Several years ago, I was part of a group in Saint John that started a fundraising initiative called 100 Men Who Care. The idea was to bring together men to fundraise for non-profit organizations in the community. We were inspired by a group of women who had founded a similar group in Saint John in 2013 – the 100 Women Who Care of Greater Saint John…

The serial entrepreneur from Saint John chats with Mark Leger about her career in business and the fintech company that now employs more than 30 people and has more than 3,000 financial advisors using its platform. Loir and I work just down the street from each other – me in my home office and Lori in her office in a nearby commercial building. But…

In the fourth and final chat about the three-month "Electric Summer Social Tour" of New Brunswick, Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault about how their journey of discovery would continue long after the tour ended.By Huddle Today

On the latest in a series of conversations about their Love For Local New Brunswick "Electric Summer Social Tour," Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault chat with Mark Leger about their latest adventures on the road, including a trip to Jason's favourite campground in Woodstock and Mylène's first trip to McCain country in Florenceville.…

Marcel LeBrun is best known as a tech entrepreneur, a former executive at Radian6 and Salesforce. But he’s also a social entrepreneur and joins host Mark Leger for a chat about plans to build an affordable housing community and social enterprise centre on the north side of Fredericton. LeBrun’s project is focused on the homeless and people in unsta…

The Harvest Music Festival in Fredericton has a lot to celebrate this year. It's the 30th anniversary of the popular late summer festival and it's back after a year off because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meghan Morrison is the chair of the organizing committee. Jeff Richardson is the general manager. They're also longtime fans of the festival and jo…

On the latest in a series of conversations about their Love For Local New Brunswick "Electric Summer Social Tour," Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault chat with Mark Leger about their night at an old Dorchester jailhouse turned into an Airbnb; a tour of the lush Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews; and the raucous Acadian Day celebrations in Caraquet. …

Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault have dream jobs for those of us feeling cooped up during the pandemic. They’re travelling the province promoting small businesses and organizations in 104 communities, as part of Love for Local New Brunswick’s “Electric Summer Social Tour.” Huddle is a media partner for the tour. That doesn’t mean Mark gets to go …

As an elementary school kid, he learned to create prize-winning software. As a teenager in Fredericton, he sold hockey cards and made enough money to buy a car, and then launched an arcade and pool business. On this week’s episode, Mark Leger talks to Jody about how he went on to work for and launch many tech startups. He’s now the founder and CEO …

The Saint John-based company has an innovative product - a tea flash-frozen within hours of being picked that is the best way to preserve freshness and maximize antioxidant properties. Huddle has covered the various stages of Millennia’s growth, from their appearance on Dragons’ Den, to a venture capital raise of more than $500,000, to the tea bein…

The publishing and entertainment company has 90 million monthly users and stories on its platform that have been published as books and turned into shows and movies for places like Netflix and Hulu. Mark Leger chats with the co-founder and CEO about Wattpad being acquired by Naver for more than $600-million (U.S.) and its plans for accelerated grow…

Mark Leger has been a fan of Dartmouth's Joel Plaskett’s for 20 years, listening to his albums and going to his live shows in small suburban coffee shops and arenas with The Tragically Hip. Joel also runs a production studio where he’s worked with Maritime musicians like Jimmy Rankin, David Myles and Mo Kenny. He runs a local coffee shop and record…

Jennifer Wagner is the president of CarbonCure, the Dartmouth-based company on a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry. It has developed a system to inject carbon dioxide into the mixing process. The Co2 is converted into a mineral, makes the concrete stronger and reducing carbon emissions. Through venture capital …

In this edition of The Quick Huddle, associate editor and staff writer Cherise Letson reads her piece "How Skinfix Is Taking The Skincare World By Storm From Halifax".By Huddle Today

The Halifax-based entrepreneur suffered from anxiety as a boy growing up in a small village outside Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It went untreated for years until he finally asked for help in Grade 12. Joel eventually made a lasting breakthrough in therapy years later and ultimately left his job as a financial analyst to pursue something more aligned wit…

Do I need to be wearing a mask at work or not? Outside or not? In a restaurant seated at a table or going to the restroom? What if I don’t look down and see the arrows on the ground? What if there are no arrows?! Mark Leger admits he's still confused more than a year into the pandemic.By Huddle Today

There’s been a lot of talk about people moving to the Maritimes to escape the rising housing costs and fast-paced life in the bigger cities. But it takes a real sense of adventure to pack up your family and move east in a pandemic. On this week’s episode, Mark Leger chats with Jordan and Jess Owens, who moved from Toronto to Saint John last fall wi…

