2024 has been called the year of democracy. It is estimated that more voters than ever in history will head to the polls this year. Democratic elections are happening in at least 64 countries plus the European Union—representing a combined population of about half of the people in the world.
At the time of recording, Canada is not facing a national election, but that may change at any point. Beyond the policies and leaders’ debates, the other thing that goes along with elections is polling. But while polling is a critical element of understanding how elections are shaping up, not all polls are created equally.
To help us understand the ins and outs and wins and losses for public opinion polling is Executive Vice President of Leger, Sebastien Dallaire.
In this episode, Sebastien shares his perspective on the state of public opinion polling today, where he sees the industry going in the future and how changes in telecommunications and citizen habits are impacting public opinion polling.
About our guest:
Sébastien Dallaire is Executive Vice President at Léger, the largest Canadian-owned public opinion research firm. With over twenty-five years of experience in public opinion research, Sébastien is one of Canada’s leading experts when it comes to understanding citizens' and voters' attitudes and behaviours. A seasoned presenter and panelist, he has covered elections on CTV and Global News networks and is Léger’s main bilingual spokesperson for North America.
Additional resources:
In late 2023, a dream team of former elected officials, mayors and chief planners, Indigenous leaders, designers, builders and developers, affordability advocates, and finance and insurance experts came together to create a Task Force for Housing and Climate. This group released their Blueprint for More and Better Housing in March 2024.
This episode we welcome Housing and Climate Task Force co-Chair Don Iveson.
We discuss why addressing Canada’s housing crisis should also include consideration of the climate crisis. We hear how over a hundred recommendations coalesced into a report that is both bold and grounded. We explore why this challenge motivated Don and his colleagues on the Task Force to try and set the floor for climate and housing discussions.
About our guest:
Don served as Edmonton’s Mayor from 2013 until 2021, and Chair of Canada’s Big City Mayors for 5 years. Since retiring from City Hall, he’s worked part-time with Co-Operators as Executive Advisor for Climate Investing and Community Resilience. He also operates Civic Good, an advisory practice focused on climate resilience, housing innovation, and civic innovation projects with clients ranging from startups to governments. He’s a member of the Expert Panel on Adaptation at the Canadian Climate Institute, is Co-Chair of the Task Force for Housing and Climate, and serves as Board Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
Additional resources:
https://housingandclimate.ca/blueprint/
https://civicgood.substack.com/p/a-blueprint-for-housing-and-climate
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/product/work-in-progress/
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/product/canadas-housing-affordability-challenge-plenty-of-questions-some-answers-jan2024/
During Black History Month in Canada, we celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities. We highlight Black Canadians’ role in making Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous country it is. We also acknowledge the work that remains to be done in addressing anti-Black racism in our society.
This episode we welcome Dr. Denise O’Neil Green. For over 30 years, Dr. Green, a published author and award-winning expert has applied her visionary approach to equity, diversity and inclusion, anti-racism, organizational change and transformational leadership to organizations.
We explore the evolution of the role of diversity leader throughout her career and note the challenges that persist today. Dr. Green provides advice on the skills and traits to look for when recruiting diversity officers and offers guidance to candidates considering taking on diversity, equity and inclusion roles.
We discuss Canada’s ongoing journey to address anti-Black racism and how projects like the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women Initiative help to spotlight the many contributions of Black leaders.
About our guest:
Dr. Denise O’Neil Green is an internationally recognized expert in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and transformational leadership. She is President and Principal Consultant of Denise O’Neil Green Consulting. With 30 years of experience, she has worked across different sectors and is Creator of InstitutionalDiversityBlog.com, reaching 100 countries.
As Executive Vice-President, she founded the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership, Adult and Higher Education, University of Toronto and Co-Founder of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women Project.
She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Additional resources:
When Joshua Gans and his co-authors released their book Prediction Machines in 2018, they were writing about a topic that seemed quite niche. At this time, machine learning was just starting out. In the last year, the speed at which artificial intelligence has advanced has surprised almost everyone.
