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 through the various opportunities from oil and gas and offshore wind to tidal energy and green hydrogen. Want a primer on ocean-related energy opportunities in Atlantic Canada? This is well worth an hour of your time.

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 Minister Johnson tells us why and what is being done to exploit future growth opportunities.

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 Canada from its field near Sussex. He talks about shale gas exploration and its safety records over decades in terms of environmental impact. He also provides an estimate of the size of gas reserves in New Brunswick which would be sufficient to supply the current needs in the region for the next century. Currently Atlantic Canada imports hundreds of millions of imported natural resources, money that could benefit the region if the gas from the region was developed. Knoll also points out that natural gas will be needed for the foreseeable future in the transition to green energy in order to ensure sufficient baseload to meet peak demand, especially during the heating season. This is a conversation that everyone should listen to in order to better understand the transition to a green economy.

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 ambitious plans to expand their business into the United States and the United Kingdom. What is the value proposition? What can we do to support this growing cluster of firms? Lori, Don and David answer these questions and more.
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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 using coal by 2030. As Gregg mentions, some of the current coal generating plants will be closed and some will be repurposed to use natural gas to meet peak electricity demands. The transition will be expensive and the impact on affordability for users is still to be determined. For example, there is a need for high-capacity battery storage to support wind power. Gregg also talks about the need to increase generation capacity by 60% by 2060 to serve a growing population and energy demand and the challenges of climate change which has seen a 54% increase in the frequency of winds above 80 kms/hour in the last five years. He also discusses a number of other renewable energy sources, including nuclear power.

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 as one of the early and most successful marketing and advertising agencies that continues to this day. In this wide-ranging two-part Insights Podcast series, we talk with David about his career, some of his most memorable campaigns and clients, and the factors that led to his success, as well as the current state of marketing and advertising in the era of social media and the dominance of Google and Beta in the field of advertising. It is a fascinating conversation with one of the region's most fascinating personalities.

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 marketing and advertising agencies that continues to this day. In this wide ranging two part Insights Podcast series, we talk with David about his career, some of his most memorable campaigns and clients, and the factors that led to his success, as well as the current state of marketing and advertising in the era of social media and the dominance of Google and Beta in the field of advertising. It is a fascinating conversation with one of the region's most fascinating personalities.

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 conversation, we discuss the regulatory burden in Canada with a focus on the region and CFIB's efforts to reduce red tape. Kelly credits the work of the Nova Scotia government with leading the way in Atlantic Canada in this regard. He also discusses the challenges associated with repayment of CEBA loans for small businesses that have led to an increase in bankruptcies across the country in the last year or so. In addition, we talk about the generational transition of business ownership underway, with more than 75% of business owners expecting to exit their businesses within the next ten years and their research which indicates few business owners are properly prepared for that transition.

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