Disruptors

RBC Thought Leadership, John Stackhouse
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Disruptors, now in its 10th season, has become your front-row seat to Canada’s innovation story—200+ episodes exploring the people, ideas, and technologies reshaping Canada’s future. Each episode, hosted by John Stackhouse, SVP, Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada—and former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail—cuts through the hype and focuses on what you need to know. This season, we’re leaning into urgency: the global economy is shifting, geopolitics are noisy, and Canada needs to respond. You’ll hear from founders, investors, scientists, operators, and policy leaders at the forefront. Listen for a clearer understanding of the tech and innovation shaping Canada and the world—and practical insights to help you make sense of what’s coming next.

  1. AI's power, pitfalls, and potential

    5D AGO

    AI's power, pitfalls, and potential

    We’re all using AI more, but how many of us actually trust it? AI is now used by more than a billion people worldwide, but trust in these systems is far from settled. In this episode of Disruptors, John Stackhouse speaks with Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award winner, founder of Mila, and Co-President and Scientific Director of LawZero, about whether AI is getting safer or more dangerous as it becomes more powerful, more agentic, and more embedded in work, public systems, and everyday life. They explore LawZero’s mission to build non-agentic, trustworthy AI, including Scientist AI, and why Bengio believes the next generation of artificial intelligence should be designed to reason, evaluate, and supervise rather than independently pursue goals. John is also joined by Jaxson Khan, Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, to discuss AI sovereignty, the risks of dependence on foreign cloud and compute infrastructure, and what Canada should be thinking about as it prepares its next national AI strategy. This is a conversation about AI safety, Canadian AI sovereignty, trustworthy AI, and who should shape the systems that are increasingly shaping us. Yoshua Bengio’s work through LawZero offers one of the clearest Canadian answers yet.Show notes links Episode guests and organizationsYoshua BengioLawZeroJaxson KhanMunk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy Referenced readingRBC Thought LeadershipRBC Thought Leadership on LinkedInSovereign by Design: Strategic Options for Canadian AI SovereigntyBridging the Imagination Gap: How Canadian companies can become global leaders in AI adoption Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    34 min
  2. REBOOT: Building Canada: A new generation takes charge.

    APR 7 ·  BONUS

    REBOOT: Building Canada: A new generation takes charge.

    As Disruptors: The Canada Project earns a Webby Award nomination, we’re re-releasing the season finale, “Building Canada: A new generation takes charge.”  How does Canada actually build faster, smarter and at greater scale? In this episode, John Stackhouse speaks with Daniel Debow and Lucy Hargreaves of Build Canada about what it will take for Canada to move from big ideas to real execution.  After a season exploring defence tech in Newfoundland, sovereign launch capacity in Atlantic Canada, critical minerals and refining in Quebec, AI-ready power in Alberta, and trusted data infrastructure in Ontario, this finale brings those threads together in one conversation about nation-building, productivity, infrastructure, innovation, and Canadian competitiveness. If you’ve been following the series, please support Disruptors in the Webby People’s Voice Awards.  Vote.webbyawards.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    30 min
  3. Trust at Scale: Lessons from Wikipedia

    MAR 24

    Trust at Scale: Lessons from Wikipedia

    Trust at Scale: Lessons from Wikipedia Wikipedia is one of the internet’s most-used public resources, but what makes people trust it in an era shaped by AI, misinformation and institutional decline? On this episode of Disruptors, John Stackhouse speaks with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales about how Wikipedia built trust, why neutrality still matters, and what generative AI gets wrong. They discuss community governance, social media, local journalism, online accountability, young people’s information habits and what businesses can learn from a platform designed around public trust. In this episode you’ll understand: Why Wikipedia still earns trust when so much of the internet does not. What neutrality looks like in a polarized digital environment. Why AI makes trusted human systems more important, not less.   RBC – Thought Leadership Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    29 min
  4. Tech Wins Gold: How Canada Can Rebuild Its Olympic Pipeline

    MAR 10

    Tech Wins Gold: How Canada Can Rebuild Its Olympic Pipeline

    Canada’s Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics delivered unforgettable moments — and also a hard signal: podium success is increasingly won upstream, through systems, sport science, and technology. In a world where competitors treat sport science as infrastructure, Canada is trying to win with a thinner pipeline and a funding model that can push costs onto athletes. That’s not just unfair — it’s strategically risky. In our latest Disruptors episode, host John Stackhouse sits down with David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the Canadian Olympic Committee, and Jennifer Heil, Olympic champion (Turin 2006 gold; Vancouver 2010 silver) and Chef de Mission for Team Canada at Milano Cortina 2026. This episode unpacks what “modernization” means.  It’s the same logic that drives performance in business: small gains compound when the system is designed to learn. You’ll also hear why talent identification matters and how RBC Training Ground points to what a scalable pipeline can look like when measurement meets opportunity.Home-field advantage: How to scale Canadian sport tech primerRBC Training GroundRBC Thought Leadership Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    31 min
  5. Harvest Now, Decrypt Later: The Quantum Era's Encryption Challenge

    FEB 24

    Harvest Now, Decrypt Later: The Quantum Era's Encryption Challenge

    Quantum computing is accelerating — and putting today’s encryption on a clock. John Stackhouse goes inside Xanadu’s Toronto lab with Christian Weedbrook to meet Aurora, a networked quantum computer built to push scale in the right direction and speaks with Photonic’s Dr. Stephanie Simmons about “harvest now, decrypt later,” fault-tolerant quantum, and why every organization needs a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) transition plan. It’s not all doom and gloom. Simmons also lays out what quantum could unlock as it scales: new possibilities in materials, chemistry, and discovery that are moving from theory toward real-world impact. In this episode: Inside Xanadu: Aurora and what “networked quantum” looks like in the real world What “fault-tolerant” quantum means — and why it matters “Harvest now, decrypt later” and the trust implications for institutions Post-quantum cryptography (PQC): where leaders should start Quantum upside: materials, chemistry, and faster discovery Read: Quantum Explained RBC – Thought Leadership  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    22 min
  6. The $15m Cliff: Keeping Canadian Agri-Food Startups Scaling at Home

    FEB 11

    The $15m Cliff: Keeping Canadian Agri-Food Startups Scaling at Home

    Canada is exporting too much of its agri-food upside—IP, talent, and value-add—because growth-stage financing doesn’t fit the sector. From Ottawa, John Stackhouse speaks with RBC’s Lisa Ashton to unpack Seeding Scale—RBC’s new report on Canada’s agri-food growth-capital gap. Joined by Vive Crop CEO Darren Anderson and Emmertech Managing Partner Kyle Scott, they break down why agri-food is “different money,” why companies hit a wall around the $15M mark, and the first moves to keep more Canadian innovation scaling at home. Seeding Scale Report RBC Thought Leadership Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    29 min
  7. Risk as Signal: A Canadian Playbook

    JAN 27

    Risk as Signal: A Canadian Playbook

    Fresh from Davos, John Stackhouse shares field notes on how the world’s economy is reorganizing — and what that means for Canadians. He is joined by Gerald Butts, Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor at Eurasia Group, to unpack the new RBC–Eurasia Canada risk outlook: what matter most, how to separate signal from noise, and the practical playbook for where to invest, what to protect, and how to diversify. RBC / Eurasia – Risk Report www.rbc.com/en/thought-leadership/the-growth-project/top-risks-2026-canada/ Davos ’26: Making sense of a new world order www.rbc.com/en/thought-leadership/the-trade-hub/davos-26-making-sense-of-a-new-world-order/ RBC Thought Leadership www.rbc.com/thoughtleadership Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    24 min
  8. Climate-Led Investing: What’s Next

    JAN 13

    Climate-Led Investing: What’s Next

    If you’re trying to separate climate ambition from execution, this conversation is for you! John Stackhouse is joined by Clara Barby, Senior Partner at Just Climate, to pressure-test what’s scaling—and what’s getting stuck by diving into RBC’s new Climate Action 2026 report.   What you’ll hear: Why 2025 was a year of “proof and pressure” and what that means for clean tech in 2026. Climate Tech solutions that don’t require behaviour change.   The case for Canada’s ‘land transition’ as a ripe opportunity—investing in tools and inputs that help farmers and land managers decarbonize.   Why CCUS remains a complex case: carbon price, CapEx, infrastructure, and the fragmented value chain. How AI-driven power demand is changing the investment lens on electrification and grid build. Clara Barby is a Senior Partner at Just Climate (founded by Generation Investment Management). She previously led the Impact Management Project and supported the establishment of the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board)   Links: RBC Climate Action 2026 (report): www.rbc.com/cai Unearthing Value (report): http://bit.ly/4qJZ9TQ Just Climate: https://www.justclimate.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    24 min
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Disruptors, now in its 10th season, has become your front-row seat to Canada’s innovation story—200+ episodes exploring the people, ideas, and technologies reshaping Canada’s future. Each episode, hosted by John Stackhouse, SVP, Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada—and former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail—cuts through the hype and focuses on what you need to know. This season, we’re leaning into urgency: the global economy is shifting, geopolitics are noisy, and Canada needs to respond. You’ll hear from founders, investors, scientists, operators, and policy leaders at the forefront. Listen for a clearer understanding of the tech and innovation shaping Canada and the world—and practical insights to help you make sense of what’s coming next.

Information

  • Creator
    RBC Thought Leadership, John Stackhouse
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    224
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Disruptors

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