BCA Podcasts

The world needs sustainably produced and reliable food—and Alberta has the companies, talent, natural assets and entrepreneurialism to provide that. We dive into the opportunity agriculture holds for Alberta to be a leader in economic growth but also in solving some of the world's greatest challenges. Agriculture business leaders, Scott Bolton (President & CEO of UFA) and Kim McConnell (Founder an...

Hardly a conversation about Alberta's economic recovery goes by without mentioning the need for affordable and accessible child care. With recent funding from the federal government, Alberta's child care program is undergoing some major changes, so we are diving deep into what those changes are and how they affect Albertan families—and we try to answer the question: will this new program get more...

More than 220,000 Albertans live in poverty—and that's just in Calgary and Edmonton alone. In this episode, we dive into the landscape of poverty in Alberta with economists and poverty reduction strategists Meaghon Reid, Executive Director of Vibrant Communities Calgary and Erick Ambtman, End Poverty Edmonton and what opportunities there are today to not only set out a framework for an inclusive e...

What does Canada's energy sector look like in the future? Two of Canada's top energy business leaders join the show to talk energy, environment, ESG and the possibilities and opportunities for one Canada's most vital sectors in the transition to a low carbon world.

The world—and its economies—are changing. The rise in intangible assets and capital and shifting geopolitical assumptions and priorities have prompted a shift around the world as nations start to think differently about their economic strategies. This episode is a recording of a webinar from the Business Council of Alberta on A Challenge-Driven Industrial Strategy and how this shift in economic po...

Go behind the scenes and get to know Russ Girling, President & CEO of TC Energy and founding member of the Business Council of Alberta. We talk about his path to the C-Suite; mentorship; COVID-19; and the importance of doing the right thing for your employees, communities and Albertans. And we talk about the post-shutdown recovery, building prosperity long term, and the role of energy in recovery.

Contact tracing has a long history in helping manage public health crises, but gaps in traditional methods have given rise to digital solutions. But, how do these digital contact tracing apps work, and how well do they protect user privacy? Aaron Olsen, an app development expert and maintainer of the COVID Shield Open Source Project breaks down these questions and more.

What was designed to help support Canadians through a health crisis, no longer works as economies re-open and people return to the workforce. In Part 2 of the miniseries, Relaunching Alberta, we look at how the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) needs to be adapted to a post-shutdown economy.

In a special series of AlbertaBETTER, Relaunching Alberta, we explore some of the key issues and questions that need to be considered as we relaunch and rebuild Alberta's economy. In Part 1, we talk about why solving the daycare challenge is critical to a successful recovery. We'll also hear from Melyssa, one of the thousands of Albertans who are navigating this challenge right now as many prepare...

Dawn Farrell, President & CEO of TransAlta and a founding member of the Business Council of Alberta joins the show to share her insights to how we make Alberta's economic re-launch a success, developing a plan to protect employee health and safety and build employee confidence while operating as an essential service and what Alberta needs to focus on as the province recovers and rebuilds.

Dr. Kee Jim joins the show to talk about the ongoing crisis in the livestock industry in Canada. We dive into the events that got us to the crisis, how a set-aside program, like the one used during the BSE crisis, would provide a short-term solution and what the long-term outlook for the industry is.

Energy expert Peter Tertzakian breaks down what a negative price environment means for the energy industry and what the future of the sector might look like in a post-COVID world. We also talk low-carbon transition, net-zero and Peter's new EnergyPhile project.

Small businesses have been acutely impacted by COVID-19, as public health orders to stay home, physically distance and close non-essential businesses have kept people off the streets and out of the stores. Dan Kelly is the President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and shares with us the enormous challenges Canadian small businesses are navigating and what they need in or...

As COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on the economy, we turn our attention to the state of liquidity with the larger companies in Canada and what kind of policy solutions are needed to ensure that Canada's largest firms have enough financial power to endure the economic storm, keep people employed and maintain some level of economic activity.

Robbie-Babins Wagner, CEO of the Calgary Counselling Center joins co-hosts Adam Legge and Brittany Brander for a thoughtful look at how crisis situations, like COVID-19, have a profound impact on our mental health; how employers can have healthy conversations with their teams about mental health and well-being, especially as remote working situations and physical distancing measures take their tol...

Darrell Bricker, Global CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs dives into why Canadians feel more acute impacts to their personal economy rather than their personal health, why governments have seen upticks in approvals ratings and what they'll need to do to keep it, how businesses are essential to communicate trustworthy information and reassure Canadians that supply chains are strong and what a post-COVID-...

Serge Dupont, a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones, joins us to break down the economic and financial relief measures announced by the federal government so far, his perspective on the role the private sector has in helping to flatten the curve and getting people back to work, and how we might rebuild our economy, both in a national and global context.

In Part 2 of our two-part series on local responses to COVID-19, we are speaking with Chief Tom Sampson of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency on maintaining essential services, what businesses need to know and the importance of hope and optimism in a time of crisis.

Over the next two episodes, we are taking a closer look at how the city of Calgary is responding to both the health and economic crisis including the specific measures the city has taken to date to protect the health and safety of its citizens, what plans are in place to maintain essential services and ensure business continuity and what role local businesses have in effectively responding to the...

The Government of Canada announced its COVID-19 economic response package last week, but many wonder if the speed and scale of the stimulus are enough to protect Canadians, businesses and the economy. In this episode, BCA's own Adam Legge and Scott Crockatt assess the federal government's response to the public health and economic crisis in which it finds itself and what more needs to be done.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across Canada and the world, and many Canadians are worried about their jobs, incomes, savings, businesses, and the health of the economy overall. Goldy Hyder, President & CEO of the Business Council of Canada, joins Adam Legge, President of the Business Council of Alberta, to talk about the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, what Canadian businesses are doing t...