The construction of the first Walmart Canada distribution centre in Atlantic Canada is officially underway.
An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on Thursday morning at the Moncton construction site on Frenette Avenue in the Caledonia Industrial Park area.
“It’s a great day for Moncton, for New Brunswick and for the whole country as we invest in the economy and create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs,” said Horacio Barbeito, the President & CEO of Walmart Canada.
Key contributors to the project, including representatives from the municipal and provincial government, began shovelling a pile of dirt to mark the beginning of construction.
“This project is a perfect example of why our government continues to focus on our key priority of energizing the private sector,” said MLA Arlene Dunn on behalf of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who was not in attendance.
The 221,000 square foot facility will supply products for the 43 Walmart locations in Atlantic Canada and the communities they aid.
“I was recently at a tour for harvest house, and they came up to me and said, ‘you know three times a week, we get major supplies from Walmart’, and it really flies under the radar,” said Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold.
When Walmart announced the creation of the distribution centre in April, it stated the development would create more than 200 new jobs in the Moncton region. In an interview with Horacio Barbeito following the ceremony, the CEO said they will look to the community to fill most of these positions.
“We become a corporate citizen that wants to engage in the community and job creation.”
In addition, Atlantic Canadian businesses will have a better opportunity to put their products on the shelves of Walmart locations across the country.
“One of the key positive impacts is the local suppliers being able to deliver us our network to have their products not only being carried in our stores here in the region but also nationally,” said Barbeito.
Now that ground has been broken it’s believed that the centre will officially open in the Fall of 2022.