Once an old-school newspaper guy, Mark Leger is now a fully digital creature, as a consumer and producer of news and current affairs content for web sites, e-newsletters and his now-favourite medium, podcasts.By Huddle Today

Here's a preview of Huddle's newest show: Insights with Don Mills and David Campbell. First episode drops April 8. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.By Huddle Today

There have been bumps along the way for the growing cannabis industry in New Brunswick. Cannabis NB lost money in its first year and was almost privatized. Homegrown companies like Organigram had ups and downs. But industry leaders say a sector that now employs 2,000 people is primed for growth. Mark Leger wanted to know what that future looked lik…

There are so many compelling aspects to TJ Galiardi’s life and Dartmouth-based business that takes discarded produce from farms and grocery stores and makes protein supplement products. He’s a former NHL hockey player with several teams, including the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche. The company landed a large supplier in Sobeys, which is als…

Alejandro Riquelme and Anne You just wanted some empanadas. Now, they're the owners of Buena Pie Co., sharing authentic Chilean flavours with all of Halifax. Huddle's Trevor Nichols tells the story.By huddletoday

Rhiannon and Cathy are two of the founders of Sandpiper Ventures, which provides investment capital and mentorship to Atlantic Canadian companies led by women. It was named Sandpiper because the migratory bird is known for taking the lead and establishing and defending its territory, and because the venture capital firm wants to help women entrepre…

Low-wage workers deserve respect and more money, something that was emphasized in the early days of the pandemic. On this edition of 'Quick Huddle,' Mark Leger says we clearly need to bring that generous spirit into our policy formulations after the announcement last week of a meagre increase to New Brunswick's minimum wage.…

The local poet and playwright was bothered by a series of murals in the city centre that featured eight historical figures – all white. It inspired him to produce “We Were Here”, the stories of eight black Canadians brought to life on the stage in partnership with the Saint John Theatre Company. On this week’s episode, Clyde chats with host Mark Le…

For 35 years, the owners of Chenpapa have been known, not only for their great Asian cuisine but for their kindness and generosity. On Saturday, February 6, Yi Chiao Chen and Pi Yeng Chen served the last of their customers before retiring. But, true to their nature, the couple did one last act of generosity by donating $5,000 of the money they made…

Otito Atansi and Lily Lynch are the cofounders of Sankara, an online food marketplace serving Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax. Otito is originally from Nigeria and Lily is from Halifax. They started a Nigerian food stall at an outdoor Saint John market several years ago, surrounded by other vendors selling food from around the world. T…

The CEO and President of New Brunswick’s storied candy and chocolate company has worked there since she was a teenager on the “peppermint line” one summer. Part of the fifth generation of family members to operate the business that’s nearly 150 years old and now employs around 300 people, Mark Leger chats with Bryana about the innovations and expan…

In this edition of "The Quick Huddle", editor Mark Leger reflects on how residential construction is booming across the region despite Covid-19. He's happy about that even though it's costing him the waterfront in front of his house.By huddletoday

The CEO of Major Drilling has been with the company for 26 years. An accountant by training, Denis Larocque joined the Moncton-based company when it went public in the mid-1990s and helped it establish operations around the world. Now the head of a publicly-traded global firm with a market cap of more than $575-million and stock price on the rise s…

The award-winning singer-songwriter moved home from Halifax at the same time as touring was slowing down during the pandemic. He tells host Mark Leger that it allowed him to reconnect with his community and spend more time with his family. But he has nonetheless stayed active in the music business, releasing one album and getting ready to put out a…

On this edition of The Quick Huddle, staff writer Derek Montegue reads his piece A Happy Ending For Sydelle’s Fish and Chips In Bedford, about a popular Halifax-area restaurant that burned to the ground last August, but through community support and hard work, rebuilt bigger and better in a new location.…

We are introducing a new feature called “The Quick Huddle” this week to complement our long-form interviews with Maritime community leaders and entrepreneurs. From week to week, “The Quick Huddle” will feature shorter interviews and readings of stories and columns by our staff members. First up is a commentary by Huddle editor and podcast host Mark…

Keith McIntosh is the founder and CEO of PLATO Testing, an Indigenous-led and staffed software testing firm based in Fredericton. Imelda Perley is a Wolastoqey elder from Tobique First Nation and Elder-In-Residence at UNB. Together they lead a Gathering Circle of Indigenous leaders and business people like Marcel LeBrun, David Alston and Andrea Feu…

