Millers Expand "Parts for Trucks" Nationally Corey and Brett Miller purchased Parts for Trucks in 2017. The company specializes in serving the heavy duty and commercial truck market. At the time, they owned the well-known Miller Tire. Working with Seafort Capital, they did essentially a reverse takeover of Fleet Brake in 2022, a bigger, western Canadian based competitor that nearly doubled the size of the company. That acquisition made Parts for Trucks a coast to coast national company. The comp...
Nov 28, 2024•54 min•Ep. 192
Higher Liner Foods is a Nova Scotia based company that is North America's largest processor of value-added frozen seafood products under a number of brands like Fisher Boy, High Liner and Catch of the Day. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion annually and the company has 1,200 employees. Athough it is listed on the TSX, the Hennigar family owns 38% of the stock. It recently celebrating its 125th Anniversary. In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we talked with the company's CEO, Paul Jewer,a...
Nov 21, 2024•52 min•Ep. 191
Atlantic Business Magazine is celebrating the 35th Anniversary of its founding by Edwina and Hubert Hutton who sold the magazine to their daughter Tonia Hutton and long-time employee and editor Dawn Chafe a few years ago. The Huttons were a dynamic force who built the Atlantic Business brand together. Edwina recently passed away and we dedicate this podcast to her memory as an outstanding businesswoman. Atlantic Business is now one of the last print publications owned and operated by Atlantic Ca...
Nov 15, 2024•53 min•Ep. 190
Today on the Insights podcast, Don and David talk with Dr. Herb Emery from the University of New Brunswick about the changes to the immigration, temporary worker and international student levels announced by the federal government. The cuts are significant and could have a big impact on Atlantic Canada. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from the importance of setting a population growth target to the implications in rural Atlantic Canada and the many communities that have been focu...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 189
Arguably, Newfoundland and Labrador is at one of the most consequential moments in its history. Among its challenges, the province is the oldest in the country and some of its most important industries are facing an uncertain future. At the same time, there are multiple opportunities for growth including new oil and gas development, mining projects, the use of wind energy to power new industries, tourism, as well as technology-based sectors. Dr. Rob Greenwood, Deputy Minister of Rural and Region...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 188
Donald Savoie is back on the Insight's podcast talking about his new book Speaking Truth to Canadians about their Public Service. This is a sobering reflection on the state of the federal civil service in Canada written by someone who has spent his career studying government in Canada. The number of the federal civil servants has grown substantially in recent years while Canadians' satisfaction with public services has gone down. Forty years ago, around 25% of the workforce was located in Ottawa...
Oct 24, 2024•59 min•Ep. 187
Recently, David and Don were the closing keynote speakers at ACG's Third Annual Atlantic Conference in Halifax which attracted 200 potential investors in Atlantic Canada. ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) is the largest M&A organization in North American with more than 15,000 members. Christine Pound, a senior partner with Stewart McKelvey and the Co-Chair of the Conference was the host of a live recorded Insights Podcast where David & Don, drawing on the insights gained from more t...
