We have a special edition of the Insights podcast this week. As many of you will know, Don has been heading up the Atlantic Economic Panel - an initiative that has brought together some of the region's top business leaders and thinkers to develop a roadmap for the future prosperity of the region. Don summarizes the panel's work to date and offers insight into the final report and recommendations. A key theme? We need more ambition at all levels across the region. The next 15-20 years could be a time of great prosperity, but there is still work to be done. There will be enablers (e.g., regulations, tax environment, workforce, population growth, etc.) and specific major economic opportunities (e.g., natural resources, energy, defence, etc.). If you want a sneak peek into the work of the Atlantic Economic Panel, grab a coffee or tea, put on your headphones and carve out 50 minutes of your day.

The Marco Group was founded in St. John’s, NL, in 1979 by the late Tom Hickman, whose family still retains majority ownership of the company. The company decided to expand into the rest of the region in the early 2000s. That is when Allan MacIntosh, the company’s President, joined the company as a co-owner and set up offices in Halifax. MacIntosh is our guest in this episode of the Insights Podcast and talks about the company’s growth over the past couple of decades. About 60% of the company’s work is now outside of Newfoundland & Labrador. Marco has over 100 employees, with the majority based at its head office in St. John’s. Since its inception, the company has built billions of dollars' worth of buildings across the region. Since moving into the regional market, its revenue has grown from $30 million to $300 million per year. The company often works with major national companies such as PCL and Ellis Don and is involved in long-term care facilities, hospital construction, multi-residential buildings, recreational facilities, and commercial buildings. MacIntosh discusses the challenges of recruiting skilled workers, the opportunity for direct entry into the workplace for those interested in the trades, and the company’s efforts to retain employees.

Our guest this week on the Insights Podcast is Elisa Obermann, the Executive Director of Marine Renewables Canada (MRC), an industry association headquartered in Halifax with more than 200 members. In this podcast, Elisa talks about the various forms of marine renewable energy, including energy from rivers, waves, tides, and offshore wind. The focus of her association is advocacy and the development of a robust supply chain for renewables in Canada. Interestingly, MRC's recent conference attracted more than 700 attendees, underscoring the growing interest in this sector. The biggest opportunity is clearly offshore wind, where MRC has set a goal of 30 GW by 2050. For perspective, Nova Scotia currently uses about 2.3 GWs of electricity annually. Tidal, by contrast, is expected to generate only about 1 GW of electricity over the same time period. It is interesting to note that one offshore turbine will provide electricity to about 15,000 households, while one on-shore turbine will provide electricity to between 2-3,000 households. Obermann discusses what is needed to realize offshore wind's potential, including investment tax credits and transmission infrastructure. It is an excellent overview for those following Premier Houston's Wind West project.

This week on the Insights Podcast, we’re joined by Gregg Curwin, President & CEO of Nova Scotia–based Novagevity. Gregg is a proven agriculture entrepreneur and the founder of TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture, now Canada’s largest indoor vertical farming company.

Gregg joins Don and David to share his entrepreneurial journey, discussing the importance of R&D, access to capital, and the realities of building companies in Nova Scotia. He also makes a compelling case for why Atlantic Canada should invest more in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to boost food self-sufficiency and improve food quality.

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Jason Limongelli, Vice President, Woodlands Division with JD Irving, Limited. The forest products industry is the most important driver of economic activity in New Brunswick, generating nearly a billion dollars in tax and royalty revenue in 2024 and supporting one out of every 17 jobs in the province. Despite its importance, most people don’t really understand how it works. How many trees get cut down every year? How long does it take for a tree to reach full maturity? How many trees are planted each year? What does it mean to manage a Crown Land license? Jason answers all these questions and more. He also tells us about JDI. Known in New Brunswick as one of the largest companies in the province, it turns out the company competes with much larger global firms when selling its wood and paper products. Jason explains how JDI competes with these industrial behemoths. Finally, we chat about the future of the industry and having a +50-year business plan.

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Marie Mullally, the CEO of CUA. CUA is one of the largest credit unions in Atlantic Canada. There are more than 300,000 credit union members in Atlantic Canada. Credit unions have their roots in small communities. In the case of CUA, it started as a credit union for dockyard workers in Halifax, growing to $1.2 billion in assets under management and offering most, if not all, of the services of the major banks in Canada. Credit unions are cooperatives, owned by their members and serving those members as customers. Mullally provides an excellent overview of the advantages and limitations of being much smaller than banks while still offering the same suite of services. It is an interesting look at a unique segment of Canada's financial services market and is highly educational.

Our guest on this week’s episode of the Insights Podcast is Dallas McCready, President & CEO of Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Atlantic Lottery is a collaboration between the four Atlantic Provinces that provides gaming services across the region. Dallas discusses the organization’s mandate and economic impact as it celebrates 50 years in operation. He also discusses the lottery’s expansion into online gaming and sports betting, and how to ensure responsible gaming is maintained in the virtual world.

Our podcast this week features an educational conversation with Dr. Moez Rajwani, the Executive Officer for the Aga Khan Council in Canada representing the interests of the Ismalili community across the country. There are between 100 and 125,000 Ismailis living in Canada. They are part of the Shia Muslim community that follow the Aga Khan as their Iman, the hereditary leader of the Ismailis,and their spiritual leader. There are between 12-15 million Ismailis in the world. The Ismaili community has had a focus on Atlantic Canada in recent years and has held two Atlantic Canada Trade Mission Forums with their communities in Toronto and Vancouver in the last six months or so to highlight the investment opportunities in our region. These forums were well attended and generated significant interest in Atlantic Canada. The alignment of the values of Atlantic Canada to those of the Ismaili community is well recognized by the Aga Khan Council and one of the key reasons for interest in our region.. The Council is also focussed on developing a bigger community of Ismailis in the region and is currently working to bring refugee families to our region and has a well developed strategy to support those resettlement efforts by ensuring access to affordable housing, healthcare, language training as well as assisting in the integration into the local community. These efforts contribute to higher retention rates.