In this conversation, we hear how the analytical framework that he and his colleagues developed helps to sort through the hype. He argues artificial intelligence is best thought of as a prediction machine. You’ll hear why he’s optimistic that artificial intelligence will be able to help people remove some of the drudgery from some jobs, but at this time, doesn’t seem likely to take over full jobs. He’ll share how understanding artificial intelligence as an advance in predictive statistics will help leaders assess how artificial intelligence may or may not be useful.
About our guest:
Joshua Gans is a Professor of Strategic Management and holder of the Jeffrey S. Skoll Chair of Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School of Management, the University of Toronto (with a cross-appointment in the Department of Economics). Joshua is also Chief Economist of the University of Toronto's Creative Destruction Lab. Prior to 2011, he was the foundation Professor of Management (Information Economics) at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne and before that, he was at the School of Economics, University of New South Wales.
At Rotman, he teaches MBA students entrepreneurial strategy. He has also co-authored (with Stephen King and Robin Stonecash) the Australasian edition of Greg Mankiw's Principles of Economics (published by Cengage), Core Economics for Managers (Cengage), Finishing the Job (MUP), Parentonomics (New South/MIT Press) and Information Wants to be Shared (Harvard Business Review Press) and The Disruption Dilemma (MIT Press, 2016);
Canada’s labour force isn’t growing fast enough to keep up with the aging population. On one hand we have a labour supply challenge. But, on the other hand the workers we do have don’t always have the skill sets that we need today, but particularly into the future.
My guests this episode are both actively working to reshape our skills development and labour market preparedness for students today so that they can fill the labour market demands of tomorrow. We explore how educational institutions are evolving to better equip students for workplaces and how better relationships between employers, educators and the K-12 system are starting to reshape how skills are taught and how people can gain a better understanding of the career options that are available to them.
About our guests:
Dr. Jane Goodyer is Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University in Toronto. As chief academic and administrative officer, Jane leads an inclusive community of engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs toward achieving Lassonde’s strategic academic goals.
Before joining Lassonde, she worked at Massey University, New Zealand, in various leadership roles, including Head of the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology. Having led New Zealand’s first Degree Apprenticeship pilot program, she’s now introducing this extraordinary first in Canada.
Jane is driven to make education more accessible, advancing women and other underrepresented groups in engineering while breaking down systemic barriers.
Ian Howcroft is the CEO of Skills Ontario, an organization dedicated to promoting careers in the skilled trades and technologies. Previously, Howcroft was the Ontario Vice President of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, a company he worked with for nearly three decades.
He earned an L.L.B from Western University, as well as an Honours B.A. in History and Political Science from McMaster University.
Additional links:
https://lassonde.yorku.ca/digital-technologies
www.skillsontario.com
Today’s generation feels maligned by the press and often ignored by politics. Priced out of home ownership, dealing with the growing impact of climate change, and criticized for not appreciating that life is hard and always has been—life doesn’t seem fair for young people in Canada.
But my guest this episode is bringing evidence, passion and a clarity of perspective to reveal the real ways in which life truly is harder for today’s younger generation. How hard work just isn’t paying off the way it did for previous generations—particularly for those who count themselves in the baby boom generation.
Through the Generation Squeeze think and change tank, Dr. Paul Kershaw is shedding light on the concrete ways that our fiscal realities are skewed against younger Canadians. We discuss the disparities between the perceptions of seniors and the challenges faced by young people today. We dive into the topics that exemplify these gaps in experiences and lived opportunities between generations.
Intergenerational solidarity is a central theme of Generation Squeeze, and Dr. Kershaw highlights the organization's success in fostering cross-generational understanding of these critical issues. We explore the importance of involving seniors in creating a more thoughtful approach to policy and financial structures.
About our guest:
Dr. Paul Kershaw is an award-winning professor at the University of BC, public speaker, regular media contributor and Founder of Generation Squeeze. Gen Squeeze is Canada’s leading voice on generational fairness. His work has directly influenced many policy areas, including $10/day childcare, the National Housing Strategy, pollution pricing, taxation of housing wealth, and commitments to generational fairness. Kershaw is the Director of the Masters of Public Health Program in the UBC School of Population & Public Health.
Additional links:
Generation Squeeze
Gen Squeeze’s Hard Truths Podcast
Conference Board of Canada: Inequality in Canada: Separating Fact from Fiction
Conference Board of Canada: 2023 Federal Budget Analysis
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other large language model AI have brought the long-standing promises of artificial intelligence to fruition.
ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, accumulating millions of users worldwide. However, this tool and others like it are being met with trepidation and fear by many AI pioneers.
To help us make sense of these developments and their implications is Valérie Pisano, President and CEO of Mila, the Quebec Institute of Artificial Intelligence.
In this episode, you’ll hear why AI leaders are calling for a temporary pause on further AI development. We also consider the implications of these tools for workplaces and workers. Additionally, we delve into the unique opportunity we have in the coming months to set a path for responsible AI development, leveraging Canadian ingenuity and a deep respect for humanity.
About our guest:
Valérie Pisano holds the position of President and CEO of Mila, the Quebec Institute of Artificial Intelligence, since May 2018. With more than 15 years of experience in talent management, leadership, diversity and organizational dynamics, she works to promote the Quebec AI and technology ecosystem by getting involved on the boards of directors of Forum IAQuébec and the Montreal chapter of the Human Technology Foundation as well as on the executive committee of the DHDP health data valuation platform. In addition, she is particularly interested in initiatives to promote the feminization of leadership in Quebec. A mother of three daughters, she was CEO of Talent at Cirque du Soleil and co-founded the Mobius Project on exploring unconscious bias towards women. She began her career with the firm McKinsey after completing a master's degree in economics at HEC Montréal.
Additional Links:
Read about the impact MILA is having:
https://mila.quebec/en/mila-impact/
Conference Board of Canada research “Digital Occupation Pathways: From Vulnerable Jobs to Rapid-Growth Careers”
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/product/digital-occupation-pathways/
The Conference Board of Canada’s Innovation Report Card
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/innovation-report-card-2021/
The history of humanity is a history of movement.
Today, movements of people from one place to another are subject to severe political and social constraints.
Our guest this episode has spent a good portion of his life creating supports for people who are fleeing human rights or environmental disasters.
Dr. Lloyd Axworthy joins us to share what he and others at the World Refugee & Migration Council see as the great need for reform in our treatment of refugees in Canada and around the world. We discuss how Canada’s generally positive political and social approach has helped our country take the lead in creating new and innovative ways to support refugees.
We also discuss how the global crisis of displaced people is putting increasing pressure on governments and international institutions to respond more effectively in the coming years.
About our guest:
The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy is the chair of the World Refugee & Migration Council and one of Canada’s leading voices on global migration and refugee protection. After a 27-year political career, where he served as Canada’s minister of Foreign Affairs and minister of Employment and Immigration, among other postings, Mr. Axworthy has continued to work extensively on human security, refugee protection and human rights in Canada and abroad. He was presented with the Pearson Peace Medal by the Governor General of Canada in May 2017 and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. In his term as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, Mr. Axworthy initiated innovative programs for migrant and aboriginal youth communities, and has also done a great deal of work on refugee reform as a Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at Germany’s Robert Bosch Academy.
Additional Links:
Report: A Renewed Call to Action - World Refugee & Migration Council https://wrmcouncil.org/publications/renewed-call-to-action/
World Refugee & Migration Council (WRMC) - wrmcouncil.org
WRMC Resources on Repurposing Assets for the Forcibly Displaced - wrmcouncil.org/FARA
North and Central American Task Force on Migration - wrmcouncil.org/TaskForce
Professor Tracy Bear is a well-known researcher focusing on Indigenous knowledge, resilience and embedding research in true partnerships with communities. In 2021, she was appointed director of the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians got to know Professor Bear through her role as academic lead of “Indigenous Canada”—a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed to help Canadians understand the history of Indigenous Peoples. Since its inception in 2016, the course has grown from twenty thousand to more than four hundred and sixty thousand learners and has been named the most popular online course in Canada.
In our conversation Tracy talks about how Canadians need to face the uncomfortable truths of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples. We also need to understand that the impacts of these uncomfortable truths continue to impact Indigenous families and communities to this day.
Ultimately, you will hear that Tracy is optimistic that greater understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing will help us all move forward and enrich our lives.
If you’re someone affected by residential schools and you need help, the number for the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1-866-925-4419.