Oct 17, 2024•43 min•Ep. 186
Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Nik Nanos. Nik is one of the best-known pollsters in Canada, appearing regularly on CTV and Bloomberg News to talk about his latest research about the attitudes and opinions of Canadians based on his weekly tracking polls (@ nanos.ca ). His research is also used regularly by the Globe & Mail. He has also had a long-time involvement as a volunteer leader in the public opinion and market research industry, most recently as Chair of the Canad...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 185
On this week's Insights Podcast, we feature a wide-ranging conversation with David Hutchens, the CEO of St.John's based Fortis, a major electrical utility in North America, with holdings across Canada, in the United States and the Caribbean. Listed on both the TSX and the NYSE, Fortis is one of the region's biggest publicly listed companies with nearly $70 billion in assets. The company reported earnings of over $300 million in its most recent fiscal year and has provided annual returns to its s...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 184
On this episode of the Insights Podcast, we talk with veteran political reporter Stephen Maher, who has just written a book called “The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau”. The book was well researched and provides a balanced look at Trudeau’s time as Prime Minister. It is a book that would be of interest to those who follow politics. Maher gives credit to the Trudeau Government’s for its handling of the pandemic, efforts to reconcile with Indigenous communities, and protecting the en...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 183
On this week's Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Beena Goldenberg, CEO of the cannabis product manufacturing firm OrganiGram. The third largest company in Canada by market share, OrganiGram has annual revenues of $160 million and a massive 550,000 square foot production facility in the Moncton Industrial Park. To put that into perspective, OrganiGram's facilities are equivalent to the footprint of four Costco stores. The company is likely NB Power's largest customer in Moncton and has a...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 182
In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we focus on Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy and the impact of that strategy on Atlantic Canada. Building ships for the navy is a complex and complicated endeavour and there is probably no other group than the Irvings that were capable of competing and winning a national bid to build those ships in Halifax. Irving Shipbuilding has 2,400 people working to complete the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) portion of their contract and is readying to b...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 181
This episode of the Insights Podcast features a very interesting conversation with Mike Fenton, the CEO of ACG Toronto (Association for Corporate Growth), an organization that brings deal makers together to help them achieve their business and professional goals. ACG was founded in1954 and promotes itself as the premier M&A making community with more than 100,000 members in 61 markets. Atlantic Canada has caught the attention of ACG who will be hosting its third Atlantic Network Conference o...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 180
Our latest Insights Podcast features a conversation with Peter MacAskill, the CEO of Invest Nova Scotia. Invest Nova Scotia is the new provincial agency that emerged from the merger of Innovacorp and Nova Scotia Business Inc. Our conversation focuses on a number of Invest Nova Scotia's principal activities, including its Start-Up Investment Fund, a venture fund with investments of $65 million to date and $100 million available for new opportunities. Invest NS is focused on the clean tech, ocean ...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 179
In Part II of our Insights Podcast with Scott McCain, the Chair of the Board of McCain Foods, we focus on his own businesses including his ownership of the Saint John Sea Dogs, a twenty-year labour of love, and his involvement in Seafort Capital as one of the founding shareholders. We also talk about his volunteer interests, including his work with the Fraser Institute as one of its Atlantic Ambassadors. It is an interesting conversation.
Aug 22, 2024•54 min•Ep. 178
Our guest this week on the Insights Podcast is the affable Scott McCain, the Chair of the Board of McCain Foods, the largest potato processing company in the world. This is first part of a two-part podcast which focuses on the McCain story, how it started in rural New Brunswick and grew internationally to have 60 production facilities and have its products in 160 countries. It all started in the late 1950s with Harrison and Wallace (Scott's father) McCain and their two other brothers in Florence...
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 177
On the Insights podcast this week, Don and David talk with Ryan Albright, Founder and CEO of the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company. After a tragic fire in March 2024, the company is rebuilding bigger and better. In Hartland, New Brunswick, Albright has built the largest russet potato-based chip manufacturing company in North America and is exporting product around the world. He has dreams of building an even larger potato chip empire reminding us of a young Wallace McCain or Glenn Cooke. You wi...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 176
Fred Bergman, Senior Policy Analyst at the Atlantic Economic Council joins us today on the Insights podcast to talk about an important new report written by the organization. The report provides an assessment of the economic impacts of Indigenous communities and businesses across Atlantic Canada. The Indigenous economy is worth $6.2 billion to the region and supports some 89,000 jobs across the four provinces . Fred provides a good overview of the economy and workforce and weighs in on some of t...
Aug 01, 2024•51 min•Ep. 175
Travis McDonough may not be widely known in Atlantic Canada but he is very well known by the MLB, NBA, CFL, MLS, NHL and NFL and many of their leading star players. Travis and his partners developed Halifax-based Kinduct, a tech application that uses personal data to help monitor and improve the performance of professional athletes, including the best way to rehab injured players. Prior to Kinduct, he built a string of multidisciplinary health clinics and fitness centres, including one of Europe...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 174
This week on the Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Peter Moreira about the 2023 Atlantic Canada Startup Data Report. Peter's firm, Entrevestor, publishes this report each year covering more than 800 tech-based locally-owned companies across the region. There was good and bad news in the report. Combined revenues are up but employment growth has flatlined. Angel investment has been soft making it hard for companies to scale. Peter provides his thoughts on the near term prospects for tech...
