Canadian firm chooses New Brunswick site for new explosives factory

FREDERICTON — A private Canadian firm says it chose New Brunswick as the location of a planned explosives factory.

Nalagx Corp.’s chief executive Patrick Gagnon says the company decided to move ahead with a site near Belledune, N.B., after considering other provinces and two U.S. states.

The province’s Natural Resources Minister John Herron says his department identified 1,500 acres of government land for the facility in a letter to the company last month.

Herron wrote it was a favourable spot because of nearby roads, rail infrastructure and the Port of Belledune on the Atlantic Ocean.

Gagnon told The Canadian Press the factory would double the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s current supply of explosives and boost Canada’s status as a key munitions producer.

He also said the facility would build explosives for New Brunswick’s resurgent mining industry.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2026.