If Canada is going to transition to clean energy, we’ve got to involve and engage our Indigenous communities for economic development and reconciliation. On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks to two leaders working to make a meaningful partnership happen: Annette Verschuren, CEO of NRStor, and Matthew Jamieson, the CEO and President of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation. Listen as John and guests dissect the makings behind the...

It all starts with the envelope—a building’s envelope, that is, to create more sustainable, comfortable homes and offices. Then the power of innovative materials and software comes together to create Net Zero buildings. In Part 2 of a special two-part series of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on greening Canada’s build sector, host John Stackhouse chats with three experts dedicated to building Canada’s next generation of sustainable buildings: Brad Carr, CEO of Mattamy Homes; Carol...

Canada is a nation of builders—but buildings are our third biggest source of greenhouse gases and release some 90 million tonnes of C02 annually. On Part 1 of a special two-part series of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on greening Canada’s built sector, host John Stackhouse chats with three experts committed to decarbonizing our buildings: Kent Peterson, owner at engineering services firm P2S and Chair of the ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization; Jody Becker, the Chief...

Have you ever wondered what qualities make up a true innovator? How do they approach problems and create new solutions? Is it nature or nurture? On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse goes inside the minds of three Canadian innovators, all recipients of this year’s Governor General Innovation Awards: Gary Agnew, Co-founder and CEO, Ideon Technologies; Paulette Senior, CEO and President, Canadian Women’s Foundation; and Dr. Mark Stradiotto, Professor of Chemistry...

The COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events and record e-commerce demand have shone a spotlight on the world’s supply chains. The journey of how we receive “stuff” is quite complicated—and fragile. Luckily, the power of technologies such as automation, renewable energy and data are helping to both streamline and “green” Canada’s supply chains. On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse is joined by special guest co-host Naomi Powell, Managing Editor of Economics...

On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse is joined by a special guest co-host: Lindsay Patrick, Head of Strategic Initiatives & ESG at RBC Capital Markets, where she leads the Sustainable Finance Group. As the world marks Earth Day on April 22, John and Lindsay explore various questions on climate and call on a cross-section of Canadian experts to help answer them. Listen in to find out what exactly is a nuclear Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and whether...

Soil. Canada has a lot of it, as the 12th largest agricultural land holding in the world. This vast land presents a large opportunity to help combat climate change with sequestering carbon, as well as helping farmers’ bottom lines. On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse explores how soil carbon sequestration can help generate The Next Green Revolution. Guests include Mohamad Yaghi, RBC’s Climate & Agriculture Policy Lead, Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn, Dean and...

The pandemic accelerated the digitization of our lives﹘and the cybersecurity threats to them. Recent high-profile security breaches have crippled some of Canada’s largest companies such as Empire Foods, Indigo, and Maple Leaf Foods, with costly impacts to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. How do we meet these threats head on? On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse takes a deep dive into how organizations can best respond to and get ahead of cyber threats....

What does 2023 hold for the beleaguered tech sector? On this special, on-location episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks with tech leaders at the C100 annual summit in Silicon Valley, to get a snapshot of the tech sector through the eyes of the Canadians in the thick of it. We hear from a range of voices: Andre Charoo, managing partner at Maple VC, a venture capital firm with Canadian roots; Chris Arsenault, president and CEO of Inovia Capital; Shari Hatch Jones,...

Is the hustle to build a reliable, domestic supply of semiconductors the new space race? The sprint to the finish is expensive and complex, only complicated by politics and intricate supply chains. Is Canada ready to complete? On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse is joined by Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators, and the co-author of a recent Globe and Mail op-ed, “U.S. is seizing the moment on chips and semiconductors—why can’t...

Imagine a computer 158-million times faster than the most sophisticated systems we have today. That’s the promise of quantum computing—and it turns out, Canada is well on its way to becoming a global force in the development of that cutting-edge technology. On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse is joined by the CEO of Toronto-based Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc, Christian Weedbrook, to discuss both the promise of quantum, and how Canada can play a pivotal,...

After a three-year hiatus, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, came back with a vengeance, just as a fragmented world confronts a confluence of crises. In this episode, host John Stackhouse offers his key learnings from his visit to the Swiss Alps. Alongside his special co-host Naomi Powell, Managing Editor of RBC Economics and Thought Leadership, John takes us through the memorable moments and key themes from this year’s #WEF2023 in Davos. From complications...

The world is finally standing up and taking action in the fight against climate change. Billions of dollars are on the table from governments, philanthropists and investors. How will it all be spent? On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks to two people with billions of dollars’ worth of decisions to make. Dr. Andrew Steer is the President and CEO of the $10-billion Bezos Earth Fund, and Eli Aheto is a Managing Director at BeyondNetZero, a new climate...

