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

Our latest Insights Podcast features a conversation with Peter MacAskill, the CEO of Invest Nova Scotia. Invest Nova Scotia is the new provincial agency that emerged from the merger of Innovacorp and Nova Scotia Business Inc. Our conversation focuses on a number of Invest Nova Scotia's principal activities, including its  Start-Up Investment Fund, a venture fund with investments of $65 million to date and $100 million available for new opportunities. Invest NS is focused on the clean tech, ocean tech, ag tech, life sciences and IT sectors. We also discuss its Innovation Rebate Program for capital investments to improve productivity, a fund to provide a 25% contribution up to a $15 million capital investment, and its accelerator programs and incubation services. Invest Nova Scotia is working closely with Dal's Creative destruction Labs and COVE, both previous guests on the podcast. 

In Part II of our Insights Podcast with Scott McCain, the Chair of the Board of McCain Foods, we focus on his own businesses including his ownership of the Saint John Sea Dogs, a twenty-year labour of love, and his involvement in Seafort Capital as one of the founding shareholders. We also talk about his volunteer interests, including his work with the Fraser Institute as one of its Atlantic Ambassadors. It is an interesting conversation. 

Our guest this week on the Insights Podcast is the affable Scott McCain, the Chair of the Board of McCain Foods, the largest potato processing company in the world. This is first part of a two-part podcast which focuses on the McCain story, how it started in rural New Brunswick and grew internationally to have 60 production facilities and have its products in 160 countries. It all started in the late 1950s with Harrison and Wallace (Scott's father) McCain and their two other brothers in Florenceville, New Brunswick. The company now has 23,000 employees worldwide, of which 1,600 continue to work in New Brunswick, including nearly 500 head office jobs. The company is the largest employer in both Florenceville and Grand Falls. Scott talks about the company's growth strategies over the years, the expansion of its product lines and some of the challenges of running a large global business. This is a rare conversation with a member of the McCain family that you won't want to miss. Next week, the podcast will focus on Scott McCain's personal business and community interest, including his ownership of the Saint John Sea Dogs, another equally interesting conversation.

On the Insights podcast this week, Don and David talk with Ryan Albright, Founder and CEO of the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company.  After a tragic fire in March 2024, the company is rebuilding bigger and better.  In Hartland, New Brunswick, Albright has built the largest russet potato-based chip manufacturing company in North America and is exporting product around the world.  He has dreams of building an even larger potato chip empire reminding us of a young Wallace McCain or Glenn Cooke.  You will be inspired by this story of grit, leadership and entrepreneurial ambition.

Fred Bergman, Senior Policy Analyst at the Atlantic Economic Council joins us today on the Insights podcast to talk about an important new report written by the organization.   The report provides an assessment of the economic impacts of Indigenous communities and businesses across Atlantic Canada.  The Indigenous economy is worth $6.2 billion to the region and supports some 89,000 jobs across the four provinces .  Fred provides a good overview of the economy and workforce and weighs in on some of the challenges and opportunities facing the community in the years ahead.

Travis McDonough may not be widely known in Atlantic Canada but he is very well known by the MLB, NBA, CFL, MLS, NHL and NFL and many of their leading star players. Travis and his partners developed Halifax-based Kinduct, a tech application that uses personal data to help monitor and improve the performance of professional athletes, including the best way to rehab injured players. Prior to Kinduct, he built a string of multidisciplinary health clinics and fitness centres, including one of Europe's largest custom orthotics suppliers, during a decade living in Ireland.  When he sold his clinics and returned to Halifax, he used his expertise as a licensed chiropractor to develop the app for athletes. Kinduct was sold in 2020 for more than $70 million reportedly to mCube (now Movella) a Silicon company. He is now in a new tech start-up, based also in Halifax, called Wellnify that is focussed on improving community health using gamification. In this interesting podcast, he also talks about overcoming his learning difficulties growing up. His story will be an inspiration to others looking to grow businesses from Atlantic Canada.

This week on the Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Peter Moreira about the 2023 Atlantic Canada Startup Data Report.  Peter's firm, Entrevestor, publishes this report each year covering more than 800 tech-based locally-owned companies across the region.  There was good and bad news in the report.  Combined revenues are up but employment growth has flatlined.  Angel investment has been soft making it hard for companies to scale.  Peter provides his thoughts on the near term prospects for tech companies in the region.  To download the report and follow Entrevestor's daily news feed visit www.entrevestor.com.   

Don and David join Shelley Snodgrass, VP of Sales at Acadia Broadcasting, to review the highlights and learnings from their guests over the last 6 months.  It is an optimistic discussion about the opportunities and successes happening in Atlantic Canada, as well as a future look into the challenges that the region continues to face.  Take a listen to learn what motivates the Insights hosts to educate and influence the discussions of our region, and a sneak peek into some new projects.

On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Adrienne Oldford, Executive Director at the McKenna Institute.  Almost 30 years ago, then Premier Frank McKenna had a vision for what was called the ‘information superhighway’ and how it could transform the New Brunswick economy and society.  While there have been some important successes, by some measures New Brunswick is a laggard when it comes to digital technology adoption. The former Premier had an idea to rekindle the province’s leadership in this area and asked Adrienne to help bring that vision to fruition.  Now, $50 million in pledged support later, she has a team of 10 staff and the ambition to help transform the province through digital technology.  Adrienne tells Don and David all about it in this informative and inspiring conversation.

On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Blair Hyslop, Co-CEO, Mrs. Dunster’s about the opportunities to develop food manufacturing in New Brunswick. Blair shares his journey building the company from a staff of 50 to more than 270, the building of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and growing export markets.  He talks about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his business and the firm’s retail stores strategy.  We discuss broader themes such as access to capital, the cost environment, talent development and more.  Blair and his co-CEO and life partner Rosalyn will be inducted in the New Brunswick Junior Achievement Hall of Fame this fall.  Hearing his compelling story is well worth an hour of your time.