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

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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.

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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 World
Jim Irving Discusses The Importance Of The Forestry Sector For The Future Of New Brunswick
Discussion With Minister Arlene Dunn On The Growing Population And Job Vacancies In NB
Phil Fraser, CEO Of Killam Properties, Tells The Story Of Atlantic Canada’s Largest Landlord
Bernard Lord Discusses How Medavie Is Changing Health Delivery In Canada
A $10-Billion Opportunity To Mine Manganese In New Brunswick
How Jacques Dube Really Feels About Your Tax Bill
The 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.

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Glenn Cooke discusses how Cooke Inc. has quietly become the largest privately owned seafood company in the world

This episode of the Insights Podcast features an exclusive and rare interview with Glenn Cooke, the driving force behind New Brunswick based Cooke Inc., which through acquisitions around the world (14 major acquisitions since 2016 worth $2.5 billion) now has annual revenues of $4 billion and nearly 13,000 employees, of which 2,500 are within Atlantic Canada. With operations in 14 countries, Cooke is a fully integrated seafood company utilizing 800 vessels and 30 processing plants, as well as its own transportation, hatcheries and feed plants. And it all started in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick. Cooke uses a scientific based approach to fish farming and invests heavily in research and development efforts to improve production and environmental practices. It is clear that the regulatory environment within the region is holding back the expansion of the aquaculture sector in Atlantic Canada, especially with regard to the site approval process that can take years. The advent of offshore fish farming may help open up the industry in Canada.

Sean Fraser Outlines Federal Government's Housing Strategy

This episode of the Insights Podcast features a live, in-person conversation with Sean Fraser, the Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure & Communities that was held at the "Partners for Progress " Conference sponsored by the Nova Scotia Regional Enterprise Networks in New Glasgow. The Minister presented an excellent overview of the government's housing strategy, including the recently announced $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, plus plans to address homeless and housing affordability. Fraser presented an articulate and clear understanding of the housing challenges Canada faces, including the need to construct housing differently to meet the needs of a growing population while defending the goal of continuing to grow the population. It is one of our best podcasts to date, especially for those interested in better understanding the housing crisis facing Canada.

The decision to appoint someone outside the healthcare community to lead the NS Health Authority was met with considerable scepticism across the healthcare sector in Nova Scotia, yet that was exactly what the doctor ordered to introduce  a series of innovations that is set to transform healthcare, not just in Nova Scotia, but potentially across the country. Using pharmacists to treat and prescribe drugs was a first in Canada and is being adopted elsewhere already. Introducing urgent care centres to take the pressure off emergency rooms is another. Providing Nova Scotians with an app to access their own health records is another. Expanding access to more surgery time after hours and on the weekend is another. 

This episode of the Insights Podcast features an in depth conversation with Karen Oldfield, the interim CEO of NS Health Authority who acknowledges that the province needs to do a better job informing Nova Scotians about the changes happening in healthcare and their impacts on the public, in particular the need to reset expectations regarding the access to primary care which will not longer be based on a sole practitioner family doctor model.

Atlantic Canada Can Become an Energy Superpower 

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.

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