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

John Risley of Mahone Bay is one of Nova Scotia's most successful businessmen.This week we revisit a conversation John had with Don and David about building and selling Clearwater Seafoods and some interesting thoughts on public policy changes needed in Atlantic Canada.   

Killam Properties is A Real Estate Powerhouse Since its founding in 2000, Killam Properties, headquartered in Halifax, has become one of Canada's largest landlords and Atlantic Canada's largest landlord. The company has $5 billion in assets, 25,000 housing units and annual revenues of over $300 million. This episode of the Insights Podcast features a conversation with Phil Fraser, the founding CEO of Killam, who has both a Master in Urban Planning and an MBA in his background. Phil takes us through the history of the company, the decision to become a REIT in 2016, the current challenges related to inflation and rising interest rates, the issue of housing affordability and what is next for Killam. This is a fascinating Atlantic Canadian success story that serves as a model for others in the region.

Mass Timber Can Shorten Construction Times Significantly  In this episode of the Insights Podcast , we examine a new initiative under development to build the first mass timber manufacturing plant in Atlantic Canada, led by Patrick Crabbe, the President & CEO of the Mass Timber Company and also the Director of Mass Timber for Bird Construction. Mass timber can be used to replace concrete and steel in the construction of residential and commercial buildings. There are already mass timber buildings being built in the region.  The company plans to build a manufacturing facility that will cost nearly $180 million and produce fifty thousand square cubic feet of mass timber, enough to construct more than 3,000 housing units per year once full production capacity is achieved. Mass timber, because it is manufactured off-site, has the advantage of shortening construction time by as much as 30 percent which translates into lower overall construction costs for developers, as well as lowering CO2 emissions by 45 percent. The company is working with two local sawmills, Elmsdale Lumber and Ledwidge Lumber, as their source of wood supply, which will create higher value end products for these sawmills. Construction is expected to start in mid-2024 and be completed in the fall of 2026.  This is the second in a new series on the Forest Industry in Atlantic Canada.  

On this week’s Insights podcast, Don and David are starting a series on the forest products sector in Atlantic Canada.   The region’s forests support thousands of good paying jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the region’s governments each year.   New Brunswick generates more gross domestic product (GDP) and export revenue from the forest products sector than any other province in Canada, adjusted for population size.  Kim Allen, Executive Director of  Forest NB and Mike Legere, Government Relations Manager at AV Group join Don and David to cover topics ranging from workforce challenges and the sustainability of the wood supply to the impact of carbon taxes on the sector’s competitiveness.   The conversation also highlights the advantages of the sector. As one example, Legere calls New Brunswick’s Crown Lands and Forests Act a ‘brilliant’ piece of legislation.  To learn all about the forest products industry, its challenges and opportunities, download the podcast now. 

Between 1983 and 2004, the value of exports (in inflation adjusted dollars) from Atlantic Canada increased by an average of nearly five per cent per year.  Over the same 20+ year timeframe, the economy expanded by an average of 2.6 per cent per year (real GDP).  Since then, between 2005 and 2021, the value of exports in real terms has declined and real GDP growth has dropped to an average of only 1.0% per year across the region.  On this week’s Insight’s podcast Don and David talk to Dr. Herb Emery about the importance of the export economy and explore whether or not the region can get back to a moderate level of economic growth without growth in exports.  The conversation covers a wide variety of topics from the role of international trade agreements and interprovincial trade to the impact the current shortage of workers is having on the region’s exporters.  Emery is one of the top thinkers on economic and demographic topics in our region and makes a strong case for a greater focus on exports and on creating a positive business environment for companies that compete in global markets.

This week on the Insights podcast, Don interviews David about a recent report he wrote about housing demand in New Brunswick.  Commissioned by the New Brunswick Business Council, the report looks at housing demand by region across New Brunswick between 2023-2030.  For the past 30 years, New Brunswick has averaged around 3,000 housing starts per year.  David’s report proposes the province will need to build an average of around 8,500 per year through 2030 to have enough housing to support a fast-growing population.  Don and David weigh into a wide variety of topics from the lack of construction workers to affordable housing to the potential role of manufactured housing.  Well worth an hour of your time.  A copy of the report can be found at the Housing Hub of New Brunswick website: https://hhnb-rlnb.ca/advocacy/

One of Canada’s most thoughtful analysts of politics and economic development, Donald Savoie, has written a new book entitled “Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances and Disunity”.  In the book, Savoie chronicles Canada’s history of ‘victimhood’ including geographically-based groups – Quebecers, Maritimers, Western Canadians, rural Canadians and, of course, Ontario.  He also covers the grievances of various demographic and ethnic groups as well as the country’s Indigenous population.  There is a reason Canadians are known for saying sorry.  Savoie believes this apologetic culture has helped shape the country we have become but worries that in the current climate it could do more harm than good. While he believes some of the claims of victimhood are exaggerated, he spends a lot of time discussing the relationship between Canada’s indigenous and non-indigenous population.  He believes this is one of the defining issues of our era.   As always, Savoie’s insights are rooted in a strong understanding of Canada’s history, institutions and politics. This will be well worth an hour of your time.

Today on the Insights podcast, Don and David talk with economist Richard Saillant about the federal Equalization program.  There has been a lot of talk about Equalization including efforts in western Canada to eliminate or significantly downsize the program.  Richard provides an excellent tutorial including when and why it was put in place, it’s purpose and whether or not the region should look to reduce reliance on the program.  After listening to this podcast you will know a lot more about fiscal federalism than you knew before.  Well worth an hour of your time.

Bear Head Energy has just received environmental approval for 2 gigawatts of electrolyzer capacity that will be developed in phases and require 400 onshore and offshore wind turbines to produce green ammonia and hydrogen for export. The Bear Head project is one of two hydrogen projects under development in the Strait of Canso.This week, Don and David have a wide-ranging conversation with Paul MacLean, Bear Head's managing director. They cover the expected timetable for the project, how it will be financed, and the important role Bear Head Energy's owner, BAES Infrastructure, will play developing the markets for the company's green hydrogen and ammonia.They also discuss the challenges with two green hydrogen projects in development at the same time, in the same geographical location, and how that affects the manpower and other resources needed to complete both projects.There's a lot of hype in Nova Scotia around the relatively new and untested "green hydrogen" market. Anyone interested in that market, and what it might or might not mean for the province's economic future, will find a ton of insight in Don, David, and Paul's conversation.

Saint Mary's University was just ranked third in the mainly undergraduate university community in Canada by Maclean's magazine. It joins the perennially number-one-ranked Mount Allison at the top of the list.Once thought of more as a "jock school," SMU has been steadily rising in the all-important Maclean's rankings, largely thanks to a well-executed strategy that has focussed on the university's key strengths.In this episode of the Insights Podcast, Don and David unpack the school's strategy with its dynamic president and vice-chancellor, Rob Summerby-Murray. Their wide-ranging discussion touches on the economic impact of the university in Nova Scotia and its role in the community.They also discuss the growing impact of SMU's Sobeys School of Business, especially its work developing young entrepreneurs. This episode is part of Insights' post-secondary series that has included the University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University, and the Nova Scotia Community College.