The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/03 at 19:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/03 at 19:00 EDT

It's on. A federal election is here and party leaders are racing around Canada to convince you to give them your vote. We're seeing a lot of spin, a lot of promises and a lot of accusations swirling around. And we are here to filter through the noise. I'm Catherine Cullen, host of The House. And every Saturday we want to slow you down and make sure you're getting the big picture and deep context and everything you need to make politics make sense. Because democracy is a conversation and we're here for it. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.

We begin in Ottawa. The global economy is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the free trade economic system the Western world has enjoyed since the end of the Second World War is over. He announced what he calls a carefully calibrated set of counter tariffs meant to push back against the American levies on vehicles and auto parts made in Canada. The government of Canada will be responding by matching the U.S. approach with 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with

KUSMA, our North American Free Trade Agreement, and on the non-Canadian content of KUSMA compliant vehicles from the United States as well. Our tariffs, though, will not affect auto parts. Garni says the estimated eight billion dollars in revenue from those tariffs will be used to support auto workers affected by the Trump tariff regime. All the opposition parties are pledging support to workers affected by the Trump tariffs. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev says he'll scrap the GST on Canadian-made vehicles. And NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is pitching a program of victory bonds.

He says Canadians who buy them would not be taxed on dividends. Singh says the money could be used for urgent infrastructure issues and help keep Canadians employed. Tariffs imposed by Trump are already having an impact on the auto industry in Canada, Mexico, and the US.

Automaker Stellantis is pausing production at assembly plants in Windsor, Ontario, and another in Mexico, and laying off workers in the United States. Phil Bleschanok reports. The auto workers have been through it all. Jeff Gray of Unifor, the union that represents Canadian auto workers, says tariffs could upend a supply chain that employs tens of thousands of Canadians. Our members are sick of being antagonized and threatened by Donald Trump. Already on the first day they came into effect, Stellantis announced it's idling its Windsor

plant for two weeks. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs to support about 4,000 laid off workers. All of our tariff proceeds will go to protect workers affected by the tariffs. Flavio Volpe of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association says workers here will not be the only ones impacted. It's going to shut down the suppliers to that plant, many of which are American, and this is day one. Because Stellantis' operations are tightly integrated, about 900

employees in Indiana and Michigan will also face layoffs. Philippa Shadok, CBC News, Toronto. Financial markets around the world are in steep decline and the U.S. stock market is taking the worst hit of all. It's on track for its worst day since COVID shattered the global economy five years ago. The Trump tariffs sparked fears of higher inflation and weakening economic growth.

Prices on everything fell, from crude oil to big tech stocks to small companies that invest only in US real estate. Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, had a message for Trump during her visit to Greenland. You cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security. Fredrickson's visit follows months of threats by Trump to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory. US Vice President JD Vance also accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the Arctic islands safe. Fredrickson dismissed the accusations

and said she was ready to work with the US to strengthen security in the Arctic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Hungary's President Viktor Orban during an official visit to the country. You stand with us at the UN, and you've just taken a bold and principled position on the ICC, and I thank you, Viktor.

That bold position is Orban's decision to withdraw Hungary from the International Criminal Court. It has issued an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu over his conduct in the Gaza war. But the Hungarian president has refused to enforce the warrant. Orban is a close Netanyahu ally. He calls the ICC's move outrageously disrespectful and cynical. And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Juliane Heselblit.