On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks with the leaders of some of Canada’s most prominent environmental organizations about biodiversity, how to fund it and the best way to incorporate tech into its conservation. Catherine Grenier is the President and CEO of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Dr. Justina Ray is the President and Senior Scientist at Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, and Hadley Archer is the Executive Director of Nature United. All are...

AI was expected to revolutionize the way we do just about everything, but the changes that were promised haven’t materialized as quickly as expected. What’s holding AI back, why isn’t AI a massive game changer yet? On this episode of Disruptors, host John Stackhouse sits down with technology expert Ajay Agrawal to dig into that very question. Ajay is a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management; a founder of the Creative Destruction Lab, an early proponent of AI...

Amidst a backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rapidly rising inflation, ever-lingering COVID, and near constant political convulsions, COP27 took on an unprecedented weight. With special guest co-host Naomi Powell, Managing Editor of RBC Economics and Thought Leadership, host John Stackhouse takes us with him to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for a meeting of the world’s leaders and top thinkers. From the beaches to the boardroom, John has a front row seat at COP27 (Conference of the Parties)...

It’s an issue that’s estimated to cost Canada more than $21 billion per year -- nevermind the environmental impacts. But how much thought have you really given to the problem of food waste and spoilage, and how it could be hampering our country’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? On this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, co-hosts John Stackhouse and Trinh Theresa Do wrap up their special, three-part series called, “The Growing Challenge”, with an in-depth examination of how...

They don’t have quite the cachet of Silicon Valley or Waterloo, Ontario when it comes to innovation, but it turns out Canada’s beef and dairy sectors are in the midst of a dramatic evolution in an effort to both improve production and meet one of the most pressing challenges of our time; climate change. So which new technologies, data systems, and processes does Canada need to embrace to feed a growing population while simultaneously reducing emissions? On this second episode in a special...

How can Canada feed a growing population while simultaneously slashing emissions? That’s the problem we’ll tackle in a special three-part series on Disruptors, an RBC podcast, called, “The Growing Challenge”. In it, co-hosts John Stackhouse and Trinh Theresa Do speak with some of the top innovators and big-picture thinkers who are helping Canadian agriculture meet this grand challenge. In our first episode, John and Theresa speak with Sonya Hoo, a managing partner at BCG who studies the...

It may not be top of mind for most Canadians -- or the top issue in most public opinion polls -- but it’s one of the greatest challenges our world has ever faced; climate change. And did you know that 10% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to the very food we eat? This fall on Disruptors, an RBC podcast, hosts John Stackhouse and Theresa Do will tackle a critical question for the 2020’s -- how can Canada feed its growing population, and potentially the world, while...

In this special LIVE episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks with tech entrepreneur Martin Basiri about immigration and employment — and specifically, how Canada can build a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, and how companies can do a better job of attracting and retaining this global talent. Basiri is the co-founder and CEO of Kitchener, Ontario’s ApplyBoard. ApplyBoard has an AI-enabled software platform that lets students from around the world quickly...

In this special LIVE episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, host John Stackhouse speaks with Canadian tech investing legend John Ruffolo at the ELEVATE Festival in downtown Toronto — the largest gathering of creative thought leaders in Canada. Ruffolo is the founder and managing partner of Maverix Private Equity and previously founded OMERS Ventures, where he made several winning bets on Canadian tech powerhouses, including Hootsuite, Wattpad and Shopify. The two talk about Ruffolo’s...

In this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, hosts John Stackhouse and Trinh Theresa Do speak with two women leading the charge to foster and retain top international talent. In the first half of the show, they speak to Larissa Bezo — the president and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE). The CBIE is a national, non-profit organization helping Canadian education institutions achieve their internationalization goals. And in the second half, they chat with Pat...

In this special “Best Of” episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, Trinh Theresa Do revisits three conversations she and her co-host, John Stackhouse, have had over the past season with some of Canada’s most thought-provoking Indigenous leaders. First up, we hear from JP Gladu, a Suncor Energy board member and executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network. And in the second half, it’s Mark Podlasly, director of economic policy at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, and Crystal...

Carbon offsets could counterbalance some of the environmental damage of human activities, including that of short and long-haul flights. But do they actually deliver on this promise? In this edition of Disruptors: The 10-Minute Take, co-host Trinh Theresa Do casts a critical eye on the voluntary carbon market, specifically, carbon offsets. She’s joined by Suha Jethalal, President of Bullfrog Power, who explains how these credits work, and what consumers should think about when buying them.