The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/25 at 03:00 EST

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/25 at 03:00 EST

In Scarborough, there's this fire behind our eyes. A passion in our bellies. It's in the hearts of our neighbors. The eyes of our nurses. And the hands of our doctors. It's what makes Scarborough, Scarborough. In our hospitals, we do more than anyone thought possible. We've less than anyone could imagine.

But it's time to imagine what we can do with more. Join Scarborough Health Network and together, we can turn grit into greatness. Donate at lovescarborough.ca. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Neil Herland. The four candidates to succeed Justin Trudeau as liberal leader squared off

in their first debate last night. The debate was in French, and the frontrunner Mark Carney stumbled at times in his second language. Tom Perry reports. It was a remarkably polite affair. The four candidates for Liberal leadership avoiding any harsh attacks on each other, focusing instead on who would be best to take on a common foe, U.S. President Donald Trump. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland pointing out

she negotiated a new North American free trade agreement with the first Trump administration. Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, at times, stumbled in French. We agree with Hamas. We agree with all states. We do not agree with Hamas. But we serve Hamas. Carney's rivals correcting him during a discussion on the Middle East when he

mistakenly said he agreed with Hamas. The two other contenders, businessman and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis and former government house leader Karina Gould, both more fluent and more comfortable on this night. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The English debate is tonight. You can watch it live starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBC News Network or the CBC News app. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday after a month-long pause, the threatened 25 percent tariffs against Canadian goods will take effect next week. Trump defended the move, blaming previous administrations for allowing unfair trade deals. We've been mistreated very badly by many countries, not just Canada and Mexico. The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule.

This is an abuse that took place for many, many years. And I'm not even blaming the other countries that did this. I blame our leadership for allowing it to happen. Trump is threatening to impose the tariffs March 4th. The threat of a tariff war is already making things tougher for Canada's construction industry. Tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are expected to take effect early next month, and that's driving up the cost of bigger residential projects. The uncertainty surrounding what comes next could make the country's housing

crisis even worse. Lauren Bird reports. Steel I-beams make up the structure of almost every high-rise. Canada doesn't manufacture a lot of them. Most are imported. Keenan Loomis is the president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction. It will be subject to retaliatory tariffs if the government of Canada decides. Steel is on a long list of items the Canadian government says it will tariff in response to Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Much of that list are things required for building homes in high rises. When those costs go up for builders, eventually it goes up for the buyer. But some builders may decide the added cost is too much to make a project viable. Michael Brooks is the head of the Real Property Association of Canada, which represents the real estate investment and development sector. I've already heard about projects for new housing, new apartments being shelved, just because of the uncertainty. And for a country already in a housing crisis, experts say anything that makes housing more expensive or harder to build will likely lead to supply issues down the road. Lauren Bird,

CBC News, Toronto. The president of France is expressing hope about a potential truce between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Emmanuel Macron made the comment during an interview with Fox News after meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington Monday. First to have a truce, I think it could be done in the weeks to come. During this period of time, we negotiate on security guarantees, land and territories, and it will be the responsibility of the Ukrainian president, reconstruction. Yesterday marked three years since Russia invaded Ukraine. South Korea's Constitutional Court held its final hearing in the impeachment trial of the suspended South Korean President, Yoon Seok-yul. Yoon could be removed from office.

And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Neal Herland.