How can Canada be an energy leader in a world demanding both growth and sustainability? It’s a question Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie is seized with every day.

“When I think about the Canadian energy industry and what we are and where we've been and where we're going, I think the opportunity is immense,” he tells Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast. “This is an industry that Canada competes on at a global scale.”

Canada is among the top global producers of oil and gas yet faces mounting challenges. 

From stalled projects and shifting regulations to the need for ecological sustainability, McKenzie lays out the tough realities as well as the opportunities. He describes it as a “grand bargain” which balances growth, environmental responsibility and regulatory stability.

“There needs to be a coming together of those three legs under the stool and have this grand bargain where everybody is compromising, everybody is of the place where they understand what the end game is, which is to improve our standard of living as Canadians and to increase our economic benefit as a country.”

🎧 Tune in for a sharp, insightful look at the future of Canada’s energy sector.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Canada as a country is energy rich, but is it making full use of the energy, especially the electricity, it produces?

In this episode, Goldy Hyder sits down with Emily Heitman, Country President of Schneider Electric Canada, to unpack one of Canada’s biggest challenges: energy capacity.

“We know we have a shortage of power in the country, yet we're wasting 50 per cent of the power we produce,” she says, pointing to the increasing need for electricity to power new investments in Canada.

She shares how digital solutions, AI, and smart technology can help Canada reduce consumption, unlocking new electrical capacity and efficiency.

“I really feel like there's an opportunity for us to both expand the supply and go after that supply demand equation when it comes to energy.”

🎧 Tune in to Speaking of Business to hear how we can build the energy system Canada’s future needs.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Kevin Strain never planned on a career in insurance. But an early job as an auditor led to his introduction to the insurance industry, culminating in his current position as president and CEO of Sun Life Financial. 

In this episode of Speaking of Business, Kevin shares how Sun Life grew from a Canadian insurer into a global financial services and asset management giant, and why Asia has become such a key part of that story. 

He also weighs in on one of Canada’s biggest challenges: adapting quickly enough to compete in a world of shifting trade and rising geopolitical tension. His advice? Move with speed, lead with purpose, and don’t be afraid to take risks or learn from failure.

"I actually think what I learned about failure is failure is just a step towards winning," he tells host Goldy Hyder

Listen to the full conversation about leadership, purpose, and the future of Canada on the Speaking of Business Podcast.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Richard Abboud's entrepreneurial journey started early. As a kid, he took a gamble on silver. A win-then-loss that taught him to embrace risk, learn from failure, and invest in ideas that might not make sense at first glance. Those lessons have shaped not only his career but his vision for the country’s future: one where Canada takes bigger swings, speaks honestly about its challenges, and builds for the next generation.

“If we can speak the truth to the population, we can galvanize the nation even further… Because on a pure landscape basis, this country has it all,” he tells Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast.

The founder and CEO of Forum Asset Management believes Canada has everything it needs to succeed, but unlocking that potential starts with getting comfortable with taking risks.  In fact he’s one of a group of business leaders behind the program Shift Failure, aimed at teaching high school students about entrepreneurship.

Tune in to hear more about his entrepreneurial journey and how he built Forum Asset Management to become a multi-billion dollar investor on the Speaking of Business podcast. 

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

In the latest episode of Speaking of Business, Wendy Andrushko, President of DuPont Canada, takes host Goldy Hyder on an insider’s tour of the Kingston Technology Centre, a facility that’s quietly shaping the future of electronics, sustainability, and advanced materials. 

From semiconductor research to green chemistry breakthroughs, the Kingston, Ontario site is more than a lab, it’s a launchpad for commercialization. World class researchers are “inventing things, piloting things, figuring out how to scale it to ultimately commercialization,” Andrushko explains.

What makes the Kingston facility stand out in a crowded field of research? And how is Canadian innovation punching above its weight? Find out by listening to the full conversation.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Mark Collett remembers a time when many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians left the province in search of work, including himself. But today, as the CEO of St.John’s-based Crosbie Group, he sees a different story unfolding. 

“Certainly for the first 30 years of my life, I think we were probably hanging our head a little bit low,” he tells Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast. “But I think we started to pump our chest out when things really started to move ahead in the oil industry.”

Crosbie Group, a fourth-generation family business, plays a central role in the energy, marine and real estate sectors in Canada, the United States and Guyana. Collett has seen firsthand how quickly other countries have moved ahead with energy projects, while those in Canada have stalled.  “From 2014 to 2018, there were over $4 billion in commitments to explore offshore Newfoundland and Labrador,” he notes. “Since 2018, there’s been just $300 million.”

