Disruptors RBC Thought Leadership, John Stackhouse

AI, automation, robots, and drones are all impacting the way we grow food — and it’s happening right here on Canadian soil.
With a growing population, an affordability crisis, and increasing food insecurity, greenhouse innovation has a huge role to play in the agri-food sector.

Can Canada emerge as a leader in a low-carbon global food system?

To find out, John visits the greenhouse capital of Canada; Leamington, Ontario, where he’s joined by Peter Quiring, CEO at Nature Fresh Farms and Matt Korpan from the SEF Center for Horticultural Innovation.

It’s no secret that the last few years have been rough for tech, but the sector also has a unique ability to look beyond the clouds and see opportunity through innovation.

And while there are challenges ahead, there is a renewed optimism that we may be entering a recovery stage — where a period of fiscal discipline and strategic focus can set companies up for long-term success. Silicon Valley and other tech centres are hopeful and as markets looks toward rate cuts going into 2025, a new confidence can be felt.

John Stackhouse is live from the RBC Capital Markets Technology Private Company Conference in LA and is joined by Sachin Dev Dugal, Chief Wizard at Builder AI — named one of the world's top three Most innovative Companies in AI, alongside Open AI and DeepMind.

Nuclear innovation is making a resurgence as an attractive power source for a net-zero future — from large legacy reactors to small modular reactors (SMRs).

SMRs use compact and moveable nuclear technology, and if commercialized successfully, could bring new, non-emitting sources of electricity to big cities and remote communities alike, while providing greater flexibility to key Canadian industries that currently use fossil fuels.

So how do SMRs contribute to Canada’s energy security and what are the economic benefits to becoming a global leader?

On this episode, we’re joined by three nuclear leaders working to make SMRs a reality; Nicolle Butcher, COO at Ontario Power Generation; Bill Labbe, CEO at ARC Clean Technology Canada; and Heather Chalmers, CEO at GE Vernova.

New technology has rarely led to fewer jobs, though it often impacts the way we work — eliminating old ways of doing things to create new opportunities.

To mitigate workforce disruption from the rise of AI and automation, we must invest in our people to enhance the value of expertise and enable valuable work.

But how do we ensure that AI is constructive and not destructive?

On this episode, we’re joined by David Autor, a renowned labour force economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who has spent his career studying the consequences of technology on jobs and the economy.

Housing affordability has become a crisis in Canada, and we must prioritize innovative designs, building techniques, and technology to boost productivity and close the supply-demand gap.

Prefabricated homebuilding promises faster, more cost-effective alternatives to traditional construction methods — and if scaled correctly, a solution to address home prices and rent relief.

We’re joined by three prefab experts using technology to rethink construction; Craig Mitchell, Principle at BlackBox Offsite Solutions; Michele Tung, CEO at homeD Modular; and Mark Stephenson, CEO at Qube Building Systems.

Innovative technology continues to disrupt the service sector — where expertise is augmented by cutting-edge tools — in attempt to remove complexity and reimagine delivery.

Cloud computing has transformed the legal profession and now AI stands to push that transformation even further — paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient legal system.

On this episode, we’re joined by Jack Newton, CEO and Founder of Clio, a LegalTech unicorn based in Canada, to discuss how tech disruption is transforming the legal landscape and what that means for both lawyers and their clients.