The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/16 at 21:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/16 at 21:00 EDT

When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it. Because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registeredleader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote, makes a difference. Authorized by the registered agent of the Green Party of Canada.

From CBC News, the World This Hour, I'm Neil Herland. We begin in Montreal, where four major party leaders faced off tonight in the French language election debate. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet took aim at Liberal leader Mark Carney. You say that you're an expert in managing a crisis, but you say you're a negotiator, but, well, perhaps a negotiator with tax havens. But when it comes to trade agreements, I haven't seen the proof. We apparently have to believe you with no political experience, and so I find it kind of funny because people say we have to unite and work together.

On the one hand, you have never spoken to me before this evening. And Carney tried to defend his track record. I've just started as Prime Minister. I've been Prime Minister for a month. In the first week, I signed an agreement with the Premiers of all the provinces, the Premier of Quebec and the Premiers of all the provinces and territories concerning free trade within Canada. It's also an agreement that deals with trade corridors. That's an example. Conservative leader Pierre Pollyave and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh

also took part, but the Green Party was excluded from the debate at the last minute because it failed to meet the criteria already established by the debate organizers. The CBC's Rosemary Barton was watching the debate in Montreal and has this analysis. It was not a chaotic debate. It was not a debate where people interrupted people too much. It is not surprising. I wouldn't think to anybody that

Mark Carney was under attack from all sides tonight. Yves-Fraser Blanchet really went after him on multiple accounts, but I was very surprised too by the energy of Jagmeet Singh. Jagmeet Singh came out swinging on, going after the conservatives and liberals, picked on Mark Carney multiple times, but he actually was more aggressive than I expected. Mark Carney did fine. I think that he struggled sometimes to get into the debate because of the language, not that it's a barrier, but it's a bigger obstacle for him. So I think he got better as the course of the debate went on. And Pierre Poiliev, if people were expecting to see the attack dog that we are used to seeing in parliament, that is not who we got tonight.

We got someone who was more calmly litigating his points and his policies because there were some stark differences on pipelines, on immigration, on the CBC, on sovereignty of this country. The CBC's Rosemary Barton in Montreal. Ontario is tabling a bill that would remove barriers to inter-provincial free trade. The aim of the new legislation is to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have sent markets into a tailspin. Ethel Musa reports. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's committed to tearing

down internal trade barriers. Ford also signed related agreements with the premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to boost trade within Canada. With President Trump taking direct aim at Canada's economy, it can't be business as usual. Ontario's new bill would also remove barriers that make it hard for people in certain jobs to work in different provinces. The legislation would also allow Ontarians easier access to a range of goods and services including alcohol. Nicholas Lee is a professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. He says while this move to weather US tariffs seems

positive, it will not offset the economic benefits of trade with the U.S. The reality is that the Canadian market is just 10 times smaller than the American market. Ido Musa, CBC News, Toronto. The number of cross-border travelers going from Canada to the U.S. dropped dramatically in March. That's according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency says nearly 900,000 fewer people entered the U.S. from Canada compared to the same period

last year. That's a 17% decline in travel. Observers say it's largely driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and taunts towards Canada. March is typically one of the busiest months for U.S.-bound travel, with many people heading south for spring break. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Neal Herland.