This week's Insights Podcast features a revealing interview with oil & gas veteran, Phil Knoll who has held senior roles with major companies like AltaGas and Duke Energy as well as Maritime & Northeast Pipelines and Corridor Resources (now Headwater Exploration) in the region. Knoll was CEO of Corridor Resources when the Gallant Government in New Brunswick imposed a moratorium on shale gas exploration. Headwater Exploration is the only company still producing natural gas in Atlantic Can...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 162
There are 140+ financial technology (fintech) firms located in Atlantic Canada ranging from small startups to Verafin with more than 900 employees in St John’s. Fintech employs over 4,000 people in Atlantic Canada. Why is this sector thriving in Atlantic Canada? This week Don and David talk with Lori Weir, Co-Founder and CEO of Four Eyes Financial about fintech and why so many firms are choosing Atlantic Canada. Four Eyes is a rapidly growing firm based in Saint John with 50+ employees and ambit...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 161
Nova Scotia's Efforts to Transition to Green Energy On this episode of the Insight Podcast, we feature a conversation with Peter Gregg, the CEO of Nova Scotia Power, who is faced with the challenge of ensuring 80% of electricity is produced by green energy resources by 2030. That is indeed a challenge given only 43% of electricity is currently produced by green energy (mostly wind). Nova Scotia is also faced with being the highest user of coal generated electricity and has a mandate to stop usin...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 160
This is a continuation of a conversation that you can revisit on your favorite podcast platform. There are many ways to describe David Hawkins. He is a pioneer in marketing & communications, he is a serial entrepreneur, he is a community builder and a successful businessperson. He is also a legend in Atlantic Canada, although that is a label he is uncomfortable being called. How else do you describe someone who helped develop an industry sector in our region by creating Hawk Communications a...
Apr 11, 2024•58 min•Ep. 159
David Hawkins is a Marketing & Advertising Legend There are many ways to describe David Hawkins. He is a pioneer in marketing & communications, he is a serial entrepreneur, he is a community builder and a successful businessperson. He is also a legend in Atlantic Canada, although that is a label he is uncomfortable being called. How else do you describe someone who helped develop an industry sector in our region by creating Hawk Communications as one of the early and most successful mark...
Apr 04, 2024•53 min•Ep. 158
CFIB's Dan Kelly Talks about Small Business Challenges On this episode of the Insights Podcast our guest is Dan Kelly, the President & CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), an advocacy organization with a hundred thousand small and medium sized business members. SMEs represent about half the GDP in Canada and more than sixty percent of total employment in the country. There are 1.2 million SMEs in Canada, not including sole ownership businesses. In a wide ranging con...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 157
A Conversation with the New President of Dalhousie University, Dr. Kim Brooks This episode of the Insights Podcast features a wide ranging conversation with Kim Brooks, the first female President & Vice-Chancellor in the long history of Dalhousie University. Dr. Brooks' appointment was very well received by the Dalhousie community as one the rare Presidents who was chosen from within. She has been at Dalhousie since 2010 and held senior management roles including Dean Law (her speciality is ...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 156
Canada's King of Supplements is a Nova Scotian Roger King started his business while attending Saint Mary's University as a way to supplement his income as a student and has turned his supplement business into a leading national brand. King recently opened his 100th Supplement King retail outlet in British Columbia and has plans to open one hundred more in the next three or four years. His strategy is to license his brand to those interested in owning multiple locations. In the next year alone, ...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 155
Canada's Ocean Supercluster - Growing the Blue Economy This episode of the Insights Podcast takes a close look at the amazing opportunity Canada has to grow its blue economy and the role of Canada's Ocean Supercluster (OSC) in ensuring that we take full advantage of that opportunity. The ocean sector in Canada is worth nearly $40 billion in GDP and employs more than 300,000 Canadians. The blue economy is disproportionately important to Atlantic Canada, and Kendra MacDonald, the CEO of the OSC, p...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 154
A Mid-Mandate Update with Nova Scotia Premier, Tim Houston This episode of the Insights Podcast features a conversation recorded live with Premier Tim Houston at the Halifax Chamber's Economic Forum. Premier Houston is halfway through his mandate. We talk about the accomplishments of his government and his personal disappointments over the first half of his mandate. We review the major healthcare initiatives undertaken to date to deliver on his promise to fix healthcare, including the government...
