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

Our Insights Podcast with second generation CEO of the Murphy Hospitality Group (MHG) headquartered in Charlottetown, Ben Murphy, reflects the importance of entrepreneurial families in Atlantic Canada. MHG was founded by Ben's father Kevin and his mother Kathy. Kevin's brother, Danny, operates D.P. Murphy MHG, a diversified company with hotels and fast food franchises, while their sister, Mary Jane, is married to Mike Cassidy of the Cassidy Group. Mike was a previous guest on our podcast. The three multi-generational family businesses have closed to 5,000 employees in total.
MHG has evolved into a diversified company that includes accommodations (including a Nordic Spa), restaurants, a brewery, winery and entertainment company. Most would be familiar with the Gahan House and  brand of crafted beer. MHG actually has 15 restaurants in its portfolio and has recently become an equal equity partner in the Benjamin Bridge winery. The company employs between 900 and 1,000 employees during peak season contributing more than $30 million in salaries and wages to the regional economy. The Cavendish Beach Festival and the recently launched Sommo Festival are operated by the family's Whitecap Entertainment and contribute $30 million to the Island's tourism sector annually.

On this week’s Insights podcast, Don and David speak with the new CEO of TechNL, Andrea King. Newfoundland and Labrador’s tech sector is booming. Some of the most interesting tech companies in Canada are based there including Verafin, Kraken Robotics, CoLab Software and Spellbook. The province has led the country in venture capital per capita and the tech sector contributes an estimated $1.8 billion to provincial GDP and supports approximately 10,000 jobs. Andrea provides insights into why tech is thriving and the outlook for the future. The conversation covers everything from the role of immigration to the innovation ecosystem and the potential of data centres and artificial intelligence.

On this week's Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Donnie Fillmore, President & co-owner of Atlantic Pacific Transport about the life and legacy of Wes Armour. Wes took a company of 11 employees in 1968 and by the time he sold it in 2021, Armour Transportation Systems employed nearly 2,000 people and operated 26 freight terminals, with services reaching across Canada and internationally. Donnie, Don and David remember Wes and the importance of ambitious entrepreneurship to our prosperity in Atlantic Canada.
While we had Donnie in the room, we asked for his insight into the state of the truck transportation sector in Atlantic Canada. Worker shortages, regulatory uncertainty and technological change are threatening this important industry - one that employs over 16,000 workers and contributes $1.5 billion to Atlantic Canada's GDP every year.

This week on the Insights podcast, Don and David speak with Michael Brown, author of Back to Prosperity: Awakening Canada’s Next Industrial Giant. Michael was born in the Sussex area but moved away to pursue a career in finance. He came back to put what he has learned to work in Atlantic Canada. He is a prominent tech investor and advocate, and his new book outlines an optimistic vision for innovation-led economic growth across the region. Michael makes the case that Atlantic Canada was once "one of the world's most prosperous and consequential regions" and could be again. His prescription includes shifting the focus from tangible to intangible value creation through scientific discovery and seeing data as the new natural resource. We talk about the innovation ecosystem and the role of government to animate this new prosperous future.
You can find his book through online booksellers or by visiting www.tlt.capital.

This is rebroadcast of a previous episode. This week's Insights Podcast focuses on a recent report prepared by David Campbell for the Public Policy Forum called "Help Wanted: Solving Atlantic Canada’s Growing Labour Challenge". David is a Fellow with the Public Policy Forum as well as the co-host of the Insights Podcast.  In our conversation, he notes that Atlantic Canada will need more than 440,000 new workers by 2035 to replace those retiring and fill new jobs created by economic growth. He points out that 20% of today's workforce in the region are 55 years old or more and will most likely be out of the workforce by 2035. More critically, due to low birth rates and an older population, Atlantic Canada does not have the capacity to produce the workers needed for the future. In fact, the shortfall is nearly 270,000 workers that will have to be attracted to the region from elsewhere. It is a crisis that is already evident. We talk about what needs to happen to address this growing problem.