Down to Business
210 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★ - 5 ratingsWhat you need to know about Canadian business this week in under 30 minutes. Hosted by the Financial Post's Gabe Friedman.
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Episodes
Death of the office, no. But there will be an evolution: RioCan CEO
June 09, 2021 07:00 - 16 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Financial Post's Larysa Harapyn talks to RioCan CEO Jonathan Gitlin about how the pandemic is changing the commercial real estate landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Canadian restaurants closed for more than 365 days suffer in 'lost year of business'
June 02, 2021 07:00 - 17 minutesAs we look forward to a summer of possibly "getting back to normal," businesses struggle with the prospect of reopening, only to close again. In this first of a two-part series on reopening, Down to Business talks to Todd Barclay, CEO of Restaurant Brands Canada, about the impact and outlook for one of the economy's hardest hit sectors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Working from home and the office not as easy as you might think
May 26, 2021 07:00 - 14 minutesThis week Down to Business talks to workplace expert Doron Melnick who says a hybrid between working from home and in the office could be the best of both worlds. But before we get there employers need to address the challenges of integrating a workforce that's partially onsite and at home, including the biases that can bring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Myths about Canada's pandemic 'recession': Sprott School of Business' Ian Lee
May 19, 2021 07:00 - 17 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Ian Lee, an associate professor of Management at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, offers his passionate take on how Canada has squandered precious resources on a recession that wasn't a recession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why everybody is stressing out about rare earth metals
May 12, 2021 07:00 - 21 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Neo Performance Materials CEO Constantine Karayannopoulos talks about brewing international tensions over rare earths and why we need them for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ESG 'fantasy' distracts from real climate change fight, says former Blackrock insider
May 05, 2021 07:00 - 21 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Tariq Fancy, the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at Blackrock, explains how he became a cynic about ESG investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How 'urban mining' could someday replace pulling minerals from the ground
April 28, 2021 07:00 - 16 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Li-Cycle's Ajay Kochar talks about the race to remake the North American recycling landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Forget bubbles, Canada has a housing affordability crisis: Frances Donald
April 21, 2021 07:00 - 29 minutesHigh home prices and child care costs hurt Canada more than people think, economically hampering our next generation of workers and spenders, warns Manulife's chief economist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Days are numbered for fossil-fuel cars. Is Canada ready?
April 14, 2021 07:00 - 19 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Brian Kingston, president and chief executive of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, and Benjamin Sharpe, a senior researcher and Canada Regional Lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation, based in California, talk about what lies ahead for the auto industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
'Amazing economic opportunity for Canada' in Biden's green plan
April 07, 2021 07:00 - 19 minutesThis week on Down to Business Clean Energy Canada's Sarah Petrevan talks about the economic imperative of nations going green. Canada, she says, is uniquely positioned to benefit from U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to transition to a low-carbon economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Watch for more fallout as tensions between China and the West mount
March 31, 2021 07:00 - 14 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Wesley Wark, an expert on national security and intelligence, explores the nature of Canada’s tensions with China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
CP's 'historic and transformational' merger could be the last of the big rail deals
March 24, 2021 07:00 - 22 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, it’s a story about creating the first transcontinental railroad, the corporate titans who invest in rail, the North American supply chains and trade they serve and about Hunter Harrison, who transformed the industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
'Big, big changes' in the pipeline as COVID accelerates green shift
March 17, 2021 07:00 - 16 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Jumana Saleheen, chief economist for the commodity research firm CRU, talks about the impacts, paradoxes and opportunities in the transition away from fossil fuels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pandemic showed the inability of the world to act globally: Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow
March 10, 2021 08:00 - 25 minutesThis week on Down to Business, to mark PDAC's virtual mining conference, Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow explains why he does not think the crisis is over and how the gold industry still has a lot of work to do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Buttergate, the Canadian dairy controversy that swept the world
March 03, 2021 08:00 - 19 minutesThis week Down to Business talks to Sylvain Charlebois, professor and director at the Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab, about 'Buttergate,' the hard butter controversy that cast a global spotlight on Canada's dairy business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
COVID-weary Canada should brace for 'worst wave of them all' in April
February 24, 2021 08:00 - 27 minutesThis week Down to Business looks at how we are coping with the pandemic one year on and the challenges of vaccine rollout in Canada, perhaps the single biggest issue right now affecting the economic recovery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Alberta's old oil wells could feed the world's growing hunger for lithium
February 17, 2021 08:00 - 17 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Chris Doornbros explains how his company Calgary-based E3 Metals is working on technology to extract lithium from old oil and gas reservoirs in Alberta, and how this process could help revolutionize the way we use energy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brace yourself for 'very dismal' economic numbers, then a rush for restaurant reservations
