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Elisa Obermann

Marine Renewables Represents an Enormous Opportunity for Atlantic Canada

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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 onshore turbine will provide electricity to between two and 3000 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.

downtown Moncton 1

New program to assist downtown Moncton businesses impacted by crime

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Supporting downtown business and increasing safety, with the hopes of overall retention, that’s the goal of the Downtown Resilience Program.

The two-year pilot program officially launched this week.

It’s a project funded by the City of Moncton, which has partnered with Downtown Moncton Centreville Inc.

“This program is about action, supporting our businesses today while investing in a safer and more resilient downtown tomorrow, DMCI Executive Director Patrick Richard explained.

The City of Moncton will provide $250,000 annually to help with recovery costs from incidents, including vandalism and other criminal activity.

“We’ve all heard the concerns, break-ins, vandalism, property damage, and rising costs for businesses. Downtown businesses are often disproportionately affected, and they’re impacted severely, simply due to the fact that there’s density and activity downtown. This program acknowledges a simple reality,” Richard added.

This project means that businesses will not have to carry the burden of the impacts of criminal activity on their own. It’s designed to help businesses offset uninsured losses, support preventative investments and reduce repeat incidents over time.

Richard explained that the project for 2026 and 2027 is structured around two streams. Stream one is for immediate relief, providing 100 per cent coverage to a maximum of $5000 per property per year. It supports things like break-in repairs, vandalism cleanup, graffiti removal, damaged doors, locks and storefronts and covers insurance deductibles, which ensures businesses can recover quickly and reopen faster.

He added that stream two is prevention and resilience and offers long-term solutions. It is a 50 per cent cost share with business and the property owners for up to $10,000 per property per year. It supports security cameras, lighting improvements, reinforced doors and access controls, anti-graffiti coatings, septic-based design improvements, with a goal to reduce repeat victimization.

“Businesses should not have to carry the full burden of these impacts alone,” Richard stressed.

Currently, the program focuses on downtown businesses, property owners and tenants of non-residential commercial spaces and those directly impacted by the crime-related incidents.

“This will operate on a continuous intake basis versus the Saint John program that has two intake periods per year. Our continuous intake process will get funds out faster and directly to businesses in real time. The program is also retroactive to January 1st, 2026. I’m actually already happy to say that we have our first applicant go through the program. Their incident dates back a few weeks, but we had them work with us and kind of become a test subject. We were able to work with the landlord of a business whose window was smashed with a brick. Since we have offered support, they’re actually going to replace their window with shatter-resistant glass, versus just the normal run-of-the-mill window. So we’re already seeing preventative measures in place, ” Richard explained.

woman holding magnetic card

Provincial tax cut for small businesses promoted by Ontario government

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A planned tax cut for Ontario’s small businesses is expected to save them more than one billion dollars.

The province intends to cut the small business corporate income tax (CIT) from 3.2% to 2.2% over the next three years.

The measure was announced in the provincial budget.

Associate Minister of Small Business, Nina Tangri, says the cut will allow businesses to reinvest in themselves and project jobs.

“Ontario’s small businesses are the driving force behind our economy, employing more than 2.5 million people,” states Tangri in a release.

“We continue to support small businesses in these times of economic turbulence by providing additional tax relief that will allow them to reinvest in their companies and workers so they can scale-up, reach new customers and grow.”

The tax cut is expected to provide more than 375,000 Ontario small businesses with up to $5,000 in tax relief every year.

The province also intends to provide further relief through federal measures that allow businesses to accelerate the write-off of a broad range of capital investments, including equipment and other assets, saving an estimated $3.5 billion in additional Ontario income tax relief over four years.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Ontario’s economy, and our government is taking action to help them grow, invest and create good-paying jobs,” states Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance.

“(The) tax cut will put more money back into the hands of local entrepreneurs in communities. . .across Ontario, giving them the flexibility to expand, hire and compete in an increasingly uncertain global environment.”

Dr. Moez Rajwani

The Ismaili Community Has a Growing Interest in Atlantic Canada

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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 Ismaili community across the country. Between 100 and 125,000 Ismailis are living in Canada. They are part of the Shia Muslim community that follows the Aga Khan as their Imam, the hereditary leader of the Ismailis, and their spiritual leader. There are between 12 and 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 is one of the key reasons for interest in our region. The Council is also focused 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.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce report Feb 2026

Confidence in economy falls, but business self-confidence rises in Ontario

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The Ontario Chamber of Commerce says a majority of businesses are confident they can weather the current economic conditions.

