Insights with Don Mills and David Campbell- An Acadia Broadcasting Podcast

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...

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...

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 sof...

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 educ...

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...

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 busine...

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...

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....

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...

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, th...

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 innovati...

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...

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,...

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 ga...

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 choosin...

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 Scoti...

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 de...

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 indust...

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....

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...

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 strateg...

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 eco...

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...

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 deve...

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 overvi...