February 10, 2021 08:00 - 20 minutesDeloitte chief economist Craig Alexander talks about what lies ahead as we battle a second wave of the coronavirus and how the pandemic's legacy will be deep economic scars, but also opportunities and innovation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Market manipulation or David vs Goliath? Unpacking the Reddit trader phenomenon
February 03, 2021 08:00 - 30 minutesThis week on Down to Business, host Gabriel Friedman talks to two financial experts with very different takes on the wild run-up in stocks brought on by Reddit message boards and online trading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
David Dodge on the challenges ahead for Canada's post-COVID economy
January 27, 2021 08:00 - 18 minutesThis week on Down to Business, economist David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada, talks about missed opportunities during the pandemic and how the government now must find a way to invest money so that it increases the country’s productivity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
'Real potential for on-going terrorist acts' in wake of Washington insurrection: expert
January 20, 2021 08:00 - 12 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Carleton political science professor Laura Macdonald talks about the angry mobs storming the Capitol and what U.S. instability means for Canada, and for the North American regional economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Outlook for the economy brighter than many think: CIBC's Royce Mendes
January 13, 2021 08:00 - 20 minutesThis week on Down to Business CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes tells us why he is more optimistic than many of his peers and how the economic recovery is already within sight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How COVID will change how small business is conducted (Andy Yan)
December 23, 2020 08:00 - 16 minutesThis week on Down to Business Andy Yan of Simon Fraser University, who has earned a reputation as a keen observer of trends in real estate and small business, talks about how the pandemic has interrupted, accelerated and amplified trends and what our economy and cities could look like once we come out the other side. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hoping 'this nightmare will be over soon': On the frontlines of a restaurant in the pandemic
December 16, 2020 08:00 - 18 minutesOn this week’s episode of Down to Business, Trevor David, the owner, and self-described “chief cook and bottlewasher” at The Art of BBQ smokehouse in locked-down Toronto, describes how restaurants who have had their business cut by more than half in the pandemic are struggling to survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 'inspiration and anxiety' of running a high-risk meat business during a pandemic (Michael McCain)
December 09, 2020 08:00 - 22 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain, a billionaire known for his ability to handle a crisis, says 2020 has generated new levels of anxiety and inspiration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The best way to get people the help they need in a pandemic
December 02, 2020 08:00 - 19 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Shari Eli, an economist at the University of Toronto, explains what history says about the long-term effects of welfare and work programs and talks about the recovery from the pandemic and who is affected most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Misconceptions about the COVID vaccines now hitting the headlines
November 25, 2020 08:00 - 20 minutesThis week on Down To Business, Tom Blackwell, a reporter for the National Post, talks about how we are not getting the whole story on the new COVID-19 vaccines and how it’s a mistake to think they can end the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Canada could be stuck with holdovers from Trump for a long time
November 18, 2020 08:00 - 22 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Meredith Lilly, a former trade adviser for Stephen Harper, discusses how Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. has evolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stephen Poloz on interest rates, our oil industry and the K-shaped recovery
November 11, 2020 08:00 - 34 minutesThis week on Down to Business, the former governor of the Bank of Canada talks about the state of Canada’s affairs, including its economic recovery and any potential impacts from the U.S. election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What went wrong with Ontario's COVID-19 testing
November 04, 2020 08:00 - 22 minutesOn this week’s Down to Business, the National Post's Richard Warnica talks about how the province has not been able to meet its testing needs and the lack of foresight behind it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How luxury parka maker Canada Goose filled a critical need in the pandemic
October 28, 2020 07:00 - 24 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Dani Reiss, chief executive of Canada Goose, talks about how his company stepped up when the country found itself facing a critical shortage of personal protective equipment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unpacking the ugly conflict over lobster fisheries in Nova Scotia
October 21, 2020 07:00 - 26 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Dalhousie’s Megan Bailey sets the record straight on the historical, legal and environmental facts of the dispute that has sparked shocking violence in southern Nova Scotia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Will Canada's housing friendly recession last? (With Benjamin Tal, CIBC Deputy Chief Economist)
October 14, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesThis week on Down To Business, Gabriel Friedman talks to CIBC Deputy Chief Economist Bejamin Tal about how high housing prices in the middle of one of the worst recessions in history have exposed Canada’s income inequality crisis and where the housing market is going from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oil’s demise will be more gradual than many imagine (Daniel Yergin)
October 07, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesThis week on Down To Business, Gabriel Friedman talks to pulitzer prize-winning analyst Daniel Yergin on the future of energy and Canada’s oilsands and how pipelines have become the new political battleground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Canada can pull from behind the curve to a world leader in EVs
September 30, 2020 07:00 - 15 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Cedric Smith, an analyst at the clean energy think tank, Pembina Institute, talks about the opportunities for this country in the green economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oil and Blood: Saudi Arabia's crown prince poses a challenge for the West (with journalist and author Justin Scheck)
