John Desjarlais: Why are indigenous partnerships critical to Canada’s economic future?

Following his participation in the panel Indigenous Leadership and Canada’s Investment Future at the 2026 Challenge of Change Forum in Kelowna, we caught up with John Desjarlais, Executive Director of the Indigenous Resource Network, for a quick question on how Indigenous leadership, capital, and partnerships are helping shape Canada’s economic future.

Watch the short interview here:

John Desjarlais: Why are indigenous partnerships critical to Canada’s economic future?

Andrew Ghattas: How is Canada’s critical minerals strategy evolving?

Peter Orcheson: Have you changed how you look at private credit over the last 6 months?

2026 Challenge of Change Forum highlights

Jeremy Phillips: What is your top priority when it comes to governance right now?

Janet Rabovsky: The Government of Canada has announced several new initiatives involving the sale or development of infrastructure assets. How do you see this changing the infrastructure opportunity?