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

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 overview of Seafort's investment strategy and the attributes that his company looks for in making a capital investment. His company is not just focused regionally, but nationally as well. He also provides the key considerations for business owners trying to decide whether to sell or grow their companies, as well as the basis for evaluating the market value of your business. He also defines the difference between a strategic buyer and a financial buyer and the advantages and disadvantages of a management buyout.  According to Rob, there is growing interest in the investment community for the opportunities that are emerging within Atlantic Canada. That is good news for those seeking capital.Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the weekly Acadia Insights podcast.

Health care in Atlantic Canada is under significant pressure on many fronts.  There is a growing shortage of health care professionals, and the talent pipeline is not keeping up. The cost-of-service delivery is rising fast.  Technology is changing how health care is delivered and managed and, to top it off, the region is experiencing unprecedented population growth. Bruce Fitch, the Minister of Health for the Government of New Brunswick, joins us this week to discuss what his department is doing to cope with these pressures.  We discuss everything from the expanded role of international talent in the workforce to the role of virtual health care.  Minister Fitch weighs in on ways to reduce ER wait times, the expanding role of pharmacists, and what needs to be done to help address the mental health challenges in New Brunswick.   

A Conversation with Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations  On this episode of the Insights Podcast, we turn our attention to the national scene and have a candid conversation with Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations. Rae has had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, politician, law professor and now diplomat. We talk to him about his time as the first NDP Premier of Ontario and as the Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as one of the founding members of the Forum of Federations. Also about his work as an envoy for Canada and finally about his current role as the Canadian UN ambassador. Rae is a highly cerebral individual, and he provides his thoughtful perspectives on the challenges south of the border, his views about the future of Canada and his advice for Atlantic Canadians. You will enjoy this conversation with this important national figure.

Membertou, An Indigenous Economic Model of Success In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we have an inspiring conversation with Terry Paul, the long-term Chief of Membertou First Nation (celebrating his 40th Anniversary as Chief this year). Chief Terry is a residential survivor who was recently named as one of Canada's most admired CEOs. He has helped develop the Membertou Model of economic development to improve his community. Membertou is part of the Mi'kmaq Coalition of seven First Nation communities who purchased 50% of Clearwater Seafoods in 2020 with Premium Brands of BC. Last year Membertou generated $80 million in revenue and has created 600 jobs in a community with 1,850 members (including those living outside the community itself). In the last ten years alone, Membertou has spent $91 million in capital investments in the community. It continues to expand its fishery operations and is the major owner of two wind farms that will be developed to support EverWind's green energy project. The ambition and success of Membertou is clearly a model for other indigenous communities across Atlantic Canada. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the weekly Acadia Insights podcast.

On this week's Insights, Don and David talk with Sean Leet, Managing Director and CEO at World Energy GH2 about their exciting green hydrogen project in western Newfoundland. World Energy GH2 is proposing a $6 billion project that would use 160 wind turbines generating renewable energy to produce green hydrogen, initially to meet demand in Europe.  The Stephenville area is one of the best sites in all of Canada for a project such as this.  Sean tells us why in the podcast and also why World Energy GH2 could have 'first mover' advantage in this new industry.  

There are many exciting stories of First Nations economic development across Atlantic Canada.  This week Don and David interview John Davis, the CEO of Qalipu Holdings in Newfoundland and Labrador about the potential of green hydrogen and other emerging industries and how the Qalipu First Nation will play a role including ownership stakes in various projects, governance and environmental oversight, supply chain opportunities and Indigenous workforce development. The Qalipu First Nation represents 25,000 people in 67 traditional Mi’kmaq communities across the province. The Indigenous population in Newfoundland and Labrador makes up a larger share of the provincial population than all other provinces except Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  Economic development is an important priority and John provides an excellent overview of the initiatives they are involved in to strengthen the economic foundation supporting the Indigenous population in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Subscribe to the newsletter if you would like to stay up to date on future podcasts. 