September 23, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesThis week, on Down to Business, Justin Scheck, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and co-author of Blood and Oil, a new book about Saudi Arabia, discusses how the oil-rich nation is trying to diversify its economy. The book takes a closer look at Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has been making huge bets on tech companies with money from the country's oil revenues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How consumer behaviour has changed during COVID-19 (Economist Anindya Sen)
September 16, 2020 07:00 - 18 minutesThe last recession gave birth to the gig economy, in which companies like Airbnb and Uber convinced people to monetize their houses and cars. COVID will make changes too, in commerce and beyond. This week, on Down to Business, Anindya Sen, an economist at the University of Waterloo, talks about how consumer behavior has changed during the pandemic and how that in turn could change our economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why the world’s resource king is so interested in Saskatchewan
September 09, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesBHP Group, one of the world’s largest mining corporations, is known for iron ore and copper, petroleum and coal, not potash. But that may be changing. This week on Down to Business, host Gabriel Friedman talks to BHP’s new chief executive Mike Henry about the mega-miner’s interest in mining potash in Saskatchewan and how climate change is changing the commodities game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Conflicting data show this recession is anything but normal
September 02, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutesDespite a record drop in economic activity, 2020 is set to be a bumper year for growth in disposal income — what gives? This week on Down to Business host Gabriel Friedman talks to Conference Board of Canada chief economist Pedro Antunes about the unusual nature of this recession and the speed and quality of the economic recovery so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Chrystia Freeland brings to the table as Canada’s finance minister
August 26, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutesCanada’s finance minister Bill Morneau abruptly resigned last week in the middle of one of worst economic crises since the Second World War. His replacement, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, has strong experience on Parliament Hill but less on Bay Street. To help break down the news, Down to Business interviewed Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at Scotiabank, who has been keeping a close eye on the state of Canada’s recovery. Learn more about your ad choice...
What record high gold prices mean for mining companies in Canada (with Agnico Eagle Mines CEO Sean Boyd)
July 29, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesOn this week’s Down to Business, host Gabriel Friedman speaks with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. CEO Sean Boyd about what it’s been like to run a gold company amid a pandemic and record gold prices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What the decision whether to reopen schools this fall means for the recovery — podcast
July 22, 2020 07:00 - 18 minutesOn this week’s Down to Business, as part of our series on Reopening Canada, Clementine Van Effenterre, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto, talks about how the pandemic is affecting working families and what that means for the economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How consumer behaviours are changing as a result of the pandemic (with Ernie Johannson, BMO Financial Group)
July 15, 2020 07:00 - 14 minutesOn this week’s Down to Business, Ernie Johannson, group head of personal and business banking in North America for BMO Financial Group, speaks to host Gabriel Friedman about shifting consumer habits and describes the initial challenges of trying to stabilize bank operations during a financial crisis and a health pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re going to be living in a deflationary world (economist Irene Lauro)
July 08, 2020 07:00 - 16 minutesOn this week's Down to Business, Irene Lauro, a senior economist at Schroders, explains the ripple effects of “reshoring” and how deflation is a top concern for economists as the recovery moves forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How the world of work is changing in Canada for better and worse (Mercer Canada CEO Jaqui Parchment)
July 02, 2020 07:00 - 23 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Jaqui Parchment, chief executive of Mercer Canada, one of the largest human resources consulting firms in the world, talks to Gabriel Friedman about what’s happening in workplaces throughout the country, whether in the office or at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Canadian economy is reopening, get ready for some false starts (CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld)
June 24, 2020 07:00 - 21 minutesOn this week's Down to Business, CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld talks to host Gabriel Friedman about the shape and speed of the recovery. While some sectors will rebound quickly, a second big chunk of the economy will see a very shallow recovery or no recovery at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How the COVID-19 pandemic could – and should – change the tourism sector (G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip)
June 17, 2020 07:00 - 23 minutesThis week on Down to Business, G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip talks to host Emily Jackson about how COVID-19 has affected his business and how he believes the travel industry should evolve once people are free to move around again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How corporate Canada can address systemic challenges faced by the black business community
June 10, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutesNadine Spencer, president of the Black Business and Professional Association, talks to host Emily Jackson about the ongoing challenges faced by Canada’s black business community and what can be done to improve access to capital and diversity in the boardroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
New leader takes helm of Bank of Canada in the throes of a global crisis
June 03, 2020 07:00 - 24 minutesFinancial Post columnist Kevin Carmichael talks to host Emily Jackson about the legacy of outgoing Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz, the decision to replace him with Tiff Macklem, what the bank needs to focus on going forward and why leadership at the bank is so critical now to the Canadian economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
‘Health and Safety is the new Black’: How COVID-19 will permanently change Canada’s retail sector – podcast
May 27, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutesThis week on Down to Business, Retail Council of Canada CEO Diane Brisebois talks with host Emily Jackson about the challenges facing retailers as they re-open and how between 25% and 30% may never come back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices