted wings on the carriage; a headstock with its smallest pulley to the right (like a precision bench lathe) that allowed the front headstock bearing to be especially well supported by a mass of cast iron beneath it; a backgear assembly built into the headstock pulley (probably epicyclic in design); a screwcutting gearbox and a  rack-and-pinion hand-wheel drive for the carriage instead of  the usual feed through the leadscrew.
As this is the only Cowan round-bed lathe ever reported, if you have one, the writer would be very interested to hear from you.