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

In this episode, Don Mills moderates the final plenary panel at the ACG Atlantic Network Conference, a premier event focused on investment opportunities in Atlantic Canada. With over 200 investors from across Atlantic Canada, Central Canada, and the U.S. in attendance, this dynamic conversation explores the region’s economic transformation and future growth.Featuring an all-star panel of industry leaders—Cathy Bennett (Sandpiper Ventures), Lauren Ledwell (PEI BioAlliance), Greg Wanger (Oberland Agriscience), and Michelle Robichaud (Atlantica Energy Centre)—the discussion dives into key themes from the book Towards Prosperity: The Transformation of Atlantic Canada's Economy, co-authored by Don Mills and David Campbell.Topics include:Energy development and innovationEconomic clusters and regional collaborationCapital attraction and investment strategyBuilding a prosperous future for Atlantic CanadaWhether you're an investor, entrepreneur, policymaker, or economic development professional, this episode offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of Atlantic Canada's economy.

This week on Our Insights Podcast, we sit down with Lori Clark, the first-ever female CEO of NB Power, to explore the future of energy in New Brunswick. Appointed in July 2022, Clark brings nearly 30 years of experience within the utility to a leadership role marked by major infrastructure and sustainability challenges.🔊 Listen now to gain insights into:The future of Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, whose license expires in 2032, and the critical decision to refurbish or replace the plant that supplies 700 MW to the provincial grid.The urgent repair needs of the Mactaquac Dam, which provides 20% of New Brunswick’s renewable energy and faces a $7.6–$9 billion overhaul due to premature cement issues.Plans to transition the Belledune coal-fired plant to biomass by 2030, with a projected cost of $100 million.The development of a new natural gas generation facility by the private sector to support renewable energy reliability.NB Power’s strategy to balance affordability, sustainability, and reliability for ratepayers amid these major shifts.🎙️ Clark offers a candid and comprehensive overview of NB Power’s roadmap, the challenges ahead, and the leadership required to navigate a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

This special Insights podcast is the last of a three-part series of interviews with exciting entrepreneurs building bioeconomy companies in Atlantic Canada.  You will find the first two interviews with Vyterra Renewables Inc. and Oberland Agriscience in the Insights podcast feed.  This series is sponsored by Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub and Bioindustrial Innovation Canada.  This week we talk with Mark Masotti and his exciting new company, alterBiota.  Mark ‘fell in love’ with anaerobic digestion and has a new technology that uses wood byproducts to create a product that strengthens concrete and at the same time reduces its carbon footprint.  The Verschuren Centre in Cape Breton lured Masotti from Toronto and he raves about the support he received after arriving.  He believes Nova Scotia is an excellent place to build a successful bioeconomy company and he tells us all the reasons why in this podcast. 

On this week's Insights podcast, David speaks with Matt Symes about the potential of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in our region.  Matt is a leading strategic thinker in our region, helping firms and organizations, and has integrated A.I. into his consulting practice.  We discuss practical ways to use A.I. in health care, education, business services and even construction.  We also discuss how government policy could support wider adoption of this transformative new technology.

This episode of the Insights Podcast features an interesting conversation with Mike Cassidy, the CEO of the Cassidy Group which owns Coach Atlantic, Maritime Bus and T3 Transit. The Cassidy Group is the largest family-owned motorcoach company in Canada and has more than 250 pieces of equipment in its fleet of buses and more than 800 employees. Coach Atlantic is a dominant player in the chartered bus sector in the region, while Maritime Bus provides regularly scheduled bus service on 14 routes to 40 communities across the three Maritime Provinces. If you noticed any of Coach Atlantic or Maritime Buses, the fleet is virtually new, with most buses in their fleet being less than five years old. This is part of the company's strategies to manage capital efficiently. To that end, in 2024, Cassidy committed to buying 100 buses from Prevost, the Quebec based bus manufacturer. The cost of each bus today is $800,000. Cassidy also serves the cruise ship business in both Charlottetown and Halifax, has interests in agriculture through Van Kampen Nurseries and real estate development in Charlottetown. His entrepreneurial story is very interesting as a Halifax born, Saint Mary's graduate who began his career as a chartered accountant in PEI. Enjoy! 