Host Mark Leger has been absorbed by books about successful Maritime entrepreneurs over the past few months, interviewing the authors of books on K.C. Irving and the founders of Radian6 and Q1 Labs, companies that sold for more than a combined $1-billion in the last decade. On this episode, Mark chats with Tareq Hadhad of Peace By Chocolate in Anti…

Huddle recently published a story on plans for a new solar-powered neighbourhood in Moncton that was read by more than 10,000 people. A couple of years ago, Carl Duivendvoorden’s commentaries on the costs and benefits of buying an electric car generated the same level of interest. And just two weeks ago, he took another step toward a fossil-fuel-fr…

The former major junior league hockey player has built a successful retail clothing and tourism business, selling the virtues of life in rural Canada through his companies Country Liberty and Liberty Village. In a few short years, he’s reached $2.5-million in sales and scored two investors for $150,000 during a recent episode of Dragons’ Den on CBC…

Alicia Ismach was on the ground floor when Israel started building its now booming fintech sector. The entrepreneur-in-residence at Venn Innovation in Moncton sees the potential for the same kind of success here. Alicia joins host Mark Leger to chat about her entrepreneurial and personal journey from Argentina to Israel and now Moncton. Alicia says…

Host Mark Leger has always wanted to connect with Mario Thériault for a chat about his wide-ranging career. Mario was a broadcast journalist in the early days, a published poet and short story writer, a communications adviser to his brother and one-time premier of New Brunswick, Camille Thériault, and for the last 20 years, the founder and CEO of t…

The UNB economics professor accepted his job to come here from Alberta just as MacLean’s was publishing its much-loathed article, “Can anything save New Brunswick?”, about whether the province’s economy was in permanent decline. On this week’s episode, Herb tells host Mark Leger he arrived here to find that all was not lost. We just need to underst…

On the September 25 episode, host Mark Leger chatted with Gordon Pitts about “Unicorn in the Woods”, his new book about the creation and eventual sale of cybersecurity firm Q1 Labs and social media company Radian6, which together sold for more than a billion dollars. On this episode, Mark chats with new Propel CEO Kathryn Lockhart and Peter Moreira…

A true marriage of hearts and minds, Blair and Rosalyn met through Junior Achievement in Halifax and talked about starting a business together on their first date. More than 30 years later, they co-own Mrs. Dunster’s, a much-loved food business that continues to grow through new product lines and acquisitions of other companies like Kredl’s Corner …

Atlantic Canada’s airports got more bad news this week with WestJet indefinitely suspending service to Moncton and Fredericton and cutting back on service to Halifax and St. John’s. Derrick Stanford is the CEO of the Saint John Airport and president of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association. Derrick joins host Mark Leger to talk about why airport…

The president of the Atlantica Centre for Energy says the sector is complex, a “bowl of spaghetti” that includes interconnected power grids and energy sources across the Atlantic region. But one thing is clear, she says, consumer demands are changing the landscape, forcing the region to look at low-carbon alternatives like wind farms and small modu…

Huddle editor Mark Leger has chatted with many business leaders on “Home Office” bullish about their views to safely open up the economy as the Covid-19 caseloads have dropped across the region. On our first podcast, Marcel LeBrun and David Alston presented a plan of their own, a week before New Brunswick rolled out the official one. Then we talked…

Fifteen years ago, journalist and author Gordon Pitts wrote “The Codfathers”, a book about regional business tycoons like the Irvings, McCains and Sobeys. He’s back now with “Unicorn in the Woods”, a book about the region’s tech titans. The story revolves around the creation and eventual sale of cybersecurity firm Q1 Labs and social media monitorin…

Atlantic Canadians see the Irvings as a regional economic powerhouse. But since the family’s beginnings in northern New Brunswick in the 19th century, they have never seen themselves that way. K.C. was a “David”, not a “Goliath” - a tenacious entrepreneur who built a network of gas and service stations in the depression and an oil refinery in a com…

In the final “Home Office” conversation with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with PC leader Blaine Higgs about a range of issues, including the decision to cut ties with a candidate who shared a social media post promoting violence against the transgender community; his opposition to funding abortion services at a private clinic; a p…

In the fourth of five “Home Office” conversations with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with NDP leader Mackenzie Thomason about working in the hotel industry and what it teaches him about paying New Brunswickers adequately for the work they do. Mackenzie also talks about the dangers of concentrated corporate power and how he does doo…

In the third of five “Home Office” conversations with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers about transforming the N.B. economy in cybersecurity, nuclear and tourism sectors; growing the population to 1 million people; advancing a progressive social vision by doing things like funding abortion services at …