Ottawa Puts $2.34M Into Automation at Four Southeast N.B. Manufacturers

Four manufacturers in southeastern New Brunswick are getting a combined $2,340,000 in non-repayable federal money to automate production lines, under a tariff-response program aimed at U.S. trade pressure.

Dominic LeBlanc, the MP for Beauséjour, announced the investments on Oct. 23 in Shediac, on behalf of Sean Fraser, the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). The money flows through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI). ACOA's headline rounds the package to $2.3 million; the release's own total is $2,340,000, and the four grants add up to exactly that.

All four recipients sit in the Beauséjour riding. The pattern in the project backgrounder is equipment, not headcount: production machinery, an automated warehouse, laser cutting and software.

Norwood: $795,000 for equipment, software and a wider product line

The largest grant goes to Norwood Windows & Doors in Scoudouc: $795,000 to expand its aluminum-clad product line and strengthen its domestic market presence, through advanced production equipment, software and targeted marketing.

Norwood is the windows-and-doors division of West-Wood Industries. It makes custom wood windows and doors at a 250,000-square-foot plant in Scoudouc, where it says it employs more than 200 people, milling its own lumber and sealing glass units on site. Its products sell across Canada and the United States - the market the tariff money is meant to defend at home.

Allain Equipment: $700,000 for automated storage and laser cutting

Allain Equipment Manufacturing of Notre-Dame receives $700,000 for an automated storage system and advanced laser cutting technology. ACOA says the system will streamline material handling, enable continuous production and enhance the company's metal-cutting capabilities.

Allain has manufactured metal and non-metal products in Notre-Dame since 1976, according to supplier directories: its lines have included fire pumpers and tankers, trailers, conveyor systems, floating docks and outdoor wood furnaces. It is the one recipient without a working website; the domain its older listings point to no longer resolves.

Imperial: $500,000 to modernize a 7,000-product plant

Imperial Manufacturing Group in Richibucto gets $500,000 for advanced equipment, automation and material-handling systems, to modernize operations and improve efficiency.

Imperial is the biggest employer of the four. Founded in 1979 and headquartered on Industrial Park Street in Richibucto, it designs, manufactures and distributes more than 7,000 metal and plastic heating, air conditioning, ventilation and building products - duct, pipe and fittings, registers and grilles, venting, and its Kool-Ray railing, columns and fencing line.

Glenwood Kitchen: $345,000 for automated cabinet equipment

Glenwood Kitchen of Shediac receives $345,000 to acquire advanced automated manufacturing equipment, which ACOA says will raise production efficiency, improve precision and strengthen the company's manufacturing capabilities.

Glenwood has built custom cabinetry in Shediac since 1973. The family-owned shop makes framed, frameless and beaded-inset cabinets for kitchen designers, and sells into Canada, the United States, Bermuda and France.

The tariff framing

The release frames the four grants as part of nationwide RTRI announcements for businesses affected by U.S. tariffs. Through RTRI, Ottawa says it is providing $3.45 billion nationally to boost productivity, lower costs, strengthen supply chains and open new markets; ACOA is delivering $269.5 million of that in Atlantic Canada.

"We're helping New Brunswick businesses respond to unjustified U.S. tariffs and compete for new customers here at home and around the world," Fraser said in the release. "Across the province, we're investing to help New Brunswick businesses lower costs, grow their operations, and reach new markets."

"New Brunswick businesses are resilient, innovative and well positioned to compete in a rapidly changing global economy," LeBlanc said. "Through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, the Government of Canada is helping companies strengthen their productivity, modernize operations, diversify into new markets and build more resilient supply chains."

The release does not break out how much of each grant buys machinery versus software or marketing, and it names no job targets. Those details will sit in the contribution agreements, not the announcement.

Sources

• Government of Canada / ACOA - Canada invests $2.3M to help New Brunswick businesses respond to tariffs (news release, Oct. 23, 2026): $2,340,000 RTRI total, announced by Dominic LeBlanc in Shediac on behalf of Sean Fraser; Fraser and LeBlanc quotes; RTRI quick facts ($3.45B national, $269.5M via ACOA)
• Government of Canada / ACOA - project backgrounder (Oct. 23, 2026): the four recipients, towns, amounts (all non-repayable) and what each investment buys
• Norwood Windows & Doors: custom wood windows and doors, 250,000 sq. ft. Scoudouc facility, more than 200 employees
• Imperial Manufacturing Group: more than 7,000 HVAC and building products, Richibucto headquarters
• Imperial Manufacturing Group - Canada's Best Managed Companies, 13 years in a row: the company's own post describes it as an HVAC and building-products manufacturer founded in 1979
• Glenwood Kitchen - About Us: founded 1973 in Shediac, family-owned custom cabinetry, framed/frameless/beaded inset construction, markets in Canada, the U.S., Bermuda and France
• Thomasnet supplier listing - Allain Equipment Manufacturing Ltd.: Notre-Dame manufacturer established 1976; trailers, conveyor systems, emergency vehicles, floating docks, outdoor wood furnaces, polypropylene tanks