Drumbeats - Canadian Indigenous Investment Podcast

Drumbeats - Canadian Indigenous Investment Podcast

by Canadian Indigenous Investment Forum
EntrepreneurshipInvesting
Season 1
National Coalition of Chiefs' Dale Swampy on Indigenous-Led Pipelines
For institutional investors weighing Canadian energy and infrastructure exposure, the framing of Indigenous engagement has fundamentally shifted. The new question isn't whether First Nations will support projects. It's whether they will lead them. In this episode of Drumbeats, hosts Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant speak with Dale Swampy, President of the National Coalition of Chiefs, a body representing eighty-one First Nations chiefs across Canada with a mandate to defeat on-reserve poverty through major resource development. Dale brings two decades of front-line pipeline consultation experience, including his role leading the Aboriginal Equity Partners process for the Northern Gateway pipeline. He breaks down why, contrary to the prevailing media narrative, thirty-one of forty directly affected First Nations communities signed on as supporters of that project, including a thirty-three percent ownership stake unlike anything seen on a Canadian pipeline since. In this conversation, you'll discover: Why Northern Gateway 2.0 will only proceed as a First Nations-led project, and what that means for the capital structure of the next generation of Canadian export infrastructure How the Coalition Model has produced multi-billion-dollar Indigenous asset acquisitions in upstream and midstream The strategic case for Kitimat over Prince Rupert as Canada's principal Pacific export terminal Why over half of Canadians now back domestic fossil fuel production, a sentiment shift that hasn't occurred since before 2015 The candid investor view on regulatory ambiguity around free, prior, and informed consent legislation This is essential intelligence for European institutional investors with allocations to Canadian energy infrastructure, critical minerals, and adjacent sectors, and for advisors structuring transactions where Indigenous participation is now a precondition rather than an afterthought.
S1 · E82
Jun 11, 2026
48:10
Canada's Infrastructure Window: Why European Capital Is Moving Now
Indigenous equity. Enbridge. 200MW wind. Six First Nations. 30% equity stake. Institutional-scale Indigenous partnership in Canada. Jake Sinclair is CEO of Cowessess Ventures Ltd and President of Six Nations Energy Development LP, the consortium that negotiated a minimum thirty per cent equity stake in the Seven Stars Wind Project, a two hundred megawatt Enbridge development backed by up to one hundred million Canadian dollars in SIIFC loan guarantees and targeted for operation in 2027. The Seven Stars project is the anchor, but Cowessess Ventures runs a diversified portfolio: a separate two hundred megawatt wind project, a ten megawatt solar facility, biochar processing with the City of Regina, more than one hundred thousand acres of agricultural land, and a one hundred and fifty acre urban holding inside the City of Regina itself. Jake holds existing equity partnerships with UK and German-based investors and is actively seeking further international capital. Recorded at TMX Studios, Toronto. Subscribe to the Canadian Indigenous Investment Forum newsletter for exclusive intelligence on Indigenous investment opportunities across Canada.
S1 · E81
Jun 4, 2026
34:20
First Nations Bank of Canada's Bill Lomax: zero defaults, scaling fast
Bill Lomax, CEO of First Nations Bank of Canada, on growing a Schedule I Indigenous-owned bank to $5.4B AUM with a near-zero default record. Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant sit down with Bill at the TMX Market Centre in Toronto during the FNMPC annual conference. Founded in 1996 with TD Bank as regulatory sponsor and now approximately 91% Indigenous-owned, First Nations Bank of Canada marks its 30th year in 2026. Under Bill's leadership the trust business has grown from roughly $800 million to $1.4 billion in assets under management, and the bank's current equity raise has already exceeded its $50 million target ahead of close. What this episode covers: Credit profile and partnership architecture: a near-zero default rate and a $25 million lending cap multiplied through co-financing with the Canada Infrastructure Bank, BDC, and EDC. The $1.5 trillion Canadian SME succession opportunity, and why First Nations economic development corporations are emerging as long-hold buyers that preserve management and legacy where private equity does not. Sectors moving fastest under the Carney government's major projects agenda, with Bill flagging defence as an opportunity most Nations have yet to position for. Drumbeats is the podcast of the Canadian Indigenous Investment Forum. More at canadianindigenousinvestmentforum.org.