Your latest Insights Podcast features a conversation with Rob Steele, the CEO of the Steele Auto Group, the fifth largest auto group in Canada. He is also the son of 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 he was the CEO of Newcap Inc, he successfully built a portfolio of one hundred radio stations, which he sold to Stingray in 2018 for $500 million. Since then, he has focused his efforts on building his auto group which had revenues of $2.8 billion in the past year and is the largest auto group in Atlantic Canada, employing 2,500 people in the region. He branched out into Texas a few years ago and has grown to nine dealerships in the state. He now has 32 brands with 64 locations across Atlantic Canada and Texas. We talk with Rob about his father, their working relationship and the lessons he learned working with him.  Rob shares his thoughts on the future of electrical vehicles, as well as what keeps him entertained in his personal time.To stay up to date on all future podcasts, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

As the year comes to a close, we felt it appropriate to revisit some of the most important and most popular podcasts of 2023. Below is a recent podcast with the Chair of the Canadian Climate Institute, Peter Nicholson.   A new report called “Catching the Wind” from the Public Policy Forum outlines how Atlantic Canada can become an energy superpower by harnessing offshore wind. On this episode of the Insights Podcast we talk with Peter Nicholson, the Chair of the Canadian Climate Institute and author of the report about the opportunity to harness the winds for environmental and economic benefit. Peter has had a distinguished career in both the private and public sectors and makes a compelling case that the region has a generational opportunity to be a net exporter of green energy to the rest of the country that will transform the economy of the region and generate the same kind of economic benefits for the region that Alberta has enjoyed form their oil and gas industry. He outlines the challenges associated with realizing this opportunity, including the substantial capital investment required. He also emphasizes that addressing climate change requires bold vision and audacity to seize the potential of offshore wind in particular.As you close out the year, and celebrate the New Year, we hope you enjoy the listening to some of our other top podcasts of 2023.Glenn Cooke Discusses How Cooke Inc Has Quietly Become The Largest Privately Owned Seafood Company In The WorldJim Irving Discusses The Importance Of The Forestry Sector For The Future Of New BrunswickDiscussion With Minister Arlene Dunn On The Growing Population And Job Vacancies In NBPhil Fraser, CEO Of Killam Properties, Tells The Story Of Atlantic Canada’s Largest LandlordBernard Lord Discusses How Medavie Is Changing Health Delivery In CanadaA $10-Billion Opportunity To Mine Manganese In New BrunswickHow Jacques Dube Really Feels About Your Tax BillThe Entrepreneur Fighting To Dismantle P.E.I.'s Development Roadblocks

There is something going on in Newfoundland and Labrador.  The province's tech sector is booming.  Real GDP from the IT sector has more than doubled since 2018, IT employment is up 46%.  The number of tech firms is up more than 20 percent just since 2019.  The number of life sciences startups has more than doubled.  On a per capita basis, the province has surged from 9th in the country among the 10 provinces to 3rd for the level of Research and Development spending per capita.  Michelle Simms, the CEO of Genesis, the province's startup incubator, has a front row seat.  A decade ago, Genesis worked with eight startups in a year.  In 2023, the number is closer to 200.  Michelle joins Don and David to discuss the drivers of this impressive growth and the outlook for the future.  

Forestry Sector in Recovery Mode in Nova Scotia  The closure of Northern Pulp was a significant blow to the forestry sector in Nova Scotia creating a gap in demand for low grade fiber of 1.5 metric Tonnes. Despite this blow, the forestry industry still employs 6,000 workers in the province and generates $1.8 billion of economic activity and remains an important contributor to the economy in Nova Scotia. Our Insights Podcast this week features a wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Moore, the Executive Director of Forest Nova Scotia. One of those topics is the impact of the implementation of the Lahey Report on the industry which has a target of conserving 30 percent of forest lands in the province. As Moore points out, this conservation goal has the potential to increase the risk of forest fires in the province if those lands are not properly managed. In terms of conservation, the industry currently harvests about 2.5 million trees annually of the 600 million trees in the province. The goal of tripling housing means the demand for lumber will also triple in this region in the near future. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for the forestry industry to grow and expand while ensuring the long-term sustainability of this sector.Subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date with future episodes.