This week on the Insights Podcast, we’re joined by Gregg Curwin, President & CEO of Nova Scotia–based Novagevity. Gregg is a proven agriculture entrepreneur and the founder of TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture, now Canada’s largest indoor vertical farming company.

Gregg joins Don and David to share his entrepreneurial journey, discussing the importance of R&D, access to capital, and the realities of building companies in Nova Scotia. He also makes a compelling case for why Atlantic Canada should invest more in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to boost food self-sufficiency and improve food quality.

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Jason Limongelli, Vice President, Woodlands Division with JD Irving, Limited. The forest products industry is the most important driver of economic activity in New Brunswick, generating nearly a billion dollars in tax and royalty revenue in 2024 and supporting one out of every 17 jobs in the province. Despite its importance, most people don’t really understand how it works. How many trees get cut down every year? How long does it take for a tree to reach full maturity? How many trees are planted each year? What does it mean to manage a Crown Land license? Jason answers all these questions and more. He also tells us about JDI. Known in New Brunswick as one of the largest companies in the province, it turns out the company competes with much larger global firms when selling its wood and paper products. Jason explains how JDI competes with these industrial behemoths. Finally, we chat about the future of the industry and having a +50-year business plan.

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Marie Mullally, the CEO of CUA. CUA is one of the largest credit unions in Atlantic Canada. There are more than 300,000 credit union members in Atlantic Canada. Credit unions have their roots in small communities. In the case of CUA, it started as a credit union for dockyard workers in Halifax, growing to $1.2 billion in assets under management and offering most, if not all, of the services of the major banks in Canada. Credit unions are cooperatives, owned by their members and serving those members as customers. Mullally provides an excellent overview of the advantages and limitations of being much smaller than banks while still offering the same suite of services. It is an interesting look at a unique segment of Canada's financial services market and is highly educational.