Africa's Dire Energy Infrastructure Needs

In this episode of Defence Deconstructed, we sit down with Charlotte Duval-Lantoine. Today we discuss the recently released reports from the Auditor General this week on Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recruiting and housing. We outline the restrictions to the current criteria, the effect this has on both rates of recruitment and status of housing and how this determines the future of the CAF. // Guest bios: Charlotte Duval-Lantoine is VP Ottawa Office at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 24 October 2025

On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Joe and Kelly talk with entrepreneur and African energy advocate Magatte Wade about the realities of energy poverty in Africa and how to rethink Western development policy in light of the recent documentary, "In The Dark: Senegal As A Case Study In Energy Poverty": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaVqqMB5LAo // For the intro segment, Joe and Kelly discuss fertilizer disruption in Trinidad and Tobago, the energy priorities of the new Japanese Prime Minister, and issues with Canadian EV manufacturing. // Guest Bio: -Magatte Wade is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker dedicated to unlocking prosperity in Africa // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is VP Energy and Calgary Operations at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Reading recommendations: - " // Interview recording Date: October 15, 2025 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

On this episode of #TheGlobalExchange, Colin Robertson sits down with Gaston Barban, Daryl Copeland, Evan Potter and Bernie Etzinger to discuss the ins and outs of public diplomacy. // Participants' bios - Gaston Barban worked at Global Affairs Canada for 38 years and was the former High Commissioner to South Africa. - Daryl Copeland and has had a 30 year career at Global Affairs Canada. - Evan Potter is a CGAI Fellow and Associate Professor in the Communications Department at the University of Ottawa. - Bernie Etzinger was the Chief Communications and Outreach Officer at the Ottawa Hospital. // Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. // Reading Recommendations: - "Reputational Security" by Nicholas J. Cull - "Margaret Atwood Inc.: A Force Multiplier in Canadian Literary Diplomacy and Cultural Statecraft" by Evan Potter - "Zbig" by Edward Luce - "Held" by Anne Michaels "Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy" by the Senate of Canada // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll // Recording Date: October 15, 2025 Release date: October 20, 2025

In this episode of Defence Deconstructed, we make available the third panel from our September 16th 2025 conference Charting Canada’s Digital Ambition, titled “Setting the Conditions for Success”. Featuring Jody Thomas, ADM Nutan Behki and Mel Crocker, moderated by BGen (Ret’d) Chris Ayotte, the four discuss human and technological risk point in both government and industry. This conference was organized by Triple Helix, supported by the Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program, CGAI’s strategic sponsors, and conference sponsors Dell Technologies and Microsoft. // Guest bios: - Jody Thomas is the former National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister - Nutan Behki is Assistant Deputy Minister for Shared Services Canada - Mel Crocker is the Chief Information Officer of Air Canada - Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Chris Ayotte is Principal BD Manager for the National Security and Defence Team at AWS Canada. // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 17 October 2025

On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Joe talks with Brenda Shaffer about her recent report for the Macdonald Laurier Institute and Prosperity, Not Poverty, "(Dis)empowering Africa: How the West’s energy policies fuel poverty in the continent". // Guest Bio: - Brenda Shaffer is an energy expert at the U.S. Naval Post-graduate School // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is VP Energy and Calgary Operations at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Reading recommendations: - "Game Changer: Our Fifty-Year Mission to Secure America's Energy Independence", by Harold Hamm: https://www.amazon.ca/Game-Changer-Fifty-Year-Americas-Independence/dp/1637631855 // Interview recording Date: October 10, 2025 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

On this episode of #TheGlobalExchange, Colin Robertson sits down with Lauren Dobson-Hughes, Rosemary McCarney and Nicolas Moyer to discuss foreign aid and development assistance. // Participants' bios -Lauren Dobson-Hughes is Principal at LDH Consulting. - Rosemary McCarney is the Chair of the Board of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. - Nicolas Moyer is the CEO of CUSO International // Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. // Reading Recommendations: - "Chrétien and the World: Canadian Foreign Policy from 1993 to 2003" by Jack Cunningham and John Meehan // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll // Recording Date: September 29, 2025 Release date: October 14, 2025

In this episode of Defence Deconstructed, we make available the two keynote speeches from our conference, Charting Canada’s Digital Ambition, on 16th September: The Honourable Jenna Sudds and Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin. In their respective speeches, the two cover the current culture of government within the private sector, how the government is operating with digital transformation at its core, the status of the uncertain and rapidly evolving global security environment, as well as 6 of the 29 operations running out of the Canadian Joint Operations Command. This conference was organized by Triple Helix, supported by the Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program, CGAI’s strategic sponsors, and conference sponsors Dell Technologies and Microsoft. // Guest bios: - The Honourable Jenna Sudds is the MP for Kanata and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement and to the Secretary of State - Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin is the Commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 10 October 2025

On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Joe and Kelly talk with David Detomasi about the unique historical role of oil in geopolitics, Canada's role as a player in this system, and his book "Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil": https://utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781487520106 // Guest Bio: - David Detomasi is a Professor & Distinguished Teaching Fellow of International Business at Queen's University // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is VP Energy and Calgary Operations at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Reading recommendations: - "Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare", by Edward Fishman: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/ "The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism", by Jin Keyu: https://www.amazon.ca/New-China-Playbook-Socialism-Capitalism/dp/1800753861 // Interview recording Date: October 7, 2025 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

On this episode of #TheGlobalExchange, we make available the webinar CGAI held last week, Trump, Trade and Foreign Affairs. Featuring keynote speaker Bruce Stokes, and panelists Martha Hall Findlay, Louise Blais and Perrin Beatty PC OC, we discuss the ever-evolving relationship between the United States, Canada and the world. For Bruce's keynote, please see PowerPoint slides on our website! // Participants' bios - Bruce Stokes is Visiting Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States - Martha Hall Findlay is the Director of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary - Perrin Beatty PC OC is the former President & CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce - Louise Blais is former Ambassador to the United Nations and Consul to Atlanta // Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. // Reading Recommendations: - "The West Wing" TV Series - "Abundance" by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson - "The Fur Trade in Canada" by Harold Innis - "Charter and Supplemental Charter of The Hudson's Bay Company" by Hudson's Bay Company // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll // Recording Date: October 01, 2025 Release date: October 06, 2025

In this episode of Defence Deconstructed, Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, Commander of the Canadian Army, discusses its most ambitious transformation in decades. This transformation includes shifting the Army’s four divisions to a mission-first, effect-driven model. It is a generational change in how the Army is structured, equipped, and trained. The Evolving Canadian Army will ensure it is ready for the challenges of a new era characterized by global instability. // Guest bios: Lieutenant-General Michael Wright is the Commander of the Canadian Army // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Recommended Readings: - "White Sun War" by Major General (Ret'd) Mick Ryan - "The Evolving Canadian Army" by The Canadian Army // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 3 October 2025