The need to pivot away from our dependence on the U.S. as a trading partner has definitely been driven home to Canadian businesses. But actually doing that is a different story. If there's a base camp for that climb, it's Export Development Canada (EDC), the Crown Corporation whose mission is to help Canadians develop new markets. Alison Nankivell, EDC's CEO, joins host Amanda Lang.

Few innovations have held the amount of promise and — let's face it — peril as artificial intelligence. Will it be mankind's greatest leap forward or its absolute demise? Into this uncertainty comes Canada's new AI strategy, one which tries to walk the line between promise and peril. Host Amanda Lang talks to Evan Solomon, Canada's first Minister of AI and Digital Innovation.

More than 25 years ago, management consultant Joseph Pine introduced a revolutionary concept he called the experience economy. It helped shape how companies would reframe their businesses, but also their approaches to customers. Pine described the economy as being divided into progressions of economic value, from the lowest, commodities, to goods or manufacturing, to services, and finally, experiences. Now he's introducing a fifth level of value, which he calls transformation. His new book is called The Transformation Economy. He joins host Amanda Lang.

Anyone who thinks that insurance is dull hasn't thought about it in the right way. The ability to offset risk is the structural foundation of everything in a modern economy, including our own individual ability to avoid personal financial ruin. Charles Brindamour is CEO of Intact Financial, the largest property and casualty insurer in Canada. He talks to host Amanda Lang about climate change, natural disasters and tech vulnerabilities.

One of the dangerous things about constantly talking about the challenges that our economy faces is losing the sense of urgency that it needs. With the new fiscal update under our belts, and plenty of uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead, host Amanda Lang checks in with one of Canada’s top economists, Frances Donald, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at RBC.

When it comes to affordability, few issues hit more than housing. We need homes of all types without cratering the value of the existing housing stock. That's not an easy task, but it is one the federal government is lending its policy to. Host Amanda Lang talks to Gregor Robertson, the federal minister of housing and infrastructure and former mayor of Vancouver.

The challenges facing Canada are pretty enormous, from our aging population to trade issues changing the fabric of our economy. It's a hard time to be a young person thinking about the future. Canada's universities are at the center of this struggle to equip them with the skills they need. Host Amanada Lang talks to former N.B. premier and former ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna about his gift to St.FX University, creating future leaders, and managing Canada-U.S. relations.

One of the key goals the federal government has laid out is to attract more investment to Canada after years of outflows. So have we finally turned a corner? Host Amanda Lang talks to TMX Group CEO John McKenzie about building home-grown talent, focusing on long term growth and unlocking Canada’s potential.

The conflict with Iran has raised a lot of questions about Canadian oil, gas and energy. If we produce so much of the stuff, why are we at the mercy of bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz? Jay Khosla is executive director of economic and energy policy at the Public Policy Forum. Susannah Pierce is the former CEO of Shell Canada and also led the development of the LNG Canada terminal. They join host Amanda Lang to talk about strategic reserves, east-west pipelines and the missing electricity link.

Canada could need up to half a million new workers by 2030 — everything from the trades to high-tech entrepreneurs to knowledge workers. But between the U.S. hoovering up Canadian talent and new policies putting a chill on international students, building the talent we need might take some work. Host Amanda Lang talks to Robert Asselin, the CEO of U15, which represents Canada’s top 15 research universities, about training entrepreneurs, scaling up companies and winning talent.