Canada's Economy, Explained

What’s the greatest comeback Canada has never seen?  

According to special guest Carol Ann Hilton, Founder and CEO of the Indigenomics Institute, it’s re-centering Indigenous economic power and Indigenous participation. But part of that re-centering requires acknowledging that Canada was formed through Indigenous economic and cultural exclusion and that this exclusion has an impacted all Canadians, even generations far removed from the Indian Act. 

In this episode, host Marwa Abdou and Carol Anne Hilton unpack Indigenomics: a framework for redesigning economic systems around reciprocity, responsibility, and relationship to land. Together they explore how 150 years of exclusion produced today’s inequalities, why corporate Canada has a duty under Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 92, and what it means to build economies where land is law, stewardship is strategy, and growth is measured through shared prosperity. 

Their conversation flows from examples of how Indigenous businesses operate from fundamentally different values, prioritizing community, future generations, and responsibility, all the way to the radical concept of "land as law" — starting with responsibility rather than impact assessment — and its role in reshaping infrastructure development. From clean energy and procurement reform to “land as governance,” this episode challenges listeners to rethink what reconciliation looks like — not as ceremony, but as economic design.

 
Links
- Carol Anne Hilton, Indigenomics Institute 
- Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table (2021) 
- The Rise of Indigenous Economic Power (2025)

Other Resources:
- Sharing the Wealth: How Resource Revenue Agreements Can Rebalance Canada’s Economy by Ken Coates
- Living Rhythms: Lessons in Aboriginal Economic Resilience and Vision by Wanda Wuttunee
- Upholding Indigenous Economic Relationships: nehiyawak narratives by Shalene Jobin
- Resilience, Reciprocity and Ecological Economics Northwest Coast Sustainability by Ronald Trosper
- What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development by Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt 
- Economic Aspects of the Indigenous Experience in Canada by Anya Hageman and Pauline Galoustian

 
 

What is Canada's Economy, Explained?

Canada’s Economy, Explained is the official podcast of the Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, hosted by Senior Research Director Marwa Abdou.

Whether you’re a business leader, policymaker, or simply curious about the forces shaping our economy, this podcast brings you real-time data, sharp analysis, and conversations that matter. From workforce trends and inflation to trade, innovation, and inclusion, we unpack the stories behind the stats — with leading economists, industry voices, and fresh perspectives.

Timely. Insightful. Unfiltered. This is where Canada’s economy gets explained.