Mar 01, 2024•54 min•Ep. 153
On this week's Insights podcast, Don and David talk with Chief Terry Richardson and Councilor Jim Richardson from the Pabineau First Nation in Northern New Brunswick. This is another in our series of conversations with First Nations leaders who are driving economic development across Atlantic Canada. There are many inspiring stories including our conversation today. We talk about commercial development, housing, and the long-term opportunities for energy development in northeastern New Brunswick...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 152
When to Sell or Grow Your Business In this episode of the Insights Podcast we talk with Rob Normandeau, the Managing Director and CEO of Seafort Capital, a regionally based private equity company that is part of a growing eco-system of private equity investment companies in Atlantic Canada. Founders East and Sandpiper Ventures are other companies in this space. Rob provides an excellent overview of Seafort's investment strategy and the attributes that his company looks for in making a capital in...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 151
Health care in Atlantic Canada is under significant pressure on many fronts. There is a growing shortage of health care professionals, and the talent pipeline is not keeping up. The cost-of-service delivery is rising fast. Technology is changing how health care is delivered and managed and, to top it off, the region is experiencing unprecedented population growth. Bruce Fitch, the Minister of Health for the Government of New Brunswick, joins us this week to discuss what his department is doing t...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 150
A Conversation with Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations On this episode of the Insights Podcast, we turn our attention to the national scene and have a candid conversation with Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations. Rae has had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, politician, law professor and now diplomat. We talk to him about his time as the first NDP Premier of Ontario and as the Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as one of the founding members o...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 149
Membertou, An Indigenous Economic Model of Success In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we have an inspiring conversation with Terry Paul, the long-term Chief of Membertou First Nation (celebrating his 40th Anniversary as Chief this year). Chief Terry is a residential survivor who was recently named as one of Canada's most admired CEOs. He has helped develop the Membertou Model of economic development to improve his community. Membertou is part of the Mi'kmaq Coalition of seven First Nation ...
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 148
On this week's Insights, Don and David talk with Sean Leet, Managing Director and CEO at World Energy GH2 about their exciting green hydrogen project in western Newfoundland. World Energy GH2 is proposing a $6 billion project that would use 160 wind turbines generating renewable energy to produce green hydrogen, initially to meet demand in Europe. The Stephenville area is one of the best sites in all of Canada for a project such as this. Sean tells us why in the podcast and also why World Energy...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 147
There are many exciting stories of First Nations economic development across Atlantic Canada. This week Don and David interview John Davis, the CEO of Qalipu Holdings in Newfoundland and Labrador about the potential of green hydrogen and other emerging industries and how the Qalipu First Nation will play a role including ownership stakes in various projects, governance and environmental oversight, supply chain opportunities and Indigenous workforce development. The Qalipu First Nation represents...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 146
Your latest Insights Podcast features a conversation with Rob Steele, the CEO of the Steele Auto Group, the fifth largest auto group in Canada. He is also the son of legendary entrepreneur Harry Steele. Interestingly, Rob did not join Newcap Inc, his father's company, until he was nearly forty years old. Up until then, Rob was already a successful entrepreneur in his own right and busy building his auto portfolio. While he was the CEO of Newcap Inc, he successfully built a portfolio of one hundr...
Jan 03, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 145
As the year comes to a close, we felt it appropriate to revisit some of the most important and most popular podcasts of 2023. Below is a recent podcast with the Chair of the Canadian Climate Institute, Peter Nicholson. A new report called “Catching the Wind” from the Public Policy Forum outlines how Atlantic Canada can become an energy superpower by harnessing offshore wind. On this episode of the Insights Podcast we talk with Peter Nicholson, the Chair of the Canadian Climate Institute and auth...
Dec 29, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 144
There is something going on in Newfoundland and Labrador. The province's tech sector is booming. Real GDP from the IT sector has more than doubled since 2018, IT employment is up 46%. The number of tech firms is up more than 20 percent just since 2019. The number of life sciences startups has more than doubled. On a per capita basis, the province has surged from 9th in the country among the 10 provinces to 3rd for the level of Research and Development spending per capita. Michelle Simms, the CEO...
