The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/02 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: February 2, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/02 at 18:00 EST

Hi, I'm Matea Roach, and I like to think that I know a little bit about a lot of different things. But you know what's one thing I can never get enough of? Books. If you're anything like me, after you finish reading a great book, you probably have some burning questions for the author, you want to talk to all your friends about it. Every week, I talk to the biggest, brightest, and most interesting authors from Canada and around the world. You can find bookends wherever you get your podcasts.

From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Julie-Ann Hazelwood. A day after US President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, Ottawa has released a long list of American goods that will be hit with counter tariffs. $30 billion worth of goods. And as Janice McGregor tells us, that list will grow in the coming weeks. We'll be there for as long as it takes, with whatever it takes. Finance Minister Dominique LeBlanc trying to reassure Canadians that while today's retaliation hurts, help for those getting hit is also coming.

Canadians expect the government to respond and respond firmly and proportionately. This first list, targeting over 1200 US imports, is a door stopper. Canada also hopes it'll be a political show stopper, grabbing Washington's attention by adding 25% to the cost of famous American brands. Booze, motorcycles, appliances, even dairy products that Donald Trump bragged to American farmers that he'd made tariff free in the NAFTA renegotiation. Canadian officials say they aren't tearing up all their concessions yet, but what Trump ordered yesterday violated his own deal. Once more businesses are consulted, there's an even longer list worth four times as many goods landing in three weeks.

Janice McGregor, CBC News, Ottawa. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says every day he will announce a new measure in response to Trump's tariffs. His first move, directing the province to stop selling alcohol from the U.S. Beginning on Tuesday, the day that tariffs take effect, we are going to be pulling U.S. products off of liquor mart shelves. This means that we are going to be taking $80 million out of the U.S. economy. This is $80 million that we won't be spending in the United States of America. Nova Scotia, Ontario, Newfoundland, Labrador, PEI, BC and the Yukon also say they will ban or restrict the sale of American alcohol in their provinces and territories.

Many Canadians are saying they're ready to change their buying habits. As the U.S. pushes Canada into a trade war, some are already boycotting U.S. products at local grocery stores. Paula Dayan Perez reports. Conflicted because I like wine from California. But Dan Levine says he's ready to give it up for Canadian wines. You just got to pay attention, read the label, see where things come from, take the time. With 25 percent U.S. tariffs on Canadian products confirmed, some Quebecers say they're already choosing locally made items over those made in the U.S. tariffs on Canadian products confirmed, some Quebecers say they're already

choosing locally made items over those made in the U.S. But Professor Vivek Ashchewank says that's easier said than done. The supply chain between Canada and the U.S. is especially intertwined. Canada sells crude oil to refineries in America who refine the crude oil and sell back the gasoline to Canadian gas sellers. Now how do you determine whether this gas that you are buying from a pump is Canadian or American?" Ashtavank says if the buy Canadian or Made in Quebec effort is to make a difference in the local economy, it needs to be a long-term commitment. Paula Dayan, CBC News, Montreal. commitment. Paula Dayen-Perez, CBC News, Montreal.

After a dramatic lull during the pandemic, birth tourism is making a return in Canada. Andrew Griffith is the former director general of the Citizenship and Multiculturalism branch at Immigration Refugees in Citizenship Canada. He says tourism births across all provinces grew to more than 5000 in 2024. It's basically largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels. What has changed is that Richmond, which was sort of the epicenter, their numbers have not really recovered. It used to be about 24% non-resident births and now it's about 7%. Birth tourism is when parents travel to Canada specifically to give birth here and secure

citizenship for their children. Canada's most famous groundhogs are split on when spring will arrive this year. Ontario's Wyrton Willie did not see his shadow, a sign of an early spring, but Nova Scotia's Shubinacadi Sam and Quebec's Fred Le Marmont both saw their shadows, which traditionally means a late spring. And that is Your World This Hour. You can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts updated every hour, seven days a week. For CBC News, I'm Julie-Ann Hazelwood.