Ganong Chocolate Company

From Hooked Rugs to Heart-Shaped Boxes – how a Nova Scotia museum led to the story of Canada’s first chocolate factory

The Hooked Rug Museum of North America, in Queensland, Nova Scotia, is the last place you’d expect to discover the story of Canada’s first chocolate factory, but that’s exactly what I found there.

The museum displays hundreds of hooked rugs from across the continent, each one stitched with its own story. But one exhibit in particular catches the eye: a series of rugs modeled after the ornate chocolate boxes of the Ganong Chocolate Company in St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

Ganong Chocolates is the oldest chocolate company in Canada. Founded in 1873 by brothers James and Gilbert Ganong, it quickly became known for invention and flair. At first, the brothers tried their hand at running a grocery store, but when that venture faltered, they turned to candy, and never looked back.

By the 1880s, the Ganongs were producing their own sweets and shaping Canadian tastes in the process. They introduced North America’s first heart-shaped boxes, originally sold at Christmas but later inseparable from Valentine’s Day. In 1910, they created Canada’s first chocolate bars, followed by the still-beloved Pal-o-Mine bar in 1920. Their spicy cinnamon-and-chocolate ‘Chicken Bones’ candy dates back to 1885, and boxed assortments like Delecto (introduced in 1917) became household names.

While James left the business to start the St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Company, Gilbert carried the chocolate company forward, building it into one of the country’s sweetest success stories. Today, Ganong still produces chocolates in St. Stephen and supplies many of the Laura Secord shops across Canada.

And to think, this whole story came into focus not in a chocolate shop or factory, but on a hooked rug in rural Nova Scotia.