The findings come from its latest Ontario Economic Report.

Through its survey of business owners, the report states that only 23% are confident about the economy, a 3% drop from a year ago.

It falls to 20% among small businesses.

Some of the issues impacting confidence include affordability, rising costs for operations, labour and housing, and trade and supply chain barriers.

Only 19% of firms report increasing their business investment in 2025, with 26% planning to increase spending this year.

In a recent presentation to the Empire Club of Canada, Chamber President Daniel Tisch says while businesses lack confidence in the economy, they have stronger confidence in their ability to weather conditions.

“A majority of them are confident in the prospects for their own business. And that is actually 3% higher than a year ago,” says Tisch.

“So while they’re not confident in the economy, they’re confident in themselves, in their resilience, in their ability to adapt and innovate and to grow.”

Some businesses have responded to the U.S. trade and tariff policies, with 25% increasing prices, 22% diversifying suppliers, and 20% willing to absorb the added costs.

The demand for labour is also showing signs of easing.

“Only 25 % of firms this year report having labour shortages, and that’s the lowest number we’ve seen in our report since the pandemic, although it is uneven across economic sectors and regions,” says Tisch

The report also finds that nearly 50% of firms have developed diversity and inclusion strategies, an increase of 7% from two years ago.

“And what that says to me is that Ontario businesses understand that diversity and inclusion is not about subverting merit, it is about enabling merit to be seen.”

KennedyCompanyLogo_RGB_Primary(1)

Ocean Capital announces new acquisition

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Ocean Capital announced Monday it had acquired the John W. Kennedy Company.

The Kennedy Company is a U.S.-based distributor of equipment to the petroleum services sector.

“Partner with Ocean Capital allows us to build on nearly a century of legacy while maintaining the independence and local leadership our customers and employees value,” said Kennedy Company board chair Kristen Kennedy in a release.

She said the acquisition marks the next chapter for the company, entrusting it to a partner “uniquely positioned to steward its evolution with care, shared values and a long-term vision.”

The company will continue to operate under its existing name and structure as a stand-alone U.S. platform within Ocean Capital’s portfolio.

“This acquisition builds on our long-standing experience in the fuel industry and reflects our long-term approach to investing,” said Keith Mullett, senior vice-president of direct investment at Ocean Capital. “We partner with strong, locally led businesses and focus on preserving what makes them successful. Kennedy Company’s people, culture, and customer relationships are exactly what we look for.”

The Kennedy Company, headquartered in Rhode Island, was founded in 1930.

It’s the oldest Gilbarco distributor in the United States and employs about 60 people at branches across Vermont, Maine, New Jersey and Florida. The company services the fuel and convenience store industry.

“The past 15 months have been transformative for Kennedy Company as we modernized key platforms and strengthened our foundation for long-term growth,” said CEO Tom Cacciola.

“Partnering with Ocean Capital builds on that momentum. With their support and collaboration, we are well-positioned to expand our reach and capabilities while continuing to deliver the excellence and customer service our clients expect.”

Ocean Capital is a privately held company based in Saint John, N.B. It is the parent company of Acadia Broadcasting, the owner of these stations.

Andrew Parsons

From Biomass to Sustainable Aviation Fuel – Imagine That

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This episode of the Insights Podcast is another in our bioeconomy series, sponsored by the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub and Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, and features a conversation with Andrew Parsons, the Project Director at Nova Sustainable Fuels, a company owned by UK-based Octopus Energy. His company has been quietly working in Nova Scotia since 2021 on a project to build a production facility in Guysborough County near Goldsboro that would convert biomass, such as wood chips and sawdust, into sustainable aviation fuel (saf). It is a big idea that would require 750,000 tons of biomass to produce 165,000 tons of aviation fuel and would be a major boost to the forestry industry, which has struggled for a market for biomass since the closure of Northern Pulp, which consumed 1.3 million tons of biomass annually until its closure.

The company has purchased 770 acres of land with tidal access and has already spent tens of millions of dollars developing the case for the project, and has received approval for its initial environmental review. The project will have its own renewable wind and solar energy that will be able to generate 1.1.GWs of power. The project is estimated to cost between $4 and $6 billion and will contribute $1 billion to provincial GDP annually when at full production. The European market is driving demand for sustainable aviation fuels, and it has legislation in place to ensure that 70% of aviation fuel will be from sustainable sources by 2050. This would be the first such plant in North America and one of the first in the world. The final decision is expected in 2028, with the plant completed by 2031.