S1 · E80
May 28, 2026
36:39
Aviva Investors on Canada's Next Structural Infrastructure Cycle
Aviva Investors' Head of Infrastructure Debt, Darryl Murphy, brings nearly three decades of European institutional capital experience to a frank assessment of Canada's Indigenous infrastructure investment market. In a conversation recorded shortly after the Canadian Indigenous Investment Summit 2026 at the London Stock Exchange, Darryl explains why he believes capital is not the constraint on this opportunity set, and what the European debt market needs to see before deploying at scale. In this episode, recorded with hosts Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant, Darryl covers: Why Aviva treats Canada as a core geography alongside the United Kingdom and Ireland, and how that shapes infrastructure debt appetite Why investment-grade construction-phase debt, including greenfield exposure, sits well within Aviva Investors' mandate, and the conditions required to deliver it How the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, the First Nations Finance Authority, the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Longhouse Capital, alongside Canadian banks and specialist advisors, are building a credible institutional ecosystem for packaging Indigenous infrastructure opportunities The structural parallel between Indigenous infrastructure investment and earlier institutional cycles such as P3 and renewables, and why this opportunity should not be treated as a minority sport To follow Drumbeats and access further intelligence on Canadian Indigenous investment opportunities, subscribe through your preferred podcast platform and visit the Canadian Indigenous Investment Forum online.
S1 · E79
May 21, 2026
38:08
London Calling: Global Investors for Indigenous-Led Projects
OMERS President and Chief Executive Officer Blake Hutcheson on Canadian capital deployment, Indigenous equity structures, and the pricing case for major project debt. Recorded in front of a live audience at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition's annual event in late April. Blake Hutcheson, President and Chief Executive Officer of OMERS, has put a clear number on the page for international investors. At least $10 billion of additional Canadian deployment over the next five years, with a stated intention to lift Canada's share of the portfolio meaningfully above its current 20%. OMERS is one of Canada's Maple 8, managing approximately $155 billion in equity for 665,000 Ontarians, with a global portfolio operating across 14 time zones. In this conversation with Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant, Hutcheson sets out: Why OMERS is finding Canada more investable than it has been in recent decades How the Bruce Power isotopes joint venture financing was priced at levels comparable to Government of Canada and Government of Ontario notes, and why this matters as a prototype for Indigenous-partnered infrastructure debt The $90 billion annual delta between current Canadian defence spend and the 2035 NATO target, and why the move from 70% foreign procurement to 70% domestic creates an addressable opportunity set across industrials and infrastructure Why First Nations are no longer accepting one-off cheques and are demanding equity positions in the businesses operating on their territories The competitive gap with the United States on corporate tax, depreciation rules, and treaty arrangements Hutcheson runs OMERS on a fiduciary mandate that he describes plainly. "If we're playing jump ball with opportunities in England or Australia or the US or Canada, we really do try to weight more heavily for Canada, but not because we're being nice about it." The math has to work first. For UK and continental European Managing Directors in Leveraged Finance, Debt Capital Markets, Infrastructure Finance, and Industrials coverage, this is a direct read on capital allocation thinking from inside the Maple 8.
S1 · E78
May 14, 2026
34:03
Uranium, Potash, and Forty-Seven Million Back to the Band: Ron Hyggen on Kitsaki
For forty years, Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership built one of Canada's largest Indigenous enterprise groups without external debt or outside equity. Kitsaki now operates 12 companies and 21 subsidiaries, employs over 2,000 people, and has distributed $47 million back to the 12,900 members of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. In this episode of Drumbeats, hosts Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant speak with CEO Ron Hyggen about how Kitsaki reached this scale across Saskatchewan's uranium and potash sectors, and why it is now opening to external capital for the first time in its history. You'll learn: How Kitsaki built a full-service platform working with Cameco, Orano, Nutrien, Mosaic, and BHP A governance model that keeps chief and council in the boardroom under director-level fiduciary duties Why Kitsaki is now borrowing externally and exploring equity participation in Canada's critical minerals strategy What any prospective partner needs to bring: alignment with the nation's interests, willingness to negotiate rather than dictate, and a long-term orientation Forty years of self-funded growth. Now ready to talk to outside capital, on its own terms.
S1 · E77
May 7, 2026
39:31
Why Global Investors Are Backing Canada's Indigenous Equity Model
Adam Matthews is the Chief Responsible Investment Officer at the Church of England Pensions Board. He plays a key role in how major institutional investors assess mining companies and evaluate Canada’s Indigenous equity partnership model as part of how they allocate capital. He also chairs the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030, a coalition of 125 institutional investors managing about $19 trillion in assets, working to define how responsible investment in mining is properly applied and to translate those standards into investment practice. In this episode of Drumbeats, Adam Matthews explains how institutional investors are building and applying risk and governance frameworks that shape responsible investment in mining, and how those frameworks are increasingly used to assess Indigenous partnership structures in Canada. In this conversation, you'll learn: Why mining matters more to the global economy than what most investment portfolios show What the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 is doing to reshape standards for responsible mining The difference between real Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and simple box-ticking compliance, and how investors tell them apart How a new Investor Mining Performance Framework is being built to link Indigenous rights and mining standards to how investments are assessed Why Canada’s Indigenous equity partnership model is getting more attention from large global investors How global politics against ESG are affecting long-term investment strategies in the UK and Europe This is why Canada’s Indigenous equity partnership model is gaining attention from global investors. It is being recognised as a practical benchmark for responsible mining, and is increasingly being built into the frameworks that shape how institutional capital evaluates mining projects.
