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Where experience meets Canada’s future. sagecanada.substack.com

  1. 19h ago

    Sage Podcast: $120 Trillion Walked Into Toronto. Canada Still Has to Close the Deal.

    Trillions(!) of dollars came to Toronto last week—or at least the people who manage it did. Some 300 executives managing $120 trillion(!) in assets gathered for the federal government’s “inaugural” investment summit, where Canada sought to reintroduce itself to global capital and make the case that it can be that trusted supplier everyone is seeking. Turning interest into investment will require more than an appealing pitch, convivial surroundings and the speedy tax write-downs the government has proposed. Before investors pony up, as we hear on this week’s Sage Podcast, they will also want assurance of cost stability, quicker regulatory approvals, and confidence that changes in government won’t mean changes in policy. Canada, meanwhile, must decide how much public money it is prepared to put at risk and how it will structure that support. You may recall a trio of discussion papers published in the Spring. Well be prepared for their comeback. Hosts Allan Gregg and Edward Greenspon are joined by David Dodge, Martha Hall Findlay and Miville Tremblay to assess the summit, the government’s new “productivity mega-deduction,” the proposed Canada Strong Fund and the prospect of bringing private capital into Canadian airports. Listen to the latest episode of the Sage Podcast here or on Spotify or Apple. Share it with your network! Let us know what you think! And please join our growing Sage club by subscribing to the site where experience meets Canada’s future. Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Sep 13

    Sage Podcast: Is the Trade War Just Maybe De-escalating? Plus Canada’s New Investment Pitch (No Longer Unfettered Access to the U.S.) Gets a Big Test.

    Canada and the United States appear trapped in a cycle of tariffs and counter-tariffs. But the Trump administration’s response this week to Canadian retaliation was more modest than feared. Does that signal an effort to contain the conflict — or is it merely a lull before the next storm? Meanwhile, the heavy hitters of global capital gather this week in Toronto to chew on 167 possible investments – a major test of Canada’s attractiveness as a place to do business in the unfolding world order. Senator and former federal deputy minister Peter Harder, Canada-U.S. relationship expert Scotty Greenwood, and former Bank of Canada and La Caisse executive Miville Tremblay join hosts Edward Greenspon and Allan Gregg to tackle all this and more – will the U.S. midterm elections weaken Trump’s hand or make him more unpredictable, how the trade war is shaping the Quebec election, and what it still takes to become more investible? Listen to the latest episode of the Sage Podcast here or on Spotify or Apple. Share it with your network! Let us know what you think! And please join our growing Sage club by subscribing to the site where experience meets Canada’s future. If you enjoyed this, you may also like from Sage: Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

    Sage Podcast: Is the Trade War Just Maybe De-escalating? Plus Canada’s New Investment Pitch (No Longer Unfettered Access to the U.S.) Gets a Big Test.

  3. Sep 6

    Sage Podcast: Canada’s Revolt Against Gravity – Diversification Is Necessary, But Is It Sufficient?

    Canada has spent more than half a century talking about diversifying its trade. Donald Trump’s assault on the Canada-U.S. economic relationship has made the old “Third Option” newly urgent – but the numbers remain sobering. Modelling discussed in this episode suggests that even a successful push would replace less than half the economic activity Canada could lose if CUSMA disappeared. Senator Peter Boehm and former B.C. cabinet secretary Don Wright join hosts Allan Gregg and Edward Greenspon to ask where Canada should place its bets—and what it must build to get there. They weigh the promise of Europe and the Indo-Pacific, the risks of China, the future of autos and energy, and the ports, pipelines, railways and trade corridors needed to turn agreements into actual trade. Diversification is essential, but it will take years. To smooth the transition to greater self-reliance, Canada must ironically preserve as much access to the U.S. market as possible. Listen to the Sage Podcast today, and share it with your network. Please consider subscribing to Sage and making a pledge so we can continue putting experience to work on Canada’s future. If you enjoyed this, you may also like from Sage: Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Aug 30

    Sage Podcast: From Trade Talks to Trade War: Can Team Canada Hold Together?

