Down to Business

Canada’s finance minister Bill Morneau abruptly resigned last week in the middle of one of worst economic crises since the Second World War. His replacement, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, has strong experience on Parliament Hill but less on Bay Street. To help break down the news, Down to Business interviewed Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at Scotiabank, who...

On this week’s Down to Business, host Gabriel Friedman speaks with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. CEO Sean Boyd about what it’s been like to run a gold company amid a pandemic and record gold prices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Down to Business, as part of our series on Reopening Canada, Clementine Van Effenterre, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto, talks about how the pandemic is affecting working families and what that means for the economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Down to Business, Ernie Johannson, group head of personal and business banking in North America for BMO Financial Group, speaks to host Gabriel Friedman about shifting consumer habits and describes the initial challenges of trying to stabilize bank operations during a financial crisis and a health pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Down to Business, Irene Lauro, a senior economist at Schroders, explains the ripple effects of “reshoring” and how deflation is a top concern for economists as the recovery moves forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, Jaqui Parchment, chief executive of Mercer Canada, one of the largest human resources consulting firms in the world, talks to Gabriel Friedman about what’s happening in workplaces throughout the country, whether in the office or at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Down to Business, CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld talks to host Gabriel Friedman about the shape and speed of the recovery. While some sectors will rebound quickly, a second big chunk of the economy will see a very shallow recovery or no recovery at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip talks to host Emily Jackson about how COVID-19 has affected his business and how he believes the travel industry should evolve once people are free to move around again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nadine Spencer, president of the Black Business and Professional Association, talks to host Emily Jackson about the ongoing challenges faced by Canada’s black business community and what can be done to improve access to capital and diversity in the boardroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Financial Post columnist Kevin Carmichael talks to host Emily Jackson about the legacy of outgoing Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz, the decision to replace him with Tiff Macklem, what the bank needs to focus on going forward and why leadership at the bank is so critical now to the Canadian economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, Retail Council of Canada CEO Diane Brisebois talks with host Emily Jackson about the challenges facing retailers as they re-open and how between 25% and 30% may never come back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, Ryerson University real estate management professor Murtaza Haider talks to host Emily Jackson about the pandemic’s impact on housing and rental prices, how the shift to working from home could affect real estate in downtown cores and a rethinking of the suburbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Demand for entertainment has skyrocketed during the pandemic shut-in. Thunderbird Entertainment chief executive Jennifer Twiner-McCarron talks to host Emily Jackson about how her company has been able to thrive even with employees working from home and how she expects this crisis will change the entertainment industry in the long term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Auto sales are down 75% as the industry struggles with closed dealerships and shuttered factories. This week on Down to Business, Honda Canada’s new chief executive Jean Marc Leclerc discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the auto sector and its global supply chains, and how long he expects it will take for the industry to recover as Honda looks to resume production next week. Learn more...

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on people and economies around the world, Canada’s business community is starting to ask – what can we do to better prepare before the next crisis hits? Conference Board of Canada senior economist Julie Ades joins Down to Business host Emily Jackson to discuss how the pandemic could be a catalyst for long-term changes to Canada’s supply chains. Learn more about...

This week on Down to Business, host Emily Jackson talks to food market analyst Kevin Grier about why the meat industry was one of the first hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, how big is the risk of a meat shortage and why this break in the supply chain will hurt farmers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association president Jim Keon joins Down to Business host Emily Jackson to discuss the vulnerabilities in Canada’s drug supply chain during the pandemic, which has led to a run on drugs hospitals use to sedate coronavirus patients and help them breathe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, the CEO of the country’s largest community credit union talks to host Emily Jackson about how COVID-19 has affected members, the government’s response to the crisis, the lessons financial institutions can learn and why a gradual, uninterrupted reopening is the economy’s best bet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Mary Robinson joins Down to Business host Emily Jackson to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our food system and what lessons Canada can learn from the crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Down to Business, host Emily Jackson talks to Telus executive Jim Senko about how telecoms are grappling with the huge boost in demand because of the pandemic shutdown and the industry’s earlier view on Ottawa’s push for a 25% price cut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall joins Down to Business host Emily Jackson to discuss what energy self-sufficiency would look like in Canada and how the government could take action to create such a strategy. This special episode of Down to Business is part of the National Post’s new series Strong & Free: Shockproofing Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CIBC tax expert Jamie Golombek talks to host Emily Jackson about new benefits designed to help Canadians weather the coronavirus crisis financially and how to access them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ventilators, surgical masks and testing kits have become hot commodities as countries race to buy up the medical equipment needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Host Emily Jackson talks to the small Canadian manufacturers who are stepping up to make the vital gear that our front-line health workers need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watching the stock market these days is like looking at a falling elevator — and investors are starting to panic. Personal finance columnist Jonathan Chevreau joins host Emily Jackson with advice on how best to ride out this storm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BMO Financial Group chief economist Doug Porter joins host Emily Jackson to talk about the unprecedented turmoil the Canadian economy is already going through from the impact of coronavirus shutdowns and what it faces ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices