EdUp Canada

Can Canada Deliver? Women, Leadership, and the Systems Behind the Build with Emily Feairs and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen

Canada is in the middle of what its Prime Minister calls a "hinge moment" — a decade of building that demands billions in federal investment across construction, defense, energy, and housing. There's just one problem: every one of those sectors is operating with a fraction of its available talent. Only 5% of women work on construction sites. Only 4% serve in the army. And despite decades of initiatives designed to attract and retain women in skilled trades and strategic sectors, the numbers aren't moving. In this episode of the EdUp Canada Podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Frédérique Tsai-Klassen and Emily Feairs — co-founders of The Power Shift — to ask a harder question than most: what if the system itself is the problem? Drawing on their widely-read Hill Times op-ed on Canada's trade strategy and the grassroots convenings drawing hundreds of women from across government, industry, academia, and the forces, Frédérique and Emily make a compelling case that training more women isn't the answer — rebuilding the institutions those women are walking away from is. Expect an honest, evidence-grounded conversation about structural barriers, what it actually takes to retain skilled talent, what sectors and countries are getting it right, and what Canada's window of opportunity looks like right now. [00:06:00] — "Canada cannot meet its ambitions with only part of its talent fully engaged" [00:07:30] — The Numbers That Should Alarm Everyone [00:09:30] — "Asking Women to Sit at a Broken Table"  [00:12:00] — Institutions Are Not Neutral  [00:15:30] — What Getting It Right Actually Looks Like [00:18:00] — 550 People and a Waiting List [00:21:30] — Power Is What Others Value  [00:26:30] — Women Will Hold 40% of Capital by 2030  Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/ [https://www.edupcanada.ca/] Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/6fKZwzyU4nk [https://share.descript.com/view/6fKZwzyU4nk] Learn more about The Power Shift here: https://thepowershiftseries.ca/ [https://thepowershiftseries.ca/]

"AI Can't Cut Hair: Human Connection and the Trades That Will Always Matter" with Cheryl Harrison

What happens when a 35-year career in beauty education meets a country that still doesn't fully understand what skilled trades look like? Cheryl Harrison, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of MC College, has spent over three decades answering that question — one student at a time. In this episode of the EdUp Canada Podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Cheryl for a wide-ranging conversation about the real scope of skilled trades in Canada, the private investment that builds world-class campuses without government funding, and the quiet crisis hiding in plain sight: a generation of young Canadians who have never learned to talk to a stranger. Cheryl shares the story of a Fort McMurray student told she wasn't smart enough — who crossed a graduation stage with a pair of shears from her father. She unpacks the four-year battle to change a student aid policy that held back career college students in Alberta. And she shares the single question her mentor gave her decades ago that she still uses to navigate the hardest situations in leadership: "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be effective?" This is a conversation about what career college education actually delivers — and why it matters more than most Canadians realize. [00:03]  Hairstyling Is a Red Seal Trade — and Most People Don't Know It [00:04]  Why AI Will Never Replace a Hairstylist [00:05]  "Doctor, Dentist, Hairdresser" — The New City Checklist [00:09]  Why Students Choose Post-Secondary Even When Apprenticeships Exist [00:13]  Teaching Gen Z to Talk to Strangers [00:17]  The Mentor Who Built a 35-Year Career [00:18]  "Do You Want to Be Right, or Do You Want to Be Effective?" [00:24]  The Student She Has Never Forgotten Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/aC4Fv81sqmx [https://share.descript.com/view/aC4Fv81sqmx] Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/ [https://www.edupcanada.ca/]

"It's Going to Happen to All of Us": Why Palliative Care Training Can't Wait with Tiara Sisson

What happens when Canada doesn't have enough trained workers to care for its aging population — and what role do career colleges play in closing that gap? In this episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Tiara Sisson, President of Life and Death Matters, an organization that has partnered with career colleges across Canada for over 15 years to train personal support workers, healthcare aides, and continuing care professionals in palliative care. Tiara brings a remarkable personal history — from special education to legal work to directing administration at one of North America's largest correctional facilities — all leading to her current mission: ensuring that the men and women entering Canada's long-term care and hospice sector leave their training not just with technical competence, but with the emotional intelligence, resilience, and palliative approach that defines truly excellent care. This is a conversation about the value of skills-based training, the very real funding pressures facing Canada's career college sector, and why the stakes have never been higher for getting palliative care education right. [00:02:00] — From special education to law to running one of North America's largest correctional facilities — the unlikely path that led to palliative care. [00:06:00] — Government funding cuts, visa caps, and what the current climate really means for career colleges and their partners. [00:07:00] — Why module nine is the most powerful moment in PSW training — and what a palliative lens actually changes for students. [00:09:00] — The single most important skill in long-term care, and why it has nothing to do with clinical technique. [00:11:00] — The emotional reality of losing patients — and why the best programs build caregiver resilience into the curriculum from day one. [00:12:00] — What managing 10,000 inmates teaches you about showing up for people on their hardest days. [00:16:00] — The one question that has guided every major career decision: "What do I need to do to create the future I want?" [00:20:00] — A closing call to stay informed — because when it comes to palliative care, it's going to happen to all of us. Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/0pKfXPozxpA [https://share.descript.com/view/0pKfXPozxpA] Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/ [https://www.edupcanada.ca/]