About our guest:
Savage (Tracy) Bear is a rabble-rouser, Nehiyaw’iskwew (Cree woman) and member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan. She is the Director for the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) and an Assistant Professor for the Indigenous Studies Department at McMaster. She is also the new incoming National Director of Walls to Bridges (W2B) a prison education program in Canada. Before coming to McMaster, Bear worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, where she was the Director of the Indigenous Women & Youth Resilience Project and the Academic Lead on “Indigenous Canada,” a highly successful online course boasting over 450,000 learners.
Additional Links
Take the Indigenous Canada course https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada
Explore the work of the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) https://miri.mcmaster.ca/
Learn about Walls to Bridges http://wallstobridges.ca/
Learn more about reconciliation at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, https://nctr.ca/
Find our research on Indigenous and Northern communities here: https://conferenceboard.ca/focus-areas/indigenous-northern-communities
Listen to our other podcasts at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts
You can find all of our research here: https://www.conferenceboard.ca/
In May 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, Canadian Nicholas André G. Johnson broke new ground as Princeton’s first Black valedictorian. In over 274 years, no other Black student had been recognized in this way by the institution, making Nicholas a ground breaker and as we’ll hear—a mentor to other Black professionals forging their path through academic and professional settings.
Nicholas talks about the experience of being the first Black valedictorian and the intense media attention he received from both American and Canadian press. He shares how his passion for technology and for building connects to what he sees as his life’s work—creating value in the world.
We also discuss how organizations can engage Black professionals to bring their authentic selves into the workplace. Conference Board of Canada research found that Black Canadians had the highest rate of feeling like they needed to adjust their identity in a corporate setting. A concerning finding since almost half of the Black respondents said they needed to engage in code switching to fit in.
Finally, Nicholas shares his advice for following your passions, building a community, and connecting with others to make a difference in the world.
About our guest:
Nicholas André G. Johnson has engaged in machine learning research at MIT, Princeton University, Oxford University and the Montreal Institute of Learning Algorithms. He is currently a PhD student at MIT and a Researcher in Residence at Bain Capital Crypto. Nicholas holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. He was the Valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2020 and is the University’s first Black Valedictorian. Nicholas has previously been featured by the New York Times, CNN, ABC News, Time and BET. As a professional speaker, Nicholas is an advocate for educational attainment in marginalized communities and increased representation in STEM industries.
Additional information can be found:
https://www.nicholasagjohnson.com/
Access all our research at www.conferenceboard.ca
The war in Ukraine brought the country and its people to the forefront of international attention. Every day more and more people are seeking to help Ukrainians to end the war and to recover from the damage that is being inflicted.
Dr. Marnie Howlett has dedicated her life to understanding—and helping others understand—how Ukraine and its people view their country and their unique position as a borderland between Europe and Russia.
She joins us this episode to provide a deeper understanding of how Ukraine’s history, its complexities and its realities on the ground have helped to shape the war and are fueling the Ukrainian resistance.
About our guest:
Marnie Howlett is a Departmental Lecturer in Politics at the University of Oxford. She completed her PhD in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2021. She holds a BA (High Honours) in International Studies (2015) and a MA in Political Science (2017) from the University of Saskatchewan. She has held Fellowships supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies, and the Shevchenko Foundation of Canada. Marnie has previously served as a legislative intern with the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly and as an international electoral observer with CANADEM during Ukraine’s three most recent elections.
Marnie has provided a number of links to organizations and sources of additional information about Ukraine listed below.
Two notable organizations supporting Ukraine with direct ties to Saskatchewan include:
A Live Working Document of Various Organizations that are Supporting Civilians and the Armed Forces on the Ground in Ukraine (Google Doc Link)
Some reputable Ukrainian news sources (in English) include:
Book - Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder
Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine
And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has shaken the foundation of international relations. In many ways this war feels like déjà vu—a land war in Europe, a larger power attempting to overtake another smaller country for its own gains. But in other ways this war is unprecedented. Professor Jane Boulden joins us this episode to help make sense of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the international order, on the United Nations and on how this war has eroded the rules-based order that we thought governed international relations.
