Toronto Talks

In this special bonus episode, recorded live at a Toronto Region Board of Trade luncheon, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Anita Anand, sits down with John Stackhouse, Senior Vice-President at RBC, just hours after returning from trade negotiations in India and as a new military conflict in the Middle East unfolds in real time. From the breaking Iran-Israel crisis to Canada's accelerating reset with India, China, and the Asia-Pacific, Minister Anand offers unfiltered, first-hand insight into where Canada's foreign policy is headed and what it means for business.

In this episode of Toronto Talks, Giles Gherson speaks with Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom Americas, about what it takes to plan, build, and operate regional rail systems in the world’s leading cities.

Drawing on Alstom’s experience across Canada, the United States, and Europe, Michael explains why long-term planning, disciplined execution, and a focus on day-to-day service quality matter as much as capital investment. The conversation looks at GO Expansion, electrification, modern signaling, and the role of operations and maintenance in delivering reliable service that people trust.

They also explore why regional rail has become a critical piece of economic infrastructure. As congestion, labour access, and productivity shape business decisions across the Toronto region, the ability to move people efficiently is no longer just a transit issue. It is a competitiveness issue that will influence growth for decades to come.

Toronto’s rental housing challenge is far from over.

In this episode of Toronto Talks, Giles Gherson speaks with Tony Irwin, President and CEO of the Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario, about why short-term market indicators can be misleading and why rental housing remains critical to Toronto’s long-term growth. Irwin explains why nearly half of the city’s residents rent, how rental affordability affects talent attraction and workforce stability, and why essential workers and families are increasingly priced out.

In this year-end episode of Toronto Talks, Giles Gherson sits down with Goldy Hyder, President & CEO of the Business Council of Canada, to look back on a tumultuous 2025 — and ahead to the choices Canada must confront in 2026.

Together, they examine an uncomfortable paradox: a country with every structural advantage a modern economy should want still finds itself struggling to scale companies, attract investment, or remove the barriers it built for itself. As they reflect on the year, they press into the questions 2025 made impossible to avoid:

• Why did a more assertive U.S. catch us off guard yet again?
• How did regulatory inertia become a defining feature of Canadian policymaking?
• And heading into 2026, is our real challenge competitiveness — or complacency?

Hyder argues that Canada’s greatest vulnerability isn’t external pressure but the comfort that allows drift to masquerade as stability. If 2025 was a wake-up call, then 2026 will test whether we’re willing to act.

As AI moves from helpful tool to ever-present companion, what does that mean for how we work, lead, and stay in control? In his new book You to the Power of Two, Don Tapscott argues we’re entering the age of Identic AI—digital extensions of ourselves that can think, act, and even negotiate on our behalf.

In this episode, World Trade Centre Toronto VP Jon Worren sits down with Don to explore how Identic AI could transform business, reshape personal identity, and test our ability to build technology we can trust. From the future of executive work to the question of who owns our digital selves, this is a conversation about what’s coming and why Canada needs to get ahead of it.

AI doesn’t create value until people use it.

Olivier Blais, co-founder and Vice President of AI at Moov AI, shares how businesses can turn artificial intelligence into real results. From grocery forecasting that cuts waste to financial tools that save hours of manual work, he explains how to build trust, boost productivity, and make AI part of everyday operations.

This episode of Toronto Talks is brought to you by the AI Business Catalyst program from World Trade Centre Toronto. It helps small and mid-sized businesses use AI to strengthen operations and drive growth through hands-on tools and expert coaching.

To learn more visit bot.com/aibc.

This fall, the Toronto International Film Festival marked its 50th anniversary, a milestone that celebrates not only great storytelling, but the powerful economic engine behind it. 

In this special #TIFF50 conversation, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey joins Jennifer van der Valk, the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, to reflect on how a local showcase for Canadian filmmakers became a global industry hub.

From $240 million in annual impact to the next generation of creative talent and cross-border collaboration, Bailey shares what it takes to turn art into enterprise and why Toronto’s film story is also a business success story still in the making.

Weeks before delivering Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement, the province’s Finance Minister joined the Board's President and CEO, Giles Gherson, for a timely and candid conversation about how Ontario is navigating global trade tensions and economic uncertainty.

From record infrastructure investments to interprovincial trade and the race to lead in nuclear innovation, the Minister outlined a vision of nation building at speed; built on fiscal discipline, domestic strength, and long-term growth.