There’s no tariff in team.

BIC-March

This time of the year I usually like to speculate on what may lie ahead for Alberta in 2025. However, Canada turned out to be ‘the neighbour who isn’t paying our share’ and everything got sidetracked by talk about the implementation of USA tariffs as high as 25 per cent on Canadian goods.

Navigating trade challenges.

BIE_February

As Alberta businesses grapple with the dual pressures of evolving global trade policies and persistent interprovincial trade barriers, a balanced approach is essential to navigating this challenging terrain. With the incoming U.S. President placing tariffs back in the spotlight, and Canada still contending with barriers within its own borders, the time is ripe to explore the opportunities that lie within
these challenges.

The good, the bad & the ugly of 2024.

BIC-February

At the end of each year, I try to encapsulate what I consider the three components of the past year into what was ‘good, bad and ugly’ for Canadians that year. This year I am having difficulty finding what was ‘good’ but have many ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ categories. I find very little change in people’s actions regardless of a rapid falling of ‘feeling good things are on the near horizon for Canada’.

Alberta: redefining innovation beyond tech.

BIE_January

When people think of innovation, their minds often go to cutting-edge software, artificial intelligence or tech startups. While those advancements are undeniably transformative, Alberta is proving that innovation doesn’t just belong to Silicon Valley or the digital world. Instead, Alberta has positioned itself as a leader in non-traditional innovation—where creative solutions to real-world challenges drive economic growth, job creation, and community revitalization.

What if… a week went by without a scandal?

BIC-January

A history related publication that I read called ‘What If’ focuses on events that could have occurred in the past that would have changed the direction of the world or a country. Two that come to mind include ‘What if the U.S. had invaded Canada and we became the 46th state?’ And ‘What if communism hadn’t failed?

Alberta’s Potential for a Comprehensive Foreign Trade Zone

BIE_December

Alberta, with its wealth of natural resources, skilled workforce and strategic position within North America, is ripe for the establishment of a comprehensive Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) that goes beyond logistics to encompass manufacturing, job creation and economic development.

More ‘Hush’ than Trust

BIC-December

Will we ever be free from scandal in Ottawa? Keeping track is starting to become tough. It is even tougher to know if any are ever properly resolved, or if they just fade away when the next scandal is uncovered, and the taxpayers just lose track of what happened. One of the latest surrounds the $1B ‘Green Slush Fund’.

Turning Energy into Food

BIE_November

Canada’s small businesses have a big impact on our economy. As of 2021, there were 1.21 million employer businesses in the country. Of that number, nearly 98 per cent were small businesses. Over eight million Canadians, or roughly 68 per cent of the total private sector labour force, were employed by a small business.1 To top it off, they generated nearly 38 per cent of private sector GDP in 2019.

Unleashing Businesses’ Potential Through Better Corporate Governance

BIE_October

Canada’s small businesses have a big impact on our economy. As of 2021, there were 1.21 million employer businesses in the country. Of that number, nearly 98 per cent were small businesses. Over eight million Canadians, or roughly 68 per cent of the total private sector labour force, were employed by a small business.1 To top it off, they generated nearly 38 per cent of private sector GDP in 2019.