About our guest:
Jane Boulden is a Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and cross-appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University. From 2004–2014, she held a Canada Research Chair in International Relations and Security Studies. From 2000 until 2004, she was a MacArthur Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford. She works in the areas of superpower politics, nuclear weapons, conflict management, the United Nations and Canadian foreign policy.
Additional information can be found here:
https://rmc-ca.academia.edu/JaneBoulden
https://www.emporia.app/users/janeboulden
Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine
And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves around the world and Canada is not immune. Join the Conference Board of Canada’s economic forecasting team as they discuss how this conflict will impact Canadian producers, government, and consumers. They will also discuss opportunities for Canada to build on its special relationship with the people of Ukraine to play a bigger role in post-war rebuilding.
About our guests:
Pedro Antunes is the Chief Economist and primary spokesperson at The Conference Board of Canada. He provides insights and general direction for the Board’s economic products, including reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions and sectors. Pedro provides media interviews in English and French as well as expert testimony before parliamentary and senate committees. He is widely sought for speaking engagements and presentations to industry leaders and decision-makers on a broad range of issues and topics that impact Canadians.
Pedro started his professional career in 1987 with the Canadian forecast team at the Bank of Canada, joining the Board in 1991 as part of the provincial forecast team. Over time, he had responsibility for the economic analysis of different provinces and sectors. He also worked on several international projects to help decision-makers in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Ukraine develop appropriate forecasting and policy analysis tools. Among other topics, Pedro has researched the impact of Canada’s demographic change on labour markets, the fiscal sustainability of health care, productivity, and long-term economic growth.
Ted Mallett is the Director of the Economic Forecasting team at The Conference Board of Canada. Ted is responsible for the strategic direction of this Knowledge Area, as well as its day-to-day operations. He oversees the planning and production of regular forecast publications at the national, provincial, metro, and industry levels.
Ted is a nationally recognized economist with more than three decades of experience in economic policy analysis and forecasting. He is known for producing innovative and unique insights in areas not often covered by traditional sources of data. As a frequent contributor to media and a member of several senior advisory bodies to governments, Ted is adept at identifying, anticipating, and articulating emerging trends and challenges leaders will face in our economy.
Sohaib Shahid is the Director, Economic Innovation at The Conference Board of Canada. As part of CBoC’s Economic Forecasting Knowledge Area, Sohaib leads the Economic Innovation Team and their new economic product research and development initiatives.
Sohaib is an economic thought leader with experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the Board, he was a Senior Economist at TD Bank leading TD’s global economic forecast. He also worked as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC. At both organizations, Sohaib worked on a wide variety of economic issues for a diverse set of countries.
Sohaib holds a MA and a PhD in Economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine
And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca.
Decisions about our communities are made based on data. That data comes from many places, but these days, a lot of it comes from what we do and the decisions we make. Over the course of the pandemic, our actions changed dramatically. Having local, current data meant decision-makers were able to target their reactions to the communities that needed them most.
But could we have done better? Do our new sources of information play well with our old sources? Rupen Seoni, Chief Revenue Officer, Environics Analytics, joins us this episode to talk about how governments and organizations can use new and old data sources to make better decisions.
Find Rupen on Twitter: @RupenSeoni and LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rupenseoni/.
Find Environics Analytics on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/environics-analytics.
Watch Rupen talk more about Environics Analytics’ research: MobileScapes in Your COVID Response Toolkit (YouTube).
Read about Environics Analytics helping the City of Toronto understand people’s movement behaviours: Toronto Lockdown Shopper and Recreational Movement (environicsanalytics.com).
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
More than five years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report, progress on the 94 calls to action has been slow. But are Canadians starting to finally understand the truth of how Indigenous Peoples have been treated in this country?
Reconciliation is a long journey. Knowing the truth is just the first step.
The head of that commission, The Honourable Murray Sinclair, joins us this episode to talk about new laws in Canada that recognize Indigenous rights, the next phase in his storied career, and why he’s optimistic that things can be different than how they were.
If you’re someone affected by residential schools and you need help, the number for the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1-866-925-4419. Additional mental health supports can be found at Crisis Services Canada.
Find Murray Sinclair on Facebook @Sincmurr1951.
Learn more about reconciliation at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, nctr.ca.
