Meetings in France last week showed \u2019we’re serious and interested,’ premier says<\/p>\n
Published Apr 08, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 5 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Premier Susan Holt says her government is pitching Belledune as the prospective home to build Canada\u2019s largest explosives factory since the Second World War.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to keep reading.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite journalists.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That\u2019s after Holt\u2019s recent trip to Belgium and France included a meeting with officials from Eurenco, Europe\u2019s top producer of propellants and explosives.<\/p>\n It comes just a few weeks after the premier and Luke Randall, minister responsible for Opportunities NB, met with new Canadian firm Nalagx.<\/p>\n Those two companies announced a partnership last fall to build a Canadian plant that would export largely to Europe\u2019s NATO countries which are now rapidly rebuilding their arsenals after decades of underinvestment.<\/p>\n That\u2019s while Canada is also massively ramping up defence spending.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a project that has a potential value of US$1-billion and would generate 500 direct jobs.<\/p>\n A first plant is scheduled to become operational by 2029.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like them to choose Belledune,\u201d Holt told Brunswick News in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re still competing, although I think we have an inside edge on it, and trips like this one helps show that we\u2019re serious and interested.<\/p>\n Morning Email Telegraph-Journal<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if this is something where all of the partners are on board and we agree that these are the right people that we want to do business with and that the need is there from the federal government level, then we believe Belledune is absolutely the right place for this and has a competitive advantage that makes the project attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n Holt added: \u201cIt\u2019s certainly an interesting idea that folks see to address the significant shortage in energetics that exists amongst our allies, and to have the capacity to address that in Canada, to be able to meet both our own military\u2019s needs and also contribute to our allies needs for things like the battle that\u2019s going on in the Ukraine and others.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a key part of Holt\u2019s trip to Europe last week.<\/p>\n That\u2019s as the two partnering companies have said they are looking for an east coast manufacturing site that ideally would be close to rail links and a shipping port, while stating it has identified five potential unnamed sites in Canada.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It was a meeting in France Holt said she held alongside Canada\u2019s new ambassador to France Nathalie Drouin who was previously in charge of advising Prime Minister Mark Carney on national security and intelligence issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was great to have Ambassador Drouin in those conversations as we figure out whether this is something we have the space to do up in Belledune,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have that connectivity between the Port of Belledune and our European allies that would matter to making this work, access to the kind of energy they need, and the workforce, given that they foresee this as potentially hundreds of jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s other ways New Brunswick fits, Holt said.<\/p>\n She referenced a forest products component in energetics where nitrocellulose, a component of wood fibre, acts as a combustible casing in military munitions, ranging from small arms to heavy artillery.<\/p>\n \u201cSo lots of things that make it interesting,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n The premier said that as her government and the two companies do their due diligence, any plant would also be contingent on federal plans.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cNow the conversations turn to the federal government, because at the end of the day, you need a purchaser, you need someone saying, \u2018Yes, I\u2019ll put in a purchase order for a certain volume of energetics at a certain price\u2019 to determine whether we can then unlock the investment to advance the project,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n The Euro trade mission also included Port Saint John CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks and Port of Belledune CEO Denis Caron, along with private sector representation from DP World, which operates the Saint John port, QSL, which operates Belledune, Americold, the company behind the massive Saint John cold food storage facility, and New Brunswick-based multinational seafood company Cooke.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when our economic relationship with our southern neighbour is in a very precarious state, the imperative is there for New Brunswick to get out and find new customers and new export markets for New Brunswick businesses so that we can protect ourselves from the unpredictability of the U.S.,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so the beauty is that I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been a better time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have countries around the world, and certainly Belgium and France count among them, as very interested in doing more business with Canada and more business with New Brunswick.\u201d<\/p>\n Holt made a point to say that companies abroad are looking for, among other things, \u201cspace\u201d \u2013 something New Brunswick can offer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go to Europe, you\u2019ll see that finding room, literally finding square footage or acreages to set up manufacturing or development of new products or other things, space is at a premium,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Europe\u2019s second-largest port) is literally full. They have no more space to open up another berth or take on another container, which is why they\u2019re looking for those partnerships.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they want to develop green hydrogen, they\u2019re not going to do it on their land. That\u2019s the kind of thing that we\u2019re going to do over here, and send them the final product.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The trip included a tour of the Port of Antwerp which is also home to Air Liquide\u2019s ammonia cracker plant.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a unit that can convert 30 tonnes of ammonia to hydrogen per day, a world first, showcasing large-scale ammonia cracking as a viable method of solving the challenge of transporting hydrogen over long distances.<\/p>\n That\u2019s as the Port of Belledune is pursuing a green hydrogen production facility.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing Air Liquide\u2019s pilot ammonia cracker was part of us trying to understand whether their demand for green hydrogen still existed,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo before Belledune takes that project to the next stage of development, we wanted to make sure that the buyer was still there and was still interested.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so that essentially reinforced that Belledune should move forward with the green hydrogen project that they\u2019ve been working on and that we have some good partners there that want to work with us on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links New BrunswickNewsThe Issues Meetings in France last week showed \u2019we’re serious and interested,’ premier says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-590272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"0408](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0408-lb-holt-trip.jpg\")
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