The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/04 at 09:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/04 at 09:00 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, it's the World This Hour.

I'm Joe Cummings. The latest employment numbers are showing Canada's job market took a major hit last month. Statistics Canada says the economy lost 33,000 jobs in March. It's the biggest one-month drop-off since the worst of the COVID pandemic three years ago, and it pushes the unemployment rate up to 6.7 percent. Most of the losses, according to Statistics Canada, were in the wholesale and retail sectors, with Ontario and Alberta being hardest hit.

Now to the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting underway in Brussels. And while the war in Ukraine is very much at the top of the agenda, so too is the Trump administration's tariff campaign. Here is Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Melanie Jolie. The only people on earth that will be able to really have President Trump change course are the Americans themselves. And the Americans now understand that tariffs are a tax on them. And we need to make sure and Europeans need to make sure that they take that message to

the American people in order to influence the U.S. administration. Jolie says the counter tariffs imposed yesterday by Prime Minister Mark Carney are the first step toward writing a new trade agreement with the United States. And she's pointing out that a new agreement on security will be required as well. Meanwhile, China has now formally responded to the tariffs imposed this week by the Trump administration. Beijing is putting a 34% levy on all U.S. products effective next week. It's also issuing trade sanctions and export controls on 27 individual U.S. companies. All the main party leaders are spending their day campaigning in Quebec.

That's after taking part last night in a French language interview special on Radio-Canada. Mr. Blanchet, good evening. Good evening, Mr. Singh. Good evening, Madam. Good evening, Mr. Carney. Mr. Peneau, good evening. Mr. Poilier, welcome to this great show. This wasn't a debate. They're still two weeks away.

This was each leader being individually interviewed, with the questions dealing from the Trump tariffs to Quebec's cultural and political identity. Liberal leader Mark Carney was asked about his command of French, something he at times appears to struggle with. Carney says he'd give himself a 6 out of 10. Meanwhile, the Liberals have lost another candidate. Rod Loyola was running in Edmonton Gateway, but he's been taken off the ballot after the

National Post discovered a video where he appears to be praising Hezbollah and Hamas at an anti-NATO protest. Both are listed as terrorist groups here in Canada. It's the second candidate the Liberals have lost since the election was called. The Conservatives have lost four. Despite the fact that measles were officially declared eradicated in 1998, health officials find themselves dealing with a number of outbreaks across the country, the largest being in southwestern Ontario. Jennifer Yoon has more.

I mean I'm terrified of needles which doesn't help. Chenoa Asquith never got her measles shot as a kid, but now as a 23-year-old she's facing her fears at a pop-up clinic in Caledonia, Ontario, getting the vaccine. It's either get the vaccine or end up really sick in the hospital. The region between Niagara and Windsor is the epicentre of the measles outbreak in Canada now. The province is reporting almost 90 new cases in the past week. Dr. Ninh Tran is the medical officer at Southwestern Public Health. The most effective way to safely prevent measles is through vaccination.

But convincing those who are hesitant is hard. A reality Sarah Titmuss, who helps run the pop-up vaccine clinic in Caledonia, knows too well. I think the bottom line is that we all have our own values and beliefs. And so what we do is we provide the most evidence-based information that we can so that people can make an informed decision. Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Caledonia, Ontario. At Windsor Castle last night, King Charles played host to the London Vegetable Orchestra, and he joined in on the proceedings by playing the carrot. That's the King on the carrot with the orchestra's rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

The concert was in recognition of those involved in community music groups across Britain. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.