Here's why your team fails to use Gen AI effectively — and how you can change that
Nearly half of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are haunted by the spectre of being left in the dust as the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution races forward, according to Salesforce's global small & medium business trends report.
For those Canadian companies that have dipped their toes into the AI waters, the rewards are undeniable.
A staggering 94% report that AI is a revenue booster, a clear signal that this technology is not just hype, but a powerful engine for growth.
Yet, many SMBs struggle to fully realize its potential. Despite significant investments in Gen AI tools, teams often fail to use them effectively.
This disconnect often stems from a lack of targeted training.
Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
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Toronto Star
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- Toronto Star
Diversified Royalty Corp. Announces Filing of Final Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba signs deal with Saskatchewan to bolster trade through Port of Churchill
Manitoba's experience as a leader in reconciliation will give it a leg up when it comes time for Canada to fast-track megaprojects, Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday after signing an agreement with Saskatchewan to expand trade through the Port of Churchill. 'We're working a ton on making sure we have consensus with the Indigenous nations for the megaprojects that we want to pursue to build up the Manitoba and Canadian economy,' Kinew said. Twenty-nine First Nations and 12 northern communities own the Arctic Gateway Group, which operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway that connects it to the rest of the continent. Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, left, talks with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe at the meeting of Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont., Monday. 'This ability to get to tidewater and seemingly having the ability to open that up, maybe, year-round because of newer ships that we have access to today, is really exciting for Manitoba,' Kinew told reporters via a Zoom call from Huntsville, Ont. There, Canada's first ministers are gathering to discuss a strategy to respond to the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. The memorandum of understanding Kinew signed with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday says the Arctic Gateway Group will invest in port and rail assets and lengthen the shipping season, which typically runs from July to November, to support increased freight capacity. Chris Avery, the chief executive officer of AGG, said they're working with the University of Manitoba and other academic and private-sector groups to update data about the shipping season, which has been getting longer over time. 'What the University of Manitoba tells us is that based on their data from over the past 40 years and what they see in their studies of the sea ice — they expect that the shipping seasons can be lengthened already without icebreakers or anything else, given climate change.' He said U of M is gathering and studying the data, which can be shared with shippers and insurance companies, he said. 'One of the impediments to extending the shipping season is because they're working off of old historical data of the shipping season and the ice patterns and so on.' New data from the U of M indicates the shipping season will be lengthened to as much as six months without the use of icebreakers, Avery said. In February, Manitoba announced $36.4 million would be given to AGG over two years for capital infrastructure projects at the port. The memo of understanding says the province will try to secure federal infrastructure funding and regulatory support to improve connectivity to northern markets, a news release said. 'When we're talking about nation-building, if we help Alberta, Saskatchewan, our other neighbors and fellow provinces and territories access the European Union, that can be really good for all of us.'–Wab Kinew The five-year plan requires Saskatchewan to 'mobilize' commodity producers and exporters through its trade offices and regional industry partners, the release said. Streamlining access to ports such as Churchill will allow for greater access to international markets, Moe said in the release. 'It helps us to unlock mining in the north, more agricultural exports in the south, manufacturing products right across our whole province,' Kinew told reporters Tuesday. 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'Our approach in Manitoba involves extensive leg work with Indigenous nations at the front end of the project process,' Manitoba's first First Nations premier said. 'I believe spending that time to build consensus and then to invest the energy necessary to maintain that consensus throughout the construction phase of a project, will actually see us get to the finish line as quickly or quicker than everyone else.' Dylan Robertson / Free Press Files Twenty-nine First Nations and 12 northern communities own the Arctic Gateway Group, which operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway that connects it to the rest of the continent. Kinew said the province hasn't announced a new megaproject proposal yet. 'This is work that we're undertaking carefully, strategically and quietly behind the scenes,' the premier said. 'We would love to have the federal government as an enthusiastic partner (but)…the partners that we need are the collective Indigenous nations of Manitoba that are represented by governments.' Kinew said he doesn't want Manitoba to be pitted against other provinces, but noted that Churchill has the advantage over James Bay because it is a long-running northern, deep-water port with infrastructure and Indigenous partners. A supply chain expert who teaches at the U of M Asper School of Business said the proposals for a major port at the far south end of James Bay in Ontario centre on the community of Moosonee, that has port facilities for barges, but not ships that require deep water. Like Churchill, it has rail access but no road, said Robert Parsons. The proposal to develop the James Bay port into an energy corridor 'is really more on the wish-list side,' he said. Parsons compared it to NeeStanNan's proposal to develop a liquefied natural gas terminal at Port Nelson on Hudson Bay in Manitoba. 'Both will require quite a bit of work.' The chief of one of the First Nations behind the Port Nelson LNG proposal welcomed Manitoba's agreement with Saskatchewan to bolster the Port of Churchill. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. 'Churchill has always been there and we support Churchill and we're also part owners of the railway,' said Clarence Easter of Chemawawin Cree Nation, one of 10 First Nations behind the NeeStaNan energy corridor. NeeStaNan has been licensed by the federal energy regulator to explore the development of exporting liquefied natural gas. Easter said he supports federal legislation to fast-track infrastructure projects such as energy corridors. 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National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
