St. Stephen, New Brunswick – Canada’s chocolate town sits on the shore of the St. Croix River, 119 km (74 miles) west of Saint John. Ganong’s Chocolates, which dates back to 1873 and remains one of the town’s main businesses, is the company that is credited with the invention of the all day sucker, the introduction of the heart-shaped chocolate box in 1932, and first five cent chocolate nut bar. In one version of the story; in 1910, George Ensor, a candy-maker and general manager of the factory and Mr. Ganong would go fishing together and when they’d go they’d take along some chocolate. Because it would melt, George began wrapping it up, and what was left over at the end of the date was passed to local kids. One little girl would say to him “you’re a Pal of mine”. To this day ‘Pal-o-mine’ remains Ganong’s best selling bar. The village has a chocolate museum and an annual The annual Chocolate Festival in St. Stephen is held in August.

Where: St. Stephen is in south-western New Brunswick, 1/2 hour from the resort town of St. Andrews. It is linked to Calais, Maine by the St. Stephen-Calais Bridge. The town has hiking and walking trails, there are scenic cycling routes and you can paddle or kayak along Passamaquoddy Bay’s coastline. Quick Tip: St. Stephen is also known for its dragonflies, which can be found around ponds, streams, marshes, golf courses, gravel pits, etc. The unusually high quantity draws amateur and professional entomologists from around Atlantic Canada and eastern USA.  Check out Rick Mercer at the Ganong Chocoate Factory on Youtube.