Food For Thought.

What is the real cost of the food on your table?

In 2020, the world stopped, but small business owners across Canada didn't. Amplify Canada told their stories: the struggles, the determination, the refusal to give up. Now, host Linda Freeman is going back.

For many Canadian businesses, the pandemic wasn't the end of the challenges, it was just the beginning. Today, rising costs are being felt at every stage of the food chain, from the dock, to the vineyard, to the grocery aisle.

So what's driving the price on your plate? Is it the cost of getting the product to market? Supply and demand? Or is the way Canadians eat and what they're willing to pay for it changing for good?

We follow the Canadian food economy from multiple angles: a conversation with commercial fisherman Fraser MacDonald of Good Fish on the real cost of getting seafood to market, a visit to the vineyards of the Okanagan, and a look at sustainable, plant-based materials with a cactus leather shoe designer. We also sit down with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, expert and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, to paint the bigger picture of what's shaping what we eat.

About the Host
Linda Freeman hosts Amplify Canada, revisiting the small business owners whose stories defined the show's first seasons. Linda is a media professional who has been immersed in Canada's media for decades. She has interviewed and told hundreds of stories over the years, gathering insight and perspective on how to be better.

Amplify Canada: Season 3. Resilience Revisited. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Perseverance and Hope holds up Canada’s small businesses sector.

Just keep trying and don't give up, that was the refrain from small business owners the first time we met them, mid-pandemic, holding on by grit alone. Years later, we're checking back in. What we found is a country still working hard just to stay in place: costs climbing, hiring stalled, and yet against a backdrop of tariffs and economic drift a stubborn, clear-eyed optimism that refuses to quit.

In this episode, host Linda Freeman reconnects with Rosa Matice, who took over a small-town Saskatchewan pub the same year the world shut down, and with Jessica Jeboult, whose sober-living coaching business scaled fast through the pandemic and who, in the middle of testing her new app, lost her mother without warning. Economist David Williams of the Business Council of British Columbia breaks down what's actually driving the pressure on small business: the end of three economic booms, new tariff shocks, and what's left in Canada's own control.
Nearly two-thirds of small businesses expect a cost-related obstacle in the next three months, and profitability outlooks haven't budged in a year. But 65% still say they're optimistic about what's ahead. This episode is about what sits underneath that number.

In this episode:

• Rosa Matice on five more years behind the bar at KG Bar and Grill, and what's changed since the pandemic
• Jessica Jeboult on scaling a coaching business overnight, training five coaches to carry her process, and losing her mother mid-pivot
• Economist David Williams on GDP per capita, the end of Canada's "three booms," and the real cost of U.S. tariffs on Canadian business
• David Williams on grit, social capital, and why he's cautiously hopeful about Canada's direction

The Host

Linda Freeman brings decades of broadcast experience to every conversation, having hosted morning shows across both radio and television throughout her career. Known for her warmth, humor, and genuine curiosity, she has a gift for putting guests at ease and drawing out the stories of the people shaping this country. Always well-researched and professional, Linda's interviews feel less like Q&As and more like real conversations.

The Guests

David Williams is Vice President of Policy with the Business Council of British Columbia, where he brings extensive international experience in policy advising, research, and teaching, with particular expertise in macroeconomics, productivity, monetary policy, housing and mortgage markets, business surveys, tax reform, and transport policy. He holds a DPhil and MPhil in Economics from Oxford University, and is past president of the Association of Professional Economists of British Columbia and a past national director of the Canadian Association of Business Economics.

Jessica Jeboult is the founder of A Sober Girls Guide and the Best Day app, and author of Save Your Own Damn Life. A former DJ and addiction survivor, she has spent nine-plus years in recovery and built a coaching community serving women worldwide before pivoting to a preventative, app-based approach to habit and craving support.

The Businesses

KG Bar and Grill
A Sober Girls Guide and Best Day App

The Team

Host, Producer & Writer: Linda Freeman (Rourke)
Showrunner: Kat Cullen
Sound Engineer/Producer: John Masecar
Executive Producer: Jennifer Smith
Production Support: Eric Chapman
Video Producer: Jordan Wong

References

Statistics Canada — Canadian Survey on Business Conditions
Entrepreneur Mental Health Survey - Business Development Bank of Canada
CTV News Small Business

What does perseverance look like when uncertainty becomes the new normal?

In 2020, the world stopped, but small business owners across Canada didn't. Amplify Canada told their stories: the struggles, the determination, the refusal to give up. Now, host Linda Freeman is going back.

For many Canadian businesses, the pandemic wasn't the end of the challenges, it was just the beginning. From inflation and labour shortages to supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty, today's business leaders continue to navigate an ever-changing landscape.
So what separates the businesses that continue to thrive? Is it innovation? Adaptability? Leadership? Or is resilience itself becoming one of Canada's most valuable economic assets?

We sit down with Economist David WIlliams to talk about the current economy and explore the perseverance and hope that still exists with small businesses today.

About the Host

Linda Freeman hosts Amplify Canada, revisiting the small business owners whose stories defined the show's first seasons. Linda is a media professional who has been immersed in Canada's media for decades. She has interviewed and told hundreds of stories over the years, gathering insight and perspective on how to be better.

Amplify Canada: Season 3. Resilience Revisited. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#canada #hope #smallbusiness