This week on the Insights podcast,  Don and David spoke with Dr. Wendy Rodgers, the President and Vice-Chancellor at University of Prince Edward Island.  Dr. Rodgers discusses the important role the university plays in the Island economy as well as the direction of the new strategic plan.  She talks about the federal changes to international student attraction and how that damaged Canada's brand as a destination for international education.  UPEI has a new Faculty of Medicine and other interesting initiatives underway.   To get a good primer on UPEI and its future listen to this week's Insights episode.

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Mike Whittaker, until recently the CEO and Co-Owner of TruCorp. TruCorp is the Truro based holding company that was owned by Mike and his partner Bill Hay until he sold his shares. Trucorp had two main holdings Bonte Foods, the federally certified meat manufacturer in Dieppe and Grinner's Food Systems, which owns Greco Pizza, as well as Captain Submarine and Frozu Frozen Yogurt. Mike has an interesting personal story, joining Trucorp as a marketing specialist, before over time becoming a 33 percent equity owner of the company. Under his leadership, Greco Pizza grew from less than ten outlets to 120 outlets around Atlantic Canada and became the number one pizza brand in the region with annual sales of over $50 million and more than a thousand employees. He introduced Grecoville and the thirty minute delivery promise and the memorable marketing tagline "Greco 310-30-30" that is still being used thirty years after its introduction. At the same time, Mike helped expand Bonte Foods through the acquisition of the Chris Brothers brand of deli meats. TruCorp sold its interest in Bonte in 2020 and Mike sold his equity in TruCorp a couple of years ago. It is a fascinating story of business success that is mostly unknown. Enjoy!

On this week's Insights Podcast, veteran oil & gas executive, Jim Livingstone, the CEO of RC Energy makes a compelling case for the development of the onshore natural gas in the three Maritime Provinces, which combined have estimated reserves of more than 200 TCF (Trillion Cubic Feet), the equivalent of the natural gas in the  Permian Basin in West Texas, considered one of the most prolific gas producing regions in the US. One TCF is enough natural gas to heat all the houses in Canada that currently use natural gas for two years. It could also be used to develop an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) sector in our region, replacing the natural gas currently being imported. Livingstone has developed a drilling methodology that does not use hydrofracking to drill for shale gas. His method is based on using air to extract the gas and eliminates many of the concerns associated with hydrofracking. He insists that the type of shale basin in our region, derived from ancient lakes rather than most shale basins elsewhere, which are derived from ancient oceans, results in a much more densely compacted clay content, making it less suitable for hydrofracking. He claims it is one of the reasons previous drilling programs have failed in New Brunswick. This conversation is fascinating and could potentially lead to unlocking over $400 billion worth of natural gas in the Maritimes, thereby removing opposition to natural gas development in our region. 

On this week's Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Mark Gaddas, owner and President of Woodstock, New Brunswick-based Ironwood Manufactured Homes Inc.  The company recently announced a large-scale expansion to help it meet the demand for housing in New Brunswick, Maine and beyond.  Mark tells us his new facility will be the largest manufacturing plant in Woodstock.  We discuss the role of manufactured housing in addressing housing demand, the challenges of recruiting staff in small towns, and the regulatory barriers impacting the sector.   As a share of GDP, New Brunswick has the largest manufactured housing sector among the 10 provinces in Canada.   The Ironwood expansion and other developments point to this being a potential growth sector for the province in the years ahead.

On this week’s Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Tom Taylor, Executive Director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association, about the state of finfish aquaculture in the region.  The industry is a significant engine for mostly rural areas in the region, supporting over 8,000 jobs and boosting gross domestic product (GDP) by over $900 million.  Over 1,300 suppliers generate $600-$700 million worth of business each year from the aquaculture sector.  Tom tells us about the history of the industry, dating back to government-led research in the 1970s, to the exciting innovation happening right now in our region.  Despite being one of the best ways to produce sustainable and healthy meat protein, the finfish aquaculture is having to fend off a considerable amount of misinformation.  Tom discusses this risk and the efforts his association is taking to counter misleading, inaccurate and outright falsehoods about the industry.