Find our research on Indigenous and Northern communities here: conferenceboard.ca/focus-areas/indigenous-northern-communities.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
What do you do when your technology trips you up more than it helps you out? In 2014, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation found itself with a collection of legacy technologies that were getting in employees’ way and limiting the organization’s impact.
Initially, they thought it was just a technology issue. Turns out, they needed more than just a contractor to move them to the cloud—they needed a partner who could help them find a new approach.
This episode, Amélie Lecompte, CMHC’s VP and Deputy Chief Information Officer, and Mark Lambert, Canada Federal Public Service Lead at Accenture, share the journey they took to overhaul CMHC’s technology and their discovery that tech change is also people change.
Read more about the CMHC case study on Accenture’s website or in Policy Options.
Find Amélie on Twitter, @LecompteAmelie, and on LinkedIn.
Mark can also be found on Twitter, @markdlambert, and LinkedIn.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
“Comply or explain” disclosure requirements were intended to improve women’s representation at the top of Canada’s major organizations. Five years later, the ratio of women on corporate boards has improved, but is it thanks to the disclosure requirements? Dr. Susan Black, CEO of The Conference Board of Canada, and Rob Davis, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at KPMG in Canada, talk to us about the pace of change for women’s representation and opportunities to increase diversity in Canadian boardrooms.
Both of this episode’s guests can be found on LinkedIn: Susan at linkedin.com/in/susanlblack, and Rob at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdaviskpmg.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
Refugees bring very few “things” with them when they arrive in Canada, but they don’t arrive empty-handed. They bring experiences, perspective, passion, and fresh ideas.
When Tareq Hadhad left war-torn Syria and settled in Nova Scotia with his family, he brought a delicious path to peace, prosperity, and community. The founder of Peace by Chocolate joins us to talk about Canada’s immigration and refugee system, entrepreneurship, and being a newcomer in a small town.
Find Tareq on Twitter (@TareqHadhad), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/tareqhadhad), and Facebook (facebook.com/tareqhadhadofficial).
Find Peace by Chocolate on their website (peacebychocolate.ca/), Twitter (@Peacebychoco), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/peace-by-chocolate), and Facebook (facebook.com/peacebychocolate/).
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
Policies need to make sense with how people and businesses already operate. Otherwise, they won’t work. Knowing how people make decisions can help policies make sense to the people they’re supposed to support. A misplaced nudge can sometimes feel like a shove.
Policies work better when they line up with how people already make their decisions. Sasha Tregebov, Director of Behavioural Insights Team’s Canada office, joins us to talk about how creating the right policies can help us to recover better.
Find Sasha on Twitter @s_tregebov and on LinkedIn.
Learn more about the Behavioural Insights Team: www.bi.team/our-work/covid-19/
Environmental sustainability is one of the most pressing concerns of our time. And while this is something most of us can agree on, turning that consensus into action is more difficult. If we want to make progress on our climate targets, we need to work smarter. One tool policy-makers and organizations are turning to is psychology. If we know how people come to their decisions, we can design policies that help them make good decisions on their own.
Our guest this episode felt compelled to put psychology to use in sustainability; she sees it as a behavioural problem as much as an environmental problem. Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Sustainability, talks with us about how to nudge people to better decisions.
See more of Dr. Zhao’s research at lab: https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca.
Find her on Twitter @jiayingzhao.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
Using data to make decisions—either by a person or by a machine—has become a big part of our lives over the past couple of decades. Our lawmakers have tried to keep up, but innovation will likely always outpace bureaucracy. And, in a world where most of us have clicked “I have read the terms and conditions” even when we haven’t, the implications of out-of-date privacy laws could become serious.
In November, the federal government introduced the Digital Charter Implementation Act to try to better protect Canadians and their privacy. This update to Canada’s privacy laws is overdue, but will it do what it sets out to? Shaun Brown, lawyer and privacy expert, helps us understand the proposed new laws and what they might mean to you.
Find Shaun on LinkedIn, or through the nNovation LLP website, nnovation.com, or on Twitter @nNovationllp.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
November 11 is a time of reflection. A time to remember the struggles and sacrifice that have gone into building this country. Margaret MacMillan, bestselling author and professor of history, reminds us in her new book, War: How Conflict Shaped Us, that we are all shaped by war.