Canadians proud to be called 'nasty' by Trump for defending against attacks, Eby says
Wedad Bishara says she's seen more clients interested in exploring Canada this year than in her three previous decades as a travel agent. Based in Vancouver, B.C., Bishara said U.S.-bound travellers are a relatively small part of her business, but she has noticed the change growing since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for steep tariffs on Canadian goods and said Canada would be "better off" as the 51st U.S. state. It's part of a shift that has seen Canadian travel to the United States plunge, prompting the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, to say Canadians staying away is among the reasons Trump thinks they are "nasty" to deal with. Hoekstra, who was speaking at the annual Pacific Northwest Economic Region Foundation summit in Bellevue, Wash., on Monday, also pointed to provincial bans on U.S. alcohol sales at government stores. But British Columbia Premier David Eby said Tuesday that most Canadians would be "proud" to be considered mean and "nasty" for standing up for their sovereignty and economy in the face of threats from Trump's administration. Speaking at a premiers' gathering in Huntsville, Ont., Eby said B.C. has worked in close partnership with states in the U.S. Pacific Northwest for many years, spurring economic growth and other benefits on both sides of the border. He said Americans are friends, colleagues and family members, and the cross-border co-operation is an example of why Canadians "have no interest in being mean and nasty" and instead want to work with Americans, Eby said. "We need the president to understand the benefits that flow from working in co-operation," he added. On Monday, Eby's office had provided The Canadian Press a recording of Hoekstra's remarks. Hoekstra said the alcohol bans and the drop in Canadian visits south of the border "don't send positive signals" about Canada treating the United States well. It was "Canadians' business" if they want to stay home, he said. "I don't like it, but if that's what they want to do, it's fine. They want to ban American alcohol. That's fine," the ambassador told the conference crowd. "There are reasons why the president and some of his team referred to Canada as being mean and nasty to deal with, OK, because of some of those steps." A statement from Eby on Monday said the U.S. ambassador's remarks showed Canadians' efforts to stand up to Trump are "having an impact." "Keep buying Canadian. Keep your vacations Canadian," Eby said. Statistics Canada figures show the number of Canadians returning home by car from south of the border fell more than 33 per cent in June compared with the same month last year, marking the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Return trips by air fell just over 22 per cent year-over-year. The number of Americans arriving in Canada by air decreased 0.7 per cent in June compared with the same time last year, while arrivals by car dropped 10.4 per cent. Bishara said U.S.-bound travellers make up just five to 10 per cent of her business with Marlin Travel in downtown Vancouver, but she has noticed a shift this year. Some clients have indicated they would rather not travel south of the border, while others have continued to spend summers at time-share properties in Arizona and California, Bishara said in an interview on Tuesday. Overall, though, people are interested in travelling to different parts of Canada "more than any other year before" in Bishara's 35-year career, she said. "So, there are more trips that we design for Newfoundland and New Brunswick and all the East Coast." Bishara said the Maritimes have a "richness of beauty" and her clients have returned home happy with their experiences. Nitin Gaba, whose family runs Gaba Travel Ltd., with several offices in Metro Vancouver, said he hasn't noticed as much of an uptick in clients travelling to different parts of Canada — but more people are steering clear of the United States. Initially, he said people wrote off Trump's tariff plans and remarks that Canada would be better off as the 51st state as "talk" that didn't worry them. However, since Trump's inauguration in January, Gaba said more clients are fearful of crossing the border. "They've heard stories of someone going to the border and getting their phone searched or getting detained or being asked questions about Trump," he said. "There's all these stories going around and I don't know if they're real or not, but people are more afraid about those things." Clients travelling to India make up about 80 per cent of Gaba's business. Others want to go somewhere warm and sunny, and while some are still travelling south of the border, the United States may not be their first choice, he said. "Most of those people will try to look at other options first to see if they're feasible and doable, but if those don't work, then sometimes they do end up going," he said. "Hawaii is still happening, Alaska cruises are still happening, and I would say some Disneyland traffic, but all of it I would say is down quite a bit." Some clients who would have considered travelling to California, Arizona or Florida are now choosing Mexico instead, Gaba noted. Gaba said the travel agency also has many local clients who would typically drive to visit family in Seattle or Portland, Ore., and they're taking fewer trips this year.