S1 · E76
Apr 30, 2026
38:35
$250M In: Arctic Gateway's Chris Avery on Churchill's Investment Case
The Port of Churchill is operational. Canada's only deepwater Arctic seaport, owned entirely by 29 First Nations and 12 northern Manitoba communities, has shipped critical minerals to European markets for two consecutive shipping seasons. Chris Avery, President and CEO of the Arctic Gateway Group, joins Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant on Drumbeats to set out the commercial case for European institutional capital. In this episode: Over $250 million in federal and provincial funding through the Port of Churchill Plus initiative is clearing the path for private capital entry A formal cooperation agreement with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges anchors Churchill's European trade pathway Direct rail connection to the North American Class One network, the only Arctic seaport with that integration Avery also explains why Churchill saves two to five days of shipping time over alternative North America to Europe routes, how research is extending the Arctic shipping season, and the ten-year ambition to make Churchill Canada's next major port. As Avery puts it, the asset is in the first inning.
S1 · E75
Apr 23, 2026
39:25
What 200 Investors Heard at London's Canadian Indigenous Investment Summit
Nearly two hundred investors, lenders, and project principals gathered at the London Stock Exchange for the third annual Canadian Indigenous Investment Summit — and nobody left the sessions. One of Canada's Maple Eight pension funds noted that the corridors were empty all day: a small detail, and a precise one. In this post-summit debrief, Drumbeats hosts Mark Magnacca and Rob Brant go through what the room revealed — the conversations that moved furthest and the intelligence that matters for institutional capital with an interest in Canada. On energy: A major LNG project in northwest British Columbia is approaching a final investment decision. The Indigenous nation involved holds a fifty-fifty equity stake. The key insight from the session was not the project's scale. It was that the Indigenous partner has been actively lobbying the Canadian government to advance the project — not delay it. Production is targeted for around 2030. On institutional capital: A major European asset manager moderated the infrastructure debt panel. The First Nations Finance Authority recently completed a bond financing of half a billion dollars, drawing institutional demand from investors outside Canada. On governance: A fireside conversation explored a governance model that has built over one hundred and eighty million dollars in consolidated assets across multiple sectors over forty-four years — and what institutional due diligence should be asking about it. On defence and the circumpolar frontier: The Canada-UK Defence and Resilience Partnership, announced in the days before the summit, shifted the weight of the Arctic Security Corridor session considerably. Canada has committed thirty billion dollars to northern defence and infrastructure. The government has set a minimum of five per cent of procurement with Indigenous partners — and Indigenous-owned enterprises have been positioning for this moment. Summit 2027 returns to the Square Mile in April. Subscribe to Drumbeats to follow the conversations that began in that room.
S1 · E74
Apr 16, 2026
33:36
Dan Adams, BMO: Why Capital Markets Are Indigenous Finance's Next Phase
In 2025, the Bank of Montreal elevated its Indigenous banking operation from a specialist unit into a dedicated enterprise-wide function - the BMO Office of Reconciliation. The decision came after more than three decades of building what is now Canada's most established Indigenous financial services programme, and it signals something important: Indigenous participation in Canadian capital markets is no longer a niche consideration for institutional investors. It is the next structural phase of the market. Dan Adams, Head of the BMO Office of Reconciliation, joined Drumbeats to explain how this translates into practice. Dan has spent his career in northern Ontario working directly with Indigenous governments and communities and has watched BMO's Indigenous portfolio grow by over four hundred per cent, with assets under administration now exceeding twenty billion Canadian dollars. This reflects the current economic reality that Indigenous communities are generating meaningful own-source revenue, building sophisticated financial strategies, and increasingly seeking equity positions in the major projects crossing their territories. In this episode, Dan covers: The origin of BMO's Indigenous banking mandate in 1992, led by the pioneering Ron Jamieson, and how the creation of the Office of Reconciliation in 2025 represents a fundamental expansion of that mandate across capital markets, wealth management, and investment banking. Canada's first Indigenous bond how BMO structured it from existing term loans already deployed in community infrastructure, and why it was purchased by institutional investors almost immediately. The shift from consultation to ownership why Indigenous governments are now at the ownership table on major Canadian infrastructure projects, and what government guarantees mean for the bankability of those transactions. What foreign investors get wrong and Dan's three-point framework for approaching Indigenous partnerships: community support, long-term project viability, and genuine relationship investment. Why capital markets represent the next chapter of Indigenous economic participation and what bank capital market teams need to understand to play a meaningful role. For UK and European institutional investors evaluating Canadian infrastructure, energy, mining, and natural resource projects, this episode provides the commercial and structural context that no due diligence process can afford to overlook.
S1 · E73
Apr 9, 2026
39:12
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