# Kendra MacDonald Steers to the Blue Economy at Canada's Ocean Supercluster

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-838586/kendra-macdonald-steers-to-the-blue-economy-at-canada-s-ocean-supercluster
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-838586/kendra-macdonald-steers-to-the-blue-economy-at-canada-s-ocean-supercluster.md
Podcast: [Sustainability In Your Ear](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-838586)
Published: 2026-06-22T10:45:02+00:00
Episode link: https://earth911.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-kendra-macdonald-steers-to-the-blue-economy-at-canadas-ocean-supercluster/
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72591546/siye_interview_kendra_macdonald_on_canadas_ocean_supercluster_accelerator.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2641

## Resource

The ocean produces about half the oxygen we breathe, absorbs roughly 30% of the carbon dioxide we emit, and takes up about 90% of the excess heat those emissions trap, according to the United Nations . It is the planet’s largest life-support system — and also its least-funded one. Of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, the goal for life below water consistently draws the least money . Canada, which has the longest coastline in the world, is trying to flip that equation, and you can watch it happen close to real time. Our guest this week is Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster , a national, industry-led effort to grow what’s come to be called the blue economy. Under her leadership, the Supercluster has grown into a community of roughly 1,000 members co-investing in more than 150 projects. She came to the role after 25 years at Deloitte, where she served as Chief Audit Executive, and she runs it from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The model is built on co-investment: at least two companies put money in, often alongside Indigenous communities, researchers, and global corporations, so no single player carries the risk alone. The projects range from graphene hull coatings that cut a ship’s fuel use to wave-powered desalination and the $4.4 million Membertou Electric Lobster Boat , billed as Canada’s first zero-emission commercial fishing vessel, led by the Membertou First Nation. Kendra’s thesis fits in seven words: you can go faster alone, but farther together. In our conversation, she’s candid about where that gets hard — most of these collaborations are small companies that don’t individually hold every capability, and the upfront work of sorting out who owns which piece of intellectual property is what separates the partnerships that succeed from the one…

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