Dec 21, 2023•51 min•Ep. 143
Forestry Sector in Recovery Mode in Nova Scotia The closure of Northern Pulp was a significant blow to the forestry sector in Nova Scotia creating a gap in demand for low grade fiber of 1.5 metric Tonnes. Despite this blow, the forestry industry still employs 6,000 workers in the province and generates $1.8 billion of economic activity and remains an important contributor to the economy in Nova Scotia. Our Insights Podcast this week features a wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Moore, the Ex...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 142
Glenn Cooke discusses how Cooke Inc. has quietly become the largest privately owned seafood company in the world This episode of the Insights Podcast features an exclusive and rare interview with Glenn Cooke, the driving force behind New Brunswick based Cooke Inc., which through acquisitions around the world (14 major acquisitions since 2016 worth $2.5 billion) now has annual revenues of $4 billion and nearly 13,000 employees, of which 2,500 are within Atlantic Canada. With operations in 14 coun...
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 141
Sean Fraser Outlines Federal Government's Housing Strategy This episode of the Insights Podcast features a live, in-person conversation with Sean Fraser, the Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure & Communities that was held at the "Partners for Progress " Conference sponsored by the Nova Scotia Regional Enterprise Networks in New Glasgow. The Minister presented an excellent overview of the government's housing strategy, including the recently announced $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fu...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 140
The decision to appoint someone outside the healthcare community to lead the NS Health Authority was met with considerable scepticism across the healthcare sector in Nova Scotia, yet that was exactly what the doctor ordered to introduce a series of innovations that is set to transform healthcare, not just in Nova Scotia, but potentially across the country. Using pharmacists to treat and prescribe drugs was a first in Canada and is being adopted elsewhere already. Introducing urgent care centres ...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 139
Atlantic Canada Can Become an Energy Superpower A new report called "Catching the Wind" from the Public Policy Forum outlines how Atlantic Canada can become an energy superpower by harnessing offshore wind. On this episode of the Insights Podcast we talk with Peter Nicholson, the Chair of the Canadian Climate Institute and author of the report about the opportunity to harness the winds for environmental and economic benefit. Peter has had a distinguished career in both the private and public sec...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 138
On this week's podcast we talk to the CEO of one of Atlantic Canada's oldest family run companies, Crosby Foods. Founded in the late 19th Century as an importer of molasses from the Carribean, Crosby's continues to be a family business serving national and international markets. James Crosby talks to Don and David about the company's long history, the current challenges and how the company is building new business opportunities and addressing key challenges. The future of food manufacturing is a...
Nov 08, 2023•53 min•Ep. 137
Medavie, A Company Changing Health Delivery In Canada Medavie is a company that few in this region would be familiar with, although a third of Atlantic Canadians are covered through benefit programs with Blue Cross which, along with Medavie Health Services, are offered by the company. Medavie's mission is to improve the well-being of Canadians. Our conversation with Medavie's CEO Bernard Lord (30th Premier of New Brunswick) provides an excellent overview of one the region's largest and most impo...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 136
Wine Industry Growing in Size and Reputable in Nova Scotia This week's Insights Podcast features an in depth look at the growing wine industry in Nova Scotia which has become important both economically and from a tourism attraction perspective. We talk with Carl Sparkes, the CEO of Devonian Coastal Wineries, the owners of Jost Vineyards, Gaspereau Vineyards and Mercator Vineyards. Carl's background in food manufacturing provided a sound foundation for his transition into the wine industry. His ...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 135
On this week's Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Andrew MacLean, the author of Backyard History, a podcast, blog and newspaper column covering interesting stories from across the Maritimes. Since much of Backyard History is about our past economy, MacLean is a great guest to tell the stories but also provide insights we can learn from today. There was the pre-Confederation campaign to attract immigrants to New Brunswick including a 94-page handbook used to pitch European migrants on the...
Oct 22, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 134
The Spatz Family Story Behind Southwest Properties One of the real privileges attached to doing the Insights Podcast is to learn the back story behind some of the region's most successful entrepreneurs. This is the case with the Spatz family, beginning with the early years of Southwest Properties under family patriarch Simon Spatz and the continuing story of the company under the able leadership of his son Jim. Interestingly, Jim began his career as an emergency doctor in Montreal before giving ...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 133