They say we can either learn from our history or be doomed to repeat it. And while history never really repeats itself, according to Margaret, it does echo. Understanding history helps us to spot the parallels today—and avoid the pitfalls of the past.
For Margaret, Remembrance Day is a moment to consider how we think about war itself, and the ways in which it has changed us as nations and as individuals.
Learn more about Margaret MacMillan by visiting: www.margaretmacmillan.com
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
As a journalist in the ‘90s, John Stackhouse spent many years living overseas meeting and interviewing interesting people. Many of them were his fellow Canadians. He discovered that expats are keen to help their home country. When he returned, however, he found people were concerned over the number of people leaving the country—the perceived “brain drain.”
John says that’s the wrong way to think about it. Canada’s diaspora is not a brain drain, it’s brain circulation. As people wear their maple leaves around the world, they’re building networks of insight and goodwill for Canada. But Canada doesn’t seem ready to take advantage of that network. There’s no system for connecting with that network; no way for organizations here to ask their foreign compatriots what’s happening in their local market.
John recognizes the importance of networks and points out some prominent ones that are reshaping our society for the 21st Century. He says the global experience our expats are gaining will be critical in the coming decades. We just need a strategy for Canada’s “11th province” to join the Confederation.
Find John on LinkedIn @John Stackhouse and Twitter @StackhouseJohn.
Listen to John’s take on the pandemic on his podcast, RBC Disruptors.
Find John’s new book, Planet Canada, at Penguin Random House Canada.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
How can we keep the second wave from turning into a second lockdown?
Viruses spread when people spend time in close quarters, so lockdowns are good at slowing their transmission. But they come with a cost—a reality we know well, and don’t want to repeat.
Dr. Susy Hota is an infectious disease physician and medical director of infection prevention and control at University Health Network. She joins us this episode to talk about what we’ve learned since the outbreak began. She’s concerned that our pandemic fatigue may be contributing to the disease’s resurgence.
The mental and physical health consequences of the pandemic and efforts to curb it are very real. As is the economic damage. Dr. Hota says we need to remain vigilant and focused on controlling the pandemic to tame the second wave. To avoid a second lockdown, we need to make better use of the tools we already have: distance, hygiene, and masks.
We talk about how the pandemic has taught us what is important, as well as how it exposed areas that need attention. She says that we should focus on our common goal to get through the coming winter: short-term pain for long-term gain.
Find Dr. Hota on Twitter @HotaSusy and LinkedIn @Susy-Hota.
Follow Infection Prevention and Control Department at University Health Network on Twitter @ipacuhn
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
Technology has been affecting how we make a living since we first started using tools. Never before, though, has technology changed as quickly as it does today. As artificial intelligence becomes more common in our everyday tasks, we can expect even more disruption: No longer will a human be the smartest entity in the room.
This disruption goes beyond just how we work. According to this episode’s guest, the traditional “learn, work, retire” career path is dead.
Futurist, writer, and entrepreneur, Sinead Bovell founded WAYE—Weekly Advice for Young Entrepreneurs—in 2018 to help youth prepare for the digital world they are coming of age in. Already, there is a gap in the skills people have and those organizations need. As technology advances, that gap will only increase. Sinead says the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that our digital infrastructure in not sustainable. We need people with diverse skill sets to tackle our wicked problems, and systems that allow us to continue learning new skills.
She’s brought this up at the UN and to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and has written about it for The Globe and Mail, Vogue, and WIRED. In this episode of Bright Future, she talks to us about how people can prepare for artificial intelligence in their own jobs, the importance of diversity in technology, how governments and schools can be ready for advanced tech, and the most important skill we’ve all been practicing already: adaptability.
Find Sinead on LinkedIn @sineadbovell, on Instagram @sineadbovell, on Twitter @sineadbovell, and at her website, sineadbovell.com.
Learn more about WAYE at wayetalks.com.
The Conference Board has research on social and emotional skills through our Education & Skills focus area and the Future Skills Centre.
Listen to our other podcasts at conferenceboard.ca/insights/podcasts.
You can find all of our research here: conferenceboard.ca/.
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