Oxford Frozen Foods founder John L. Bragg has been inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia, along with five fellow Nova Scotians who have achieved greatly and made extraordinary contributions for the betterment of eastern Canada’s maritime province. The others are Ellie Black, Janet Kitz, Patti Melanson, Wade Smith and Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk.
“One of the most enjoyable roles I have as the Queen’s representative in this province is to invest the 2018 appointees with the Order of Nova Scotia, which is our highest honor,” said Lieutenant Governor Arthur J. LeBlanc. “The achievements by these six outstanding people makes us all proud, and I greatly look forward to congratulating them in person at the investiture ceremony on November 6 in Halifax.”
Starting out with a single frozen blueberry processing plant in 1968, Bragg has built an empire of private business that operates on an international scale. Under his leadership, Oxford Frozen Foods, Eastlink and Inland Technologies are some of Nova Scotia’s best-known commercial enterprises. He guides the companies daily as president and co-chief executive officer.
Today Oxford Frozen Foods is the world’s biggest supplier of wild blueberries, operating eight manufacturing facilities and two large farming operations in Atlantic Canada and the USA. It also ranks as one of North America’s largest producers of frozen carrots and is one of Canada’s leading makers of onion rings and battered appetizers.
Bragg shares his expertise to help other Atlantic Canadian businesses grow and develop, investing in startups and serving on boards of companies including Maple Leaf Foods and TD Bank. He has a passionate commitment to Nova Scotia, particularly to its rural areas, and donates generously to many charitable efforts, most notably investing tens of millions of dollars in regional universities.
The graduate of Mount Allison University (MtA) has received several entrepreneurial and educational awards, and he is a past chancellor of Mount Allison University. In addition to holding degrees in commerce and education from MtA, he is the recipient of honorary degrees from several other universities.
