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

This week on the Insights podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell continue their conversations about the transformation of the energy sector in Atlantic Canada as it looks to decarbonize our economy and continue to foster a strong regional economy. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could be an important source of electricity production that provides essentially carbon-free energy that, unlikely many oth...

The latest "Insights" podcast features an in-depth conversation with Trent Vichie, the CEO of EverWind Fuels, which has plans to be the first company in Nova Scotia to commercially produce green hydrogen from wind power. Vichie's company has already invested about $100 million in the project, recently completing the purchase of the tank farm at Point Tupper which has the capacity to store nearly e...

In this rebroadcast of one of the most popular “Insights” podcasts, David Campbell and Don Mills chat with one of Atlantic Canada's most successful business leaders, Clearwater Seafoods co-founder John Risley, someone who has been part of building three different companies that sold for more than $1 billion each. Risley shares candid opinions about the kinds of public policy changes needed in Atla...

John Bragg will make you believe that rural and small-town economies can flourish despite the widespread perception that the future of job and wealth creation is in our larger urban centres. After all, he has built globally competitive companies from a small town - Oxford, Nova Scotia. In this rebroadcast of one of the most popular Huddle “Insights” podcasts, Don Mills and David Campbell have a lo...

In the last couple of episodes, Don Mills and David Campbell have talked about companies about the ocean of opportunities for power generation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the region. In this episode, they speak with John Hawkins, the CEO of Nova Scotia-based Heritage Gas, about the natural gas and hydrogen opportunities in the region. Hawkins provides an interesting perspective on wha...

In this episode of the "Insights" podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell continue their series on innovative emerging companies in our region with a conversation with CEO Mike Kelland and Chief Chemist Will Burt of the Nova Scotia-based Planetary Technologies . The company has developed a unique ocean-based carbon removal technology that recently won a $1-million Xprize from the Elon Musk Foundatio...

Sustainable Marine has just connected its turbines to the Nova Scotia power grid in a real-life demonstration project to prove its surface-based technology can harness the power of the Bay of Fundy. Our conversation with their CEO Jason Hayman is a must-listen for anyone looking to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with tidal power.  After numerous failed attempts by others to...

Atlantic Canada has a growing workforce problem. There are not nearly enough young people to take the place of those who are retiring. Rick Emberley, the founder of SeasonedPros, thinks he has one part of the solution. His company matches older workers with companies in need of short-term talent in technical, management and mentorship roles. On the latest Huddle "Insights" podcast, he joins Don Mi...

Over the summer, Don Mills and David Campbell will be interviewing the founders of high-growth potential companies across the region. The series starts with David Shipley, the CEO of Fredericton-based Beauceron Security. The company has an interesting product and service meant to help companies and their employees take better control over their own cybersecurity. David talks about his personal roa...

This episode of the "Insights" podcast features a fascinating conversation with Steve Matier, the CEO of Maritime Launch Services , the company behind the Spaceport to be built near Canso, Nova Scotia. With most regulatory approvals now in place, the company is nearing its construction phase which will see an investment of $150 million to build Canada's first commercial spaceport. Find out about t...

Michelle Simms, the president and CEO of the Genesis Centre at Memorial University , joins Don Mills and David Campbell on the latest episode of the "Insights" podcast. The Genesis Centre has been supporting startup companies in Newfoundland and Labrador for 25 years. Many of the province’s top tech startups - most notably Verafin, which sold for nearly $3-billion U.S. - were incubated through the...

On this week's "Insights" podcast, David Campbell speaks with Entrevestor Peter Moreira, who has tracked and accumulated data for more than 770 technology-based Atlantic Canadian companies, including investment, revenue and employment trends. Entrevestor , the leading chronicler on startup companies in the region, has a new report coming out on June 14 but he gives us a sneak peek. Want to know ho...

In the latest "Insights" podcast, Jean-Paul Boudreau, the President of Mount Allison University and "CEO of Optimism," underscores the many roles that the post-secondary institutions play in the communities where they are located, especially smaller ones like Sackville. Beyond the role of educator, universities are important economic enablers as an employer and consumers of goods and services; as...

It is hard to overestimate the impact and importance of the contribution of the Nova Scotia Community College to Nova Scotia's economy and the communities where the College has campuses. In this episode of the "Insights" podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell talk to CEO Don Bureaux about the transformation of the institution over the past 20 years, its role as an employer and economic enabler, and...

On the latest episode of the "Insights" podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell are continuing their series of conversations with organizations helping to foster innovation in Atlantic Canada. Don and David talk with Dr. Beth Mason, the Chief Executive Officer of the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment located in Cape Breton. Listeners may be surprised to hear the orga...

The Huddle "Insights" podcast has now surpassed 25,000 downloads since it was launched a little more than a year ago. And the show's most popular episodes are with the region's successful entrepreneurs. The feature interview with J.D. Irving, Limited Co-CEO Jim Irving topped the list. He emphasized that the key to growth for companies in the region is population growth and immigration. “If people...

Innovacorp is the only organization of its kind in the region, perhaps the country, that combines incubation, acceleration programming and funding to the start-up community. Its one-stop approach has been proven successful, recently celebrating its first unicorn investment where its investment of $3-million in Meta Materials Inc. six years ago has returned $101-million to the crown corporation. In...

As part of their ongoing "Insights podcast series on fostering innovation in Atlantic Canada, David Campbell and Don Mills talk with Jeff White, the CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF). White talks about the importance of investing at the earliest stage in the life of an innovation-focused company. These early investments allow the firms to attract other sources of capital and ul...

As part of a new series of Huddle "Insights" podcasts, Don Mills and David Campbell are talking to experts to determine what we should do to foster a more innovative economy in Atlantic Canada. New research published by the OECD finds the four Atlantic Provinces invest far less than the OECD average in research and development as a share of GDP. What would it take to encourage businesses to invest...

CEO Wendy Luther joins Don Mills and David Campbell to discuss Halifax Partnership's new five-year strategy, which focuses on three themes: People, Planet and Prosperity. This episode of Insights is brought to you by MNP Digital – a firm that guides, protects, and empowers organizations along their digital journey. See how at mnpdigital.ca.

In this episode of the Huddle "Insights" podcast, Premier Andrew Furey provides a thoughtful overview of the demographic and fiscal challenges faced by Newfoundland and Labrador, the need to diversify the province's economy, and the near term opportunities for the province's oil industry which represents 25 per cent of its GDP in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The “Insights” podcast combines the...

Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia wants to be remembered for setting the stage for growth when people look back on his government's achievements decades from now. Population growth is a top priority along with improving access to healthcare, he tells Don Mills and David Campbell on the latest Huddle "Insights" podcast. "People drive economies so we need people," says Houston of his ambitious goal...

This is the second of our exclusive Insights interviews with Atlantic Canada’s premiers. New Brunswick weathered the pandemic better than most jurisdictions in the areas of public health, economic growth, population growth and government finances. Premier Blaine Higgs discusses a wide variety of topics from how his government tackled the pandemic to economic development, municipal reform, bilingua...

In this episode, Don Mills and David Campbell start a series of conversations with the Premiers of Atlantic Canada, beginning with Dennis King of P.E.I. Progressive Conservative Premier King is an unconventional poilitical leader in these highly partisan times. He is a collaborator - a friendly, affable and self-effacing person who gives credit to and works well with others, including opposition p...

Don Mills and David Campbell chat with Bernard Leblanc, the CEO of the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, about the impact of the pandemic and the efforts underway to rebuild its routes and increase cargo traffic. They also discuss how important the decision to move to a community-based airport authority was to improve infrastructure and service in air transportation across Canad...