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

Atlantic Canada is a "have not" region but Niels Veldhuis of the Fraser Institute says it doesn't have to be that way. The president of the public policy research institute - or "think tank" as organizations like this are commonly known - tells Don Mills that the Atlantic provinces could follow the example of small provinces like Saskatchewan and create better investment climates that could encourage investment and keep its young people from moving to faster-growing, more economically successful regions.

In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we have a lively panel discussion about the current federal election and the opportunities that it holds for economic development for Atlantic Canada. The stunning victory of the PCs in Nova Scotia raise some warning signs for the Liberal Government regarding the mood of Canadians at this stage of the pandemic. We discuss the outcome of the Nova Scotian election and its likely impacts on the province as well as look at the region's needs from the federal government going forward and outline specific opportunities that would help the region grow.

David Chaundy, President and CEO of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council joins us this week on the Insights podcast to talk about the challenges and opportunities for the regional economy coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chaundy has convinced our ageing population and its impact on the workforce is a top risk to our economic prosperity in the years ahead.They also discuss recent reports published by APEC on a range of topics including demographics, migration, urban/rural dynamics and capital investment. 

In the fall, Alberta will hold a referendum on Canada’s Equalization system. The Alberta government wants leverage to force the federal government to negotiate a new formula that could significantly reduce the amount provided to Atlantic Canada each year.   Do provincial governments in Atlantic Canada rely too much on tax revenues generated elsewhere in the country? Do we suffer from a culture of dependency? Huddle editor Mark Leger hosts a conversation with Don and David about this important and controversial topic. In addition to the Equalization program, Mark, Don and David discuss Employment Insurance and other income and transfer programs. What role do things like geography, wages and immigration play? Don and David offer their insights and what they think can be done to address the challenges governments face with such programs. 

Frank McKenna, Deputy Chair of TD Bank, joins Don and David on Insights this week to discuss economic development today compared to 25-30 years ago when he was Premier of New Brunswick. He weighs in on the importance of attracting industry as well as supporting homegrown firms. McKenna doesn’t pull any punches when talking about natural resources development, immigration and provincial fiscal sustainability.  He also provides good ideas on how to engage with the public in the social media age.  Not that he is thinking about running again but McKenna does say this would be a great time to be in politics. 

On this week's episode of the Insights podcast, David Campbell chats with City of Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold and City Manager Marc Landry. This is the third in their series of discussions with municipal leaders in Atlantic Canada about how we can build prosperous cities.  There is no doubt about the City of Moncton’s status as a successful city. It has been one of the fastest-growing larger cities in Canada over the past five years and the metropolitan region (including the City of Dieppe and Town of Riverview) has outpaced Halifax for gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past 10 years. Mayor Dawn Arnold shares her views on the importance of immigration, arts and culture and the city’s bilingual population and Marc Landry stresses the importance of partnership and collaboration. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

Charlottetown is the fastest growing city in Atlantic Canada, having grown by nearly 10% since the last census. This growth has not been an accident and is based on good planning and strategy as well as close collaboration with the various public agencies involved in economic development including the Port Authority, the Greater Charlottetown Development Corporation and the Downtown Business Inc. Our conversation with former four-term Mayor Clifford Lee offers many insights for other communities wishing to emulate Charlottetown's success.

Cranes in the air and growth in the GDP and population. This week, Don and David begin a series of conversations with the leaders of successful Maritimes communities. First up, the mayor of the region's largest urban centre.

The conventional wisdom around the global population, backed by the United Nations' own projections, is that it will continue to grow in the coming decades. Economies around the world are banking on that outcome, tying their growth plans to having more and more people generate new economic activity.Darrell Bricker, Global CEO of Public Affairs for Ipsos and co-author of ‘Empty Planet’, says the global population is actually going to shrink instead and policymakers around the world have to rethink their growth strategies as a result. On the latest episode of the Huddle "Insights" podcast, Mills talks with Bricker about what that means for Atlantic Canada, which has experienced slow growth in terms of population and GDP for more than a decade.

In his first in-depth interview since leaving the premier's office in 2018, Brian Gallant chats with David Campbell about how to grow an economy that has been pretty flat for the past 15 years. They talk through strategies to grow the population, focus on development in the northern region that continues to fall behind the urban regions in the south, and achieve true reconciliation with Indigenous communities.Now the CEO of the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation, Gallant also talks about the successes and shortcomings of his own time in office and answers Campbell's questions about whether he'd like to return to politics sometime in the future.