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

In this episode of the Huddle "Insights" podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell start a four-part series on each of the provincial economies in the region. Prince Edward Island has led the way in both population growth and GDP growth in the region for the last decade and this episode explores the reasons for the Island's success. This week's featured interview is with Wade McLauchlan in his first in-depth interview since leaving the Premier's office in 2019.

In the third of a three-part series on economic development, David and Don are joined by Mark Leger for a round table discussion on the key elements associated with successful urban economic development drawing on the success of three Atlantic Canadian cities as role models for other urban communities in the region that are themselves economic hubs.

On a special edition of the podcast, David Campbell chats with Malcolm Bricklin, the entrepreneur behind the Bricklin SV-1 that was manufactured in New Brunswick in the 1970s. David and Malcolm talk about auto manufacturing in the province back then, the role of Premier Hatfield and what went wrong. Bricklin shares anecdotes about his interactions with Elon Musk, Henry Kissinger and Slobodan Milošević, among others. In his 80s and showing no signs of slowing down, the CEO of Visionary Vehicles is back with a new electric vehicle project, the Bricklin 3EV. This conversation was the keynote event at the Town of Riverview annual Sustaina-Palooza conference in April. The three-day virtual event featured 40 speakers from 14 countries leading a conversation about innovative leadership within the sustainability sector.

In this episode of the Huddle "Insights" podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell have a look at the challenges of rural economic development and speak to one of the region's biggest proponents of rural development, John Bragg, CEO of the Bragg Group of Companies that includes Oxford Frozen Foods and Eastlink.With more than 600 employees in Oxford, Nova Scotia, and more than 6,000 across the entire group of companies, John discusses the impact of the growth of his businesses on the small town of Oxford and offers some concrete suggestions on how other rural communities can grow and what is needed to support rural development in Atlantic Canada.

The economy in Atlantic Canada has underperformed the rest of the country despite all the federal, provincial and municipal economic development efforts.Key economic metrics like GDP growth and job creation have lagged behind the rest of the country in the region with the exception of PEI. At least a billion dollars per year is spent on economic development activities in the region. It is fair to ask whether or not we are receiving a fair return on that investment or if that spending is fostering economic growth at all. At a minimum, it is time for a higher level of accountability.In the first in a three-part series of conversations about improving economic development performance in Atlantic Canada, hosts Don Mills and David Campbell chat with Stephen Lund, the CEO of Toronto Global, the organization responsible for attracting international investment to the region. Stephen is the only person to have been CEO of both Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB) and Nova Scotia Business Inc., the two organizations responsible for leading development in those two provinces.

On the Insights podcast for the past couple of weeks, Don Mills and David Campbell have been talking about the importance of growing the population of Atlantic Canada.  In this episode, Don chats with Jennifer Watts, CEO of the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) about how to improve immigrant retention in the region.Historically, the four Atlantic Provinces only retain about half of the newcomers over the longer term. Retention rates have been getting a little better in recent years, particularly for those who have a job that matches their education, skills and background.

J.D. Irving, Ltd. is among the largest employers across Atlantic Canada and in recent years has been struggling to recruit staff particularly into specific occupations such as truckers and forestry workers. They have started to recruit immigrants as part of their overall human resources development plan. In this week's episode, David Campbell and Don Mills sit down with Co-CEO Jim Irving to talk about the company’s immigration attraction activities and to get his insight into how we can better attract and retain newcomers to our region. Instead of just complaining about the growing shortage of workers, Jim Irving believes the private sector should work closely with the government to develop solutions.*

In this episode, Don Mills and David Campbell make the case for population growth across Atlantic Canada.  There are over 300,000 people expected to retire in the next decade and not nearly enough young people to take their place in the workforce.  If we can’t significantly boost the working-age population it will force many industries to downsize or leave the region. Less economic activity will lead to less tax revenue for governments imperilling the sustainability of our public services, particularly health care.  We talk about immigration as well as attracting people from the rest of Canada. This is not just a challenge for cities. Workforce shortages are facing all regions of Atlantic Canada. This is the first in a series of conversations about population growth in the region that will feature interviews with area companies and advocates for increased immigration.

David Campbell was in his 20s helping Frank McKenna pitch companies on setting up in New Brunswick. Don Mills was an MBA student in Halifax already incubating the market research company he would run for 40 years. In episode one of "Insights", the show hosts talk about the early days of their careers - David the economist, Don the social scientist - and how their work in the decades since informs the way they see the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada. They also chat about the issues they'll cover on the show and the kinds of people they'll interview. 

A Nova Scotia social scientist and a New Brunswick economist are teaming up to host a podcast that explores the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada. Mills and Campbell, two of the region’s leading researchers and analysts, join Huddle editor and “Home Office” podcast host Mark Leger to talk about what listeners can expect from the new show launching on April 8 on the Huddle podcast network.