Jul 18, 2024•51 min•Ep. 173
Don and David join Shelley Snodgrass, VP of Sales at Acadia Broadcasting, to review the highlights and learnings from their guests over the last 6 months. It is an optimistic discussion about the opportunities and successes happening in Atlantic Canada, as well as a future look into the challenges that the region continues to face. Take a listen to learn what motivates the Insights hosts to educate and influence the discussions of our region, and a sneak peek into some new projects.
Jul 12, 2024•58 min•Ep. 172
On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Adrienne Oldford, Executive Director at the McKenna Institute. Almost 30 years ago, then Premier Frank McKenna had a vision for what was called the ‘information superhighway’ and how it could transform the New Brunswick economy and society. While there have been some important successes, by some measures New Brunswick is a laggard when it comes to digital technology adoption. The former Premier had an idea to rekindle the province’s leadership in ...
Jul 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 171
On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Blair Hyslop, Co-CEO, Mrs. Dunster’s about the opportunities to develop food manufacturing in New Brunswick. Blair shares his journey building the company from a staff of 50 to more than 270, the building of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and growing export markets. He talks about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his business and the firm’s retail stores strategy. We discuss broader themes such as access to capital, the co...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 170
This podcast was originally published In January of 2024 and was quickly the most downloaded podcast in Insights history. The podcast features 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 hundred radio stations, whic...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 169
Canada has a productivity problem but many of the diagnoses, such as blaming immigrants, are not compelling. Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot, Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, makes a strong case that a main reason for our weak productivity has been a sharp decline in investment into Canada’s resource sectors including oil and gas, mining and electricity production. David talks with Dr. Exner-Pirot about her thesis on this week's Insights podcast. They talk about the national challenges ...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 168
This episode features a really interesting conversation with Regis Duffy, the founder of Chemical Diagnostics Limited in Prince Edward Island. The business was partly sold to Sekisui Chemical, a Japanese chemical company in 2007, while the remainder of the company turned into Biovectra, a company with 700 employees and a new mRna vaccine manufacturing facility that opened in 2023. The company also has operations in Nova Scotia. Sekisui Diagnostics has nearly 200 employees on the Island. Regis ha...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 167
This episode of the Insights Podcast offers something a little different as we take a look at the world of a political cartoonist and the related challenges of the print media. Our conversation with award winning Michael De Adder is wide ranging and looks at the challenges of getting political cartoons approval in this era of political correctness. De Adder currently works for the Toronto Star, the Hill Times and the Chronicle-Herald. He also worked for a time as a cartoonist for the Washington ...
May 31, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 166
Damon Goodwin and Jeff White are tired of New Brunswick being the least research-intensive province in Canada. Damon, the CEO of Research NB, and Jeff, the CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, join Don and David on this week’s Insights podcast to talk about recent changes to the innovation ecosystem in the province and how the new model should accelerate research investment and innovation. The Conference Board of Canada gave New Brunswick a D- on its provincial innovation report card....
May 23, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 165
This week we present a special edition of the Insights podcast. Don and David recorded a conversation with Michelle Robichaud, President, Atlantica Centre for Energy live at the Canada's Ocean Supercluster event in Saint John. Held on May 14th, the Supercluster folks are pitching Ambition2035, a plan to grow the output associated with Canada's ocean economy from $40 billion in 2019 to $220 billion by 2035. Almost half this growth is expected to come from the energy sector. Robichaud walks us thr...
May 17, 2024•53 min•Ep. 164
On this week’s Insights podcast, Don and David talk with the Honourable Margaret Johnson, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries in New Brunswick about agriculture, food production and the opportunities for growth in the province and region. Agriculture and food production (excluding fish and seafood), is the second most important export industry in New Brunswick supporting nearly 17,000 jobs and $1.9 billion in export revenue. The sector has been growing rapidly in recent years and ...
May 09, 2024•54 min•Ep. 163