Voltagrid Nathan Ough (Image: submitted to Insights)

Powering the Future: Can Saint John Become Canada’s Next Data Centre Hub?

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Our guest on this week’s episode of the Insights Podcast is Nathan Ough, President and CEO of Texas-based VoltaGrid.   Born and raised in Saint John, Ough is now looking to put a large-scale data centre in the port city, bringing several hundred high-paying jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue to the city and provincial government. A partnership with Beacon AI Centres, the $2+ billion project involves an innovative ‘behind the meter’ approach to meeting the large electricity needs of the data centre.  Ough claims the project will have no negative impacts on the province’s electricity grid or the city’s water supply.  Data centres are among the fastest-growing industries across North America, as they are necessary to provide the computing power and storage for the emerging artificial intelligence boom. Will Saint John be at the front end of this industry in Canada? Download and listen to our conversation with Nathan Ough to find out.

Kenora Chamber awards Feb 6 2026

Former long-time Kenora chamber president honoured with new award

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The Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce is honouring its former president.

The Chamber has recognized Andy Scribilo by introducing a new Lifetime Achievement Award named in his honour.

The Chamber also selected him as the inaugural winner.

Scribolo passed away suddenly in December.

He had been a part of the Chamber for nearly 25 years, becoming president in 2002.

The award was announced during the Chamber’s annual Business Excellence Award ceremony held on Friday.

It was one of 13 awards presented to businesses and individuals, recognizing innovation, leadership, service and community spirit.

“This evening was a powerful reminder of just how much dedication, creativity and hard work exist within our local business community,” stated Tim Gosnell, Interim President.

“These businesses don’t just contribute to our economy; they help shape Kenora into a strong, welcoming, and resilient community. We are proud to celebrate their achievements.”

The Chamber received more than 85 nominations.

Among the winners was Ericka Anderson of Willow Aesthetics, who won the award for Business Owner/Entrepreneur /Manager of the Year.

Studio Fitness was selected for Best New Business.

Here is the complete list of all award winners;

Inclusive Employer Excellence – Image One Home & Cottage

New Business – Studio Fitness Co.

Skilled Trades Excellence – Sunset Country Heating & Cooling

Tourism / Hospitality – LOTW Marina & Service Centre

Innovative Small Business – Northern Airworks Inc.

Indigenous Business – Devil’s Gap Marina

Business Owner / Entrepreneur / Manager of the Year – Ericka Anderson, Willow Aesthetics

Customer Service Excellence (Staff up to 10) – Northern Sounds & Systems

Customer Service Excellence (Staff over 10) – MNP LLP

Community Spirit – The Core: Health & Fitness

Business Improvement – Dearborn Therapy

Youth Entrepreneur (30 and Under) – Shae Lofgren Psychotherapy

Andy Scribilo Lifetime Achievement Award – Andy Scribilo

selective focus photography of people sitting on chairs while writing on notebooks

Northwestern Ontario leaders encouraged to head to Magnetic North

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An independent think tank is calling on leaders and decision-makers from Northwestern Ontario to attend the Magnetic North conference in Sudbury.

“As a part of the conversation to see what the solutions are, I think it’s really important to get people from Kenora travelling to Sudbury to take part,” says Paula Haapanen, vice-president of the Northern Policy Institute.

Taking place from December 3 to 5, Magnetic North brings together more than 120 leaders from municipalities, Indigenous governments, post-secondary institutions and other organizations to engage in presentations, panel discussions and other events to identify actions that can help address social and economic issues facing Northern Ontario communities.

This year’s theme is ‘Retention is the New Reality’ and will feature talks and discussion involving long-term population growth and prosperity.

“Attraction brings people north, settlement helps them start their lives,” says Haapanen. “But retention is what ensures they, and their families, grow and prosper along with their new neighbours and communities.”

Haapanen is encouraging representatives from Northwestern Ontario to attend, noting that hearing all perspectives of the province’s northern regions is important.

“Some people might be doing things in other communities that are working,” says Haapanen. “And we are looking to find best practices or maybe looking to partner on some projects or looking to share personal experiences.”

Registration is open until November 17 and details can be found at www.northernpolicy.ca/magnetic-north-2025.

Northern Policy Institute, which performs research, analyzes data, and promotes solutions, using evidence-based decisions that will help advance growth in Northern Ontario is one of the organizers of Magnetic North 2025.

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