    Canada and the United States have gone over the tariff cliff. Was walking away really the only acceptable choice? Now can Canada retaliate without doing ourselves harm or alienating those American businesses and consumers who may be its best allies? And, will emergency support help vulnerable firms adapt—or merely preserve an economic set-up that may never return? Perhaps most importantly, can Team Canada hold together and what are the implications of division? Senator Peter Harder, former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay and former Newfoundland and Labrador finance minister Cathy Bennett join host Allan Gregg to examine why the negotiations failed and what Canada should do next. They discuss the immediate threat to small and medium-sized businesses, the political calculation behind Canada’s response, the risks of using energy as leverage and the opportunity to turn a painful rupture into a more resilient, diversified and investable Canadian economy. Listen to the Sage Podcast today and share it. Sage adds highly experienced voices to the national conversation. Please think of subscribing and making a pledge to help finance our work. Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Aug 21

    Sage Podcast: A Trade Deal Could Buy Stability. It Won’t Restore the Old Canada-U.S. Relationship.

    At what may be a make-or-break moment in the trade talks, Canada must decide how much it is willing to concede in exchange for greater economic stability. Would Ottawa accept some tariffs in return for more predictability on steel, aluminum and autos? How will Mexico and deeply integrated North American supply chains shape the outcome? And if the talks fail, should Canada walk away, retaliate, pursue a legal challenge or wait for the U.S. midterm elections? Canada-U.S. relations expert and former U.S. diplomat Scotty Greenwood, and Senator Peter Harder, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Senator Peter Boehm, former Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, join host Allan Gregg to discuss what Canada might gain, what it may have to give up and whether an agreement would provide a platform for moving forward—or merely another pause in an increasingly adversarial relationship. Listen to the latest episode of the Sage Podcast, and please share it with your network. If you enjoyed this, you may also like from Sage: Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Aug 16

    It’s a Cliffhanger For Sure: Will August 19 Throw the Canada-U.S. Relationship Over the Edge

    With President Donald Trump’s August 19 tariff deadline just days away, Canadian negotiators have remained in Washington trying to avert a show-stopping escalation in the trade war. But despite the rightful attention, these are not yet CUSMA renegotiations. They are a narrower — and increasingly urgent — battle over steel, aluminum, autos, alcohol, dairy and other irritants. Will Trump delay the new tariffs while talks continue? Does Canada have more leverage than generally thought? And if the deadline passes without an agreement and perhaps with new tariffs, should Canada continue trying to grind it out, walk away or retaliate? Andrei Sulzenko, a principal negotiator of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, Marta Morgan, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Senator Peter Harder, also a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, join host Allan Gregg to discuss Canada’s options at the tariff cliff—and why the real CUSMA negotiations may be better left for later. If you enjoyed this, you may also like from Sage: Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Aug 9

    Sage Podcast: We Made Health Care Sustainable by Brute Force. Now We Have to Make It Work.

    Canada’s universal healthcare system remains a major social and economic asset. But years of tightly controlling costs have also left it with too few beds, too little resilience, burned-out health professionals and patients rationed through wait times. We may have made health care financially sustainable, but is it still sustainable from the perspective of the people who depend on it? Sage contributors Peter Nicholson and Peter Wallace join host Allan Gregg to debate why reform has proved so difficult and what should come next. Can expanding the responsibilities of nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals improve access? Would private investment provide a much-needed safety valve—or merely siphon workers and easier cases out of the public system? And can AI and Canada’s vast stores of health data finally help spread better practices across hospitals and provinces? Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Aug 2

    Sage Podcast: Forest Fires Are Normal and Necessary. We Just Have to Stop Making Them Worse

    Canadians need to reckon with growing wildfire footprints, including more frantic evacuations, more community destruction, and smoke infesting urban areas and even crossing international borders. As wildfires dominate the headlines, Sage explores the decades of misguided fire suppression practices, the complications from climate change, and the policy solutions available to resilient societies to both manage and combat the blazes, Kelsey Winter, Executive Director at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, and JP Gladu, an Anishinaabe leader from northwest Ontario educated as a forester, join Sage hosts Allan Gregg and Edward Greenspon to answer these questions and offer some surprising perspectives. Please listen now on the podcast provider of your choice. And please subscribe to Sage and share with your network. Get full access to SAGE at sagecanada.substack.com/subscribe

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Where experience meets Canada’s future. sagecanada.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Sage
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © SAGE
  • Show Website
    Sage

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