Only 3% of Canadians Study Abroad — Here's What It Costs Us with Larissa Bezo

What happens when the country with one of the world's strongest education brands spends two years changing the rules — 16, 17, 18 times? You get instability. Perception damage. And students looking elsewhere. In this episode, Michael Sangster sits down with Larissa Bezo, President & CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the state of Canada's education system — where it broke, what it's costing us, and what it will take to rebuild. Larissa doesn't pull punches. She explains why Canada's next decade must be defined by trust rather than growth, reveals that a startling 3% of Canadian post-secondary students study abroad (compared to far higher rates in Europe), and makes the case that every part of Canada's education ecosystem — from career colleges training personal support workers to research-intensive universities — has a unique and vital role to play.  She also shares the story of the mentor who helped build Medicare under Tommy Douglas, and how his belief in thinking decades ahead rather than in election cycles shaped her own approach to public service. What to Expect: Episode Timestamps [00:03] — International Education at a Genuine Inflection Point [00:07] — The Brand Damage Report: 16 Policy Changes in 2 Years [00:09] — "Countries That Treat Students Transactionally Will Lose Them Relationally" [00:12] — The 7-to-2 Warning: Canada's Workforce Cliff [00:13] — A Career College Training Personal Support Workers in Kenya [00:18] — The Mentor Who Helped Build Medicare [00:27] — The 3% Wake-Up Call [00:29] — What Policy Stability Would Actually Unlock https://share.descript.com/view/ZMG1iLxsLFA https://www.edupcanada.ca/

250 Students in One Year: Filling Canada’s Mental Health Skills Gap with Dylan Matter

What does it actually take to change a family’s trajectory? In this episode of EdUp Canada, host Michael Sangster sits down with Dylan Matter, Chief Operating Officer of Cambria College in British Columbia — a leader with 18 years in the career college sector who has quietly become one of its most respected voices. Dylan opens up about his unlikely entry into education (hint: it started behind a coffee bar), what it means to watch a first-generation graduate walk across a stage surrounded by 15 proud family members, and how Cambria trained 250 mental health support workers in a single year — not because the government asked, but because the community needed it. Together, Dylan and Michael dig into the layers of regulation most people never see, why the location of a career college in a strip mall or above a restaurant is a deliberate strategy — not a compromise — and what it really means when a school’s survival depends entirely on whether its graduates find jobs. This is an honest, grounded conversation about what skills training looks like from the inside. [00:02:00]  —  From lattes to leadership  Dylan’s unlikely origin story — how a Starbucks regular changed the direction of his career. [00:04:00]  —  15 guests at graduation  What it really means when a first-generation family fills the seats — and why it hits differently than a university convocation. [00:08:00]  —  250 students, 15 cohorts, one year  The mental health support worker program that grew with unexpected momentum and what it reveals about community-driven skills demand. [00:11:00]  —  “Our survival is based on your success”  The outcomes-first accountability model at the heart of career college education — in Dylan’s own words. [00:12:00]  —  More regulated than you think  The layers of oversight behind a single program: provincial approval, industry accreditation, practicum agreements with health authorities. [00:16:00]  —  Why being above a Cactus Club is a strategy  The case for accessible, community-embedded campuses — and why the ‘impulse visit’ student is exactly who they’re designed to serve. [00:20:00]  —  “Make people your cheerleaders”  The graduation speech advice Dylan has given for 15 years — and the story of how his last three jobs all came through referral. [00:26:00]  —  The receptionist is the heart  Who really holds a career college together — and why the front desk may be the most important role in the building. Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/eRxaNez2XnB [https://share.descript.com/view/eRxaNez2XnB] Listen to past episodes here: www.edupcanada.ca [www.edupcanada.ca ]