Happy holidays! East of Montreal offers its first Gift Guide for all you last minute shoppers, with quick discussions with some great East Coast brands including Educated Beards, BIBLIOnomics, BeBe Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks, Saltwinds Coffee, La Belle Cabane and Halifax Tides FC. Put something local under the tree this year.

Vice-Admiral (Ret.) Ron Lloyd served as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, Acting Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, and the first Chief Data Officer for the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces. With Ottawa set to invest billions in new spending in Defence, he highlights the challenges facing Canada's Armed Forces to spend that money wisely - data, cybersecurity, procurement and more, and argues for a policy foundation that helps achieve the bold vision set out for Canada's military.

What started at Nova Scotia farmers markets has become a coast-to-coast success story. Andrew Russell, Chief Growth Officer of Made With Local and a Team Canada Olympian, shares how the company scaled from farmers markets to the shelves of North America's largest retailers. Andrew discusses the challenges and triumphs of growing a food brand, the transition from grassroots to big retail, and what it's really like building a business with your spouse, who happens to be the founder of Made With Local.