He attributes much of that slowdown to regulatory uncertainty. Despite the challenges, he believes the tide may be turning. “We need to seize the moment, seize the day,” he urges. “We have a very willing sentiment toward the industry right now.”

For Collett, the conversation isn’t just about energy, it’s about Canada’s future. “We spend an awful lot of time talking about our potential and tomorrow,” he says. “I'm personally at a place where I want to see things happening and happening now.”

🎧Listen to the full conversation with Mark Collett on the Speaking of Business podcast.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Laurent Ferreira is blunt when he assesses the state of Canada’s economic trouble.

“The status of our economy is red,” he said in a June 9 conversation with Goldy Hyder at the Conférence de Montréal.

The president and CEO of National Bank of Canada stressed the urgency for Canada to strengthen its economy in light of geopolitical uncertainty. But he’s optimistic the country will take action, saying now is the time to “get projects built across the country, get to the bottom of what are the causes of our economic performance, and move forward.”

Ferreira sees a major role for Canadian energy in Canada’s future. The Quebec-based bank recently acquired Alberta-based Canadian Western Bank, expanding the bank’s footprint into more markets across the country. He says nation-building projects, including energy, will keep the federation strong. And to land those projects, there’s an overriding need to reduce regulations. 

“I think that the biggest impediment to energy transition is regulation. It's not Alberta. It's regulation. That's the real problem.”

Listen to the full conversation on the Speaking of Business podcast.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Roy Gori started his first job – a paper route – at age eight. At ten, he was delivering medications to seniors for a local pharmacy. He got a job with Citibank straight out of high school at 17 and has been working full time ever since. So it’s perhaps not surprising that, at age 56, he’s decided to try something new.

In early May, he retired as President and CEO of Manulife after eight years leading the international financial services group. The Canadian company has a massive global footprint, employing 40 thousand people around the world. 

Before leaving his post, Gori sat down with Goldy Hyder to reflect on his career and talk about what comes next.

“It has been the honour and privilege of my life to lead this great Canadian organization,” he says on the Speaking of Business podcast. “Never would I have imagined that the son of a coal miner could become the CEO … and I've never taken that responsibility lightly.”

In the wide-ranging conversation, Gori discusses his work ethic, lessons he’s learned through adversity, transformational changes at Manulife, and Canada’s global reputation.

Listen to the full interview, including how Gori ended up intercepting a pass from quarterback Tom Brady, on the Speaking of Business podcast.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

Scott Balfour has some simple career advice for his three sons: stay humble, work hard and be kind. It’s what he learned from his mother and grandmother and he maintains those “fundamental skills” have been the most important throughout his career. 

Born and raised in Oakville, Ontario, Balfour spent a year working on the assembly line at the local Ford plant before returning to Laurier University to complete his degree. He went on to work in commercial banking, corporate finance and infrastructure development before pivoting to the energy sector, becoming president and CEO of Emera. The Halifax-headquartered energy company serves more than 2.5 million customers across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

At Emera, Balfour has been at the forefront of the industry's transformation, overseeing the company's shift towards more renewable energy sources and modernizing its energy mix. He has navigated the complexities of policy, regulation, and customer needs, all while maintaining a commitment to reliability, affordability, and environmental stewardship. 

Listen to his full conversation – including his hopes for Canada’s future – on the Speaking of Business podcast with Goldy Hyder.

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/

When Dean Setoguchi thinks about Canada’s energy industry, he sees a bright future, and it’s partly due to tariff threats from the United States. “I’m an optimist,” he tells Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast. “I feel like there’s a recognition by Canadians that our national resources are our treasure, and I don’t think that recognition has been there for the past at least decade.”

The president and CEO of Keyera hopes momentum will build to get Canadian natural gas to more customers. “We have an opportunity to deliver the world’s most responsibly produced oil and natural gas in the world and we can help enrich people’s lives across the planet,” he says. “If we can get the right policy and regulatory framework, we can do great things.”

As a midstream infrastructure company, Keyera plays a vital role in processing and delivering natural gas across Canada and around the world. 

Reflecting on his own career journey, Setoguchi shares how he transitioned from accounting to the oil and gas industry, embracing the entrepreneurial spirit and "enterprise-level thinking" that he learned while working with smaller companies. 

He also discusses his deep ties to his hometown of Lethbridge, and the influence of his Japanese grandparents, who were interned during WWII. “I like that humble upbringing and being grounded no matter what position you are or what you do in life. At the end of the day, we’re all just people.”

Revealing conversations with influential innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen to more episodes here: thebusinesscouncil.ca/podcasts/