Making it in Ontario
Episodes
The State of Canada’s Auto Industry in 2026
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is your knowledge of Canada’s automotive industry outdated? The Trillium Network has crunched the numbers and reports on how vehicle production, ass...
Why This Historian Thinks a Canadian Car is Feasible
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As Canada’s auto industry faces fresh uncertainty, an old story from New Brunswick suddenly feels very current. In this episode, host Brendan Sweene...
Is a Canadian Car Company Feasible?
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As we enter a new year where Canadian economic sovereignty is a top priority and our automotive industry faces an uncertain future, discussions have b...
Canola or Automotive: Which Contributes More to the Economy?
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of 'Making it in Ontario' unpacks a new data bulletin by the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing that examines claims that the ca...
PowerCo Canada: Investing in Careers and Ontario’s EV Future
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
PowerCo Canada is about to start construction on its massive $7 billion EV battery plant in St. Thomas, which means a major recruitment campaign is un...
Catalyzing Innovation in Ontario’s Aerospace Industry
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) Hub is working to advance Canada’s global aerospace industry through collaboration. In this...
Do You Know Who Canada’s Biggest Automakers Are?
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Canada’s automotive sector has changed. In this episode, we sit down with David Adams, President and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada (GAC), to di...
Muskoka Brewery on Ontario’s Evolving Craft Beer Industry
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ontario’s craft brewing industry boomed in the 2010s, rising from 50 breweries in 2010 to more than 350 today. Todd Lewin had a front row seat fo...
Reinventing the Great Canadian Donut
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Atwell is disrupting the donut business. His shop in Almonte, Ontario, Healthy Food Technologies uses its own patented machinery to produce a super...
Season 11 “Wrapped”: Our Top 10 Clips
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the Season 11 finale, we recap standout moments from Making it in Ontario’s broadest and deepest season yet. With 18 episodes full of insights, i...
Tapping the Full Extent of Manufacturing Talent
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Statistically, half of the smartest people in Ontario are men and the other half are women. So why aren’t manufacturers taking full advantage of the...
Hydrocool: Boosting a Hydrogen-Powered Future in Ontario
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features Will Harney, the CEO of Hydrocool and a former Magna executive. After a career in automotive operations and R&D at Magna—p...
The Pros and Cons of Local Supply Chains
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, hosts Brendan Sweeney and Michelle Samson dive into a new Trillium Data Bulletin about Ontario’s dairy product manufacturing indust...
Frontier Lithium: A Critical Link in the EV Supply Chain
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we chat with Trevor Walker, CEO of Frontier Lithium, about the company's efforts to build an integrated supply chain for lithium in C...
How 3D Printing Is Reshoring Supply Chains
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features Mitch Debora, Co-Founder and CEO of Mosaic Manufacturing, a digital manufacturing company capable of mass-scale additive manufac...
Biomanufacturing 101 With OmniaBio
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we find out how biomanufacturing is similar to and distinct from other kinds of manufacturing with Mitchel Sivilotti, CEO of OmniaBio...
A Small Manufacturer’s View on Tariffs and Diversification
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we hear how a small Ontario manufacturer is navigating Canada’s turbulent new trade relationship with the United States. Denni...
Hannover Wrapped: Where Does Manufacturing Go From Here?
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, hosts Brendan Sweeney and Michelle Samson debrief after Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade fair. With Canada...
OCI’s DiscoveryX Conference: The Pitch for Manufacturers
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this brief episode of 'Making it in Ontario,' Mandeep Rehal, the Director of Business Development at the Ontario Center of Innovation (OCI), makes ...
Innovative Group: Advice From a Hannover Veteran
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of our Hannover Messe countdown series—featuring Ontario manufacturers and technology companies showcasing at the world's large...
Acerta Analytics: Improving Manufacturing Quality With AI
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our Hannover Messe countdown series—featuring Ontario manufacturers and technology companies that will be showcasing at the world's largest industri...
Avidbots: Scaling Up and Doubling Down on Robotics
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our Hannover Messe countdown series—featuring Ontario manufacturers and technology companies that will be showcasing at the world's largest industri...
NordSpace: Unlocking Canada’s Access to Space
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our Hannover Messe countdown series—featuring Ontario manufacturers and technology companies that will be showcasing at the world's largest industri...
Virtualware: 3D Tech Across the Manufacturing Value Chain
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hannover Messe is a month away, and we’re counting down with a special series featuring Ontario manufacturers and technology companies that will be ...
Why PowerCo Invested $7 Billion in St. Thomas, ON
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we learn how Ontario’s economic developers help attract, support, and retain major manufacturing investments in their communities. ...
Mythbusting Automotive Trade Stats (Encore)
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Given the ongoing potential for tariffs and trade negotiations with the United States, we’re bringing back an episode that’s increasingly relev...
Canada’s Most Trade-Exposed Manufacturing Industries
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we come to the end of Trump’s first week in office, with the tariff question live but (as yet) unresolved, we’re exploring the varying degrees ...
Martinrea’s Rob Wildeboer on Geopolitics, EVs, and Crises
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 11 is kicking off with one of the most important people in Canadian manufacturing today. Rob Wildeboer is the Executive Chair of Vaughan-based ...
A Real-Life Manufacturer Reacts to Season 10’s Takeaways
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the season finale of Making it in Ontario, we’re getting feedback on the season’s top takeaways from a real-life advanced manufacturer who’s...
Making it in Ontario “Wrapped”
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As we approach the end of 2024 and the end of this season of Making it in Ontario, we’re taking inspiration from Spotify and presenting a special “...
Mythbusting Automotive Trade Stats
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Making it in Ontario features hot off the press numbers from Trillium’s newly released Auto Trade Data Bulletin. Hosts Brendan Sween...
Maximizing Manufacturing Productivity in Toronto and Beyond
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, hosts Brendan Sweeney and Michelle Samson discuss productivity, advanced technology adoption, skills development, and red tape with T...
Eclipse Automation’s Incredible Growth With Accenture
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we welcome back Michelle Sangster, CHRO of Eclipse Automation and a Managing Director at Accenture, to explore the evolution of the c...
Honda Canada on Canada’s Biggest Manufacturing Investment (Yet)
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jean Marc Leclerc, President and CEO of Honda Canada, discusses Honda's recent announcement of the largest manufacturing investment i...
Getting Strategic About Trade, Investment, and Productivity
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features Dennis Darby, the CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). Our wide-ranging conversation covers CME’s role in maki...
Advanced Manufacturing and the Future of Work
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of 'Making it in Ontario' features Jim Stanford, an economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work. We discuss the resilience of Ca...
A Modernized Strategy to Transform Manufacturing in Ontario
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A new report on the current state of manufacturing in Ontario reveals that, compared to ten years ago, the sector is doing better in some ways, and wo...
Solving Canada's “Productivity Problem”
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Productivity in Ontario's manufacturing sector is the subject of Part 2 of our chat with NGen CEO Jason Myers. The conversation revolves around a new ...
Toyota Canada on Electrification, Labour Markets, and Strategy
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features an in-depth discussion with Scott MacKenzie, Director of Corporate and External Affairs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. We...
Hot Off the Press: New Data on Diversity in Manufacturing
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'Making it in Ontario,' co-hosts Michelle Samson and Brendan Sweeney share highlights from Trillium’s latest data bulletin focuse...
NGen: Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have a big picture discussion with Jayson Myers, the CEO of NGen (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada) and an award-winning econo...
Making it in Ontario: Recharged and Ready
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Making it in Ontario' has gotten a makeover! New hosts Brendan Sweeney and Michelle Samson introduce themselves and re-introduce the organization beh...
Re-Introducing: Making it in Ontario
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Making it in Ontario is your window into what's next in manufacturing. Ontario’s economy depends on manufacturing, but the latest research reveals c...