The Future Skills Podcast

In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast, we explore what it will take for Canada to build and sustain a competitive edge in artificial intelligence. Host Jeremy Strachan speaks with three experts who each bring a different perspective on the opportunities and risks shaping Canada’s AI future. We begin with Aaron Rodericks, Head of Trust and Security at Bluesky, who offers a candid assessment of the global AI race—highlighting Canada’s position relative to major players, the realities of market concentration, and the emerging cybersecurity risks tied to rapidly advancing models. Next, Jaxson Khan, Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs joins the podcast to unpack the concept of AI sovereignty, outlining what it means in practice across the AI stack and what structural and cultural shifts are needed for Canada to build, adopt, and retain AI capacity. Finally, CIFAR AI Chair at the University of Alberta Blair Attard-Frost reflects on Canada’s newly released AI strategy, emphasizing the importance of public trust, social research, and a broader cultural shift in how we approach innovation, governance, and talent retention. Together, this conversation explores what it will take not only to compete in the global AI landscape—but to do so in a way that is secure, sovereign, and socially grounded. Guests Aaron Rodericks, Head of Trust and Security, Bluesky Jaxson Khan, Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs Blair Attard-Frost, CIFAR AI Chair and Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Host Jeremy Strachan, Manager, Education & Skills, Signal49 Research Links Future Skills Centre Homepage: https://fsc-ccf.ca/ Future Skills Centre LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsc-ccf Future Skills Centre Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fsc-ccf.bsky.social Signal49 Research Homepage: https://www.signal49.ca/ Signal49 Research Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Signal49Research Signal49 Research X: https://x.com/S49Research Conference Board of Canada, The. Canada’s Workforce in Transition: How AI Is Shaping the Future of Work. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2025. English | French Signal49 Research: AI and Entry Level Demand. Ottawa: Signal49 Research, 2026. English | French Government of Canada. Canada’s National AI Strategy: AI for All. Ottawa: Government of Canada. English | French Mullen, Sean, and Jaxson Khan. Sovereign By Design: Strategic Options for Canadian AI Sovereignty. Toronto: Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, 2026. English | French  Loertscher, Oliver. Going All in on Automation: Economic Growth, Labour Markets, and the Path Toward a Robust Transition. Ottawa: Signal49 Research, 2026. English | French. 

In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast, we turn to the care economy—one of Canada's most essential yet complex labour market sectors. Host Jeremy Strachan is joined by Anita Khanna, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy at United Way Centraide, who explains why care work—from long-term care to community services—operates differently from other sectors, facing persistent challenges with worker retention, job quality, and wage disparities. We then hear from Tyler Downey, President of SEIU Healthcare, who outlines how unions are helping to build pathways into the care economy—particularly through targeted training and supports that enable internationally educated nurses to enter and thrive in Canada's healthcare workforce. We close with Sean Chilton, CEO of Health Workforce Canada, who highlights the critical role of high-quality, integrated data in understanding workforce gaps, improving planning, and driving better health workforce outcomes across the country. Together, this conversation explores what it will take to stabilize, strengthen, and grow the care workforce at a time of rising demand and system-wide pressure.GuestsAnita Khanna, Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy, United Way CentraideSean Chilton, President and CEO, Health Workforce CanadaTyler Downey, President, SEIU HealthcareHostJeremy Strachan, Manager, Education & Skills, Signal49 ResearchLinksFuture Skills Centre Homepage: https://fsc-ccf.ca/Future Skills Centre LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsc-ccfFuture Skills Centre Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fsc-ccf.bsky.socialSignal49 Research Homepage: https://www.signal49.ca/Signal49 Research Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Signal49ResearchSignal49 Research X: https://x.com/S49ResearchUnited Way Centraide Canada: https://www.unitedway.ca/ Announcement of United Way Centraide Canada's National Labour Force Strategy: English | FrenchSIEU Healthcare Union: https://seiuhealthcare.ca/ Health Workforce Canada: https://healthworkforce.ca/ Health Workforce Canada's Pan-Canadian Health Workforce Data Strategy: English | French Pathways for International Educated Health Care Professionals (Insights Report): English | French

In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast, we focus on Canada’s big build moment—when major infrastructure, industrial expansion, and nation‑building projects are converging with profound workforce pressures. Host Jeremy Strachan is joined by former Ontario Minister of Labour and Infrastructure Monte McNaughton to explore why apprenticeships, early pathways into the skilled trades, and labour mobility are essential as retirements accelerate and demand surges. We then hear from Mike Gordon, Director of Canadian Training of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, who unpacks why training quality, credential recognition, and national standards are critical to mobilizing a skilled workforce—without taking risky shortcuts. We close with Pari Johnston, President and CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada, who makes the case for public colleges as the backbone of Canada’s skills ecosystem, and what it will take to deliver training at the speed, scale, and quality needed to prepare workers for an AI‑driven economy. Guests  Monte McNaughton, Co-Chair, Future Skills Centre Resilient Workforce Working Table Mike Gordon, Director of Canadian Training, United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Pari Johnston, President and CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada Links Future Skills Centre Homepage: https://fsc-ccf.ca/ Future Skills Centre LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsc-ccf Future Skills Centre Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fsc-ccf.bsky.social Signal49 Research Homepage: https://www.signal49.ca/ Signal49 Research Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Signal49Research Signal49 Research X: https://x.com/S49Research Future Skills Centre Resilient Workforce Working Table: https://fsc-ccf.ca/engage/resilient-workforce-working-table/ United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters: https://www.uacanada.ca/ Colleges and Institutes Canada: https://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/ Signal49 Research, Building Under Pressure: Skilled Trades Shortages and Rising Construction Costs. Ottawa, Signal49 Research, November 24, 2025. Statistics Canada. Changes in the population of tradespeople between 2016 and 2021. Education, Learning and Training Research Paper Series, September 26, 2024.https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2024002-eng.htm   

In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast, we tee up the new season by diving into Canada’s hinge moment for talent, productivity, and resilience by revisiting some of the key themes from A Future Built on Skills. This one-day hybrid event from October 2025 brought together thought leaders in skills, training and workforce development. We’re joined by the Future Skills Centre’s Noel Baldwin in conversation with the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, exploring an all‑hands‑on‑deck approach to workforce resilience—why soft skills, apprenticeships, and work‑integrated learning matter as major projects and trades demand surge. Then J.P. Giroux, President of the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium, takes us onto the factory floor to unpack how automation and AI are reshaping roles, why SMEs must treat training as strategy, and how a culture of continuous learning drives real productivity gains. We close with Professor Wendy Cukier, Academic Director and Founder of the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, who makes the case for a national skills agenda centered on SMEs, inclusion (EDI), and scenario planning for AI, and what a blueprint for preparing Canada’s workforce for 2026 and beyond looks like.GuestsThe Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, Government of CanadaNoel Baldwin, Executive Director, Future Skills CentreJ.P. Giroux, President, Excellence in Manufacturing ConsortiumWendy Cukier, Academic Director and Founder, Diversity Institute