News & Insights
November 25, 2021
You could say that I am taking the easy route on this week's newsletter - and admittedly, I am. I am visiting my American family for the first time in two years for Thanksgiving. My boys are reuniting with their cousins, I am catching up with my in-laws, and we are all cooking, eating and...
November 19, 2021
In 2018 I interviewed Christopher Wylie - known today as the Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower. Chris was one of the chief architects behind the 2016 facebook election scandal.
He walked me through the variety of ways our social media content is curated by algorithms, friendly or...
November 12, 2021
I was recently a guest on a podcast. The host asked me if I could change one thing about the education system, what that would be.
It was a no brainer - We are never taught the language of money.
Many people complete two decades of formal education without ever touching the subjects of...
November 5, 2021
When I was 21 years old, whitewater kayaking dominated my life. One day in early June, I strapped myself into my boat and pushed off the shore onto a remote river in the Canadian Rockies.
I had been scouting this river for close to a year - it was just beyond my skill level. It was a steep,...
October 29, 2021
I’ve read the same business and development books as most people. I am familiar with all the cliches. There is one topic however, that is often misrepresented - Values.
When we look at a company's (or persons) core values, we often see a list of tactical and aspirational behaviours -...
October 22, 2021
In last week's letter, I discussed a local story. In this story, the government had shut down a business for failing to check their patrons vaccination status. I received more responses to this letter than ever before.
The responses were overwhelmingly positive - but there were some...
October 18, 2021
“This wasn’t a recession, this was a government mandated shut down” - Quote from my interview with Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reflecting on the mounting economic challenges created by COVID 19.
Today I want to communicate the necessity of increasing your personal...
September 9, 2021
I recently had a debate with a fellow entrepreneur about whether leadership is something you are born with, or if it is something you can learn. My friend was arguing that either you had it, or you didn’t. I argued that leadership can be learned.
My friend was dealing with an HR issue in...
August 6, 2021
Hundreds of financial analysts knew the 2008 crisis was coming. Unfortunately, most of them waited until 2009 to say anything about it.
Why?
Because hindsight is tricky. In hindsight, we recall having suspicions that the housing market was getting too frothy - we recall the illogical leniency...
July 23, 2021
The Sky is Definitely Falling
If we are going by financial media headlines - the end is near. Our financial system is on the brink of collapse, runaway inflation is around the corner, the dollar is headed to zero, bitcoin will fix everything - although it is also a scam, and gold is either a...
June 17, 2021
Last week I shared my most important rule as an investor - define your investor habit.
My portfolio time is 5am - 8am Monday to Friday, after which I am pulled into other priorities. Being disciplined with this time, month after month and year after year has compounded my growth as an...
June 8, 2021
Peter Brown, the founder of Canada’s largest independent bank, Canaccord Genuity, once told me, “If you want to win big, you’ve got to bet big”.
Rick Rule, formerly the face of Sprott US, told me, “Excess cash is the most valuable asset, it gives you the...
May 21, 2021
I hosted the crowd favourite and legendary trader Gareth Soloway on the show this week. He was an absolute blast to speak with. It’s refreshing interviewing investors with styles that differ from mine. Gareth is a swing trader, usually in and out of positions within a week or...
May 14, 2021
Every year I build a few new garden boxes for my backyard. I buy 16' 4x4"s for around $26 / board. This year, at my local Home Depot, the sticker price for the same lumber I've bought the previous two years is $74.
There are a few things at play here. I am sure we...