The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/20 at 15:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/20 at 15:00 EDT

So Canada, we've got to choose a new prime minister and it's a pretty crucial time. Even people who don't normally follow politics are trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I'm Catherine Cullen, host of The House, and I started a new weekly election show with two friends and fellow political nerds. Hello, I'm Daniel Thibault bringing you the Quebec Point de Vu. I'm Jason Microsoft and Calvary bringing the takes and stakes from the West. Together, we are House Party, a weekly elections podcast for everyone.

We tackle one big burning question every Wednesday. Find us in the House's feed wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Kate Rutherford. The election campaign is entering its final week. Liberal leader Mark Carney is at a rally this hour in his Ottawa area riding. Earlier, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Victoria talking about how he wants to reduce inflation. We're going to put in a price cap on food essentials.

This is a policy that France has done and Greece has done. Both of them have effectively brought down food inflation in the case of France by 15%. And in the case of Greece, they brought down food prices by 15% by putting in a price cap on food essentials. We're gonna stop price gouging. Earlier in Surrey, BC,

conservative leader Pierre Pauliev made this vow. I will axe the inflation tax. We will do this by cutting waste, capping spending, reducing deficits, taxes and inflation. We will cut bureaucracy, foreign aid, handouts to corporate insiders, special interest groups and consultants. As for the other leaders, the Bloc Québécois Yves-Francois Blanchet is visiting local ridings, then appearing tonight on the Radio Canada talk show Tout Le Monde En Parle. Green co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pednaut don't have any public events today. Even though the parties are only now releasing their platforms, some Canadians have already cast their ballots during advance polling. The numbers have been

strong. More than two million people voted on the first day alone. Here's the CBC's chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton. I mean, I think it tells us what we kind of already knew, that people are very engaged in this election, perhaps in a way we have not seen in some time. They were motivated to vote. I should point out that in 2021, almost 5.8 million voters turned out for advance polls. That was over the course of four days. This is two million in just one day, to give you an idea. It also shows, obviously, that people are interested in having more opportunities to vote rather than just on election day.

And as you mentioned, it was without voters, that number anyways, without voters having seen any costed platforms because the liberals and the NDP only released theirs on Saturday. The conservatives say that theirs is coming in the coming days. So that also suggests to me that having these policies and all these numbers add up is perhaps not the most important thing for voters right now and not a big part of their consideration as they make their decisions. Rosemary Barton, CBC News, Ottawa. Nova Scotia RCMP have suspended the search for a child who fell into a river Thursday while fishing.

More than 13 agencies were involved, but there's been nothing to prove the child got out of the water safely or to pinpoint a search area for remains. Police say the search was called off Saturday afternoon. Officials are considering next steps before beginning again. President Vladimir Zelensky is urging his Ukrainian compatriots not to give up hope. We know what we defend, we know what we fight for. In a recorded Easter message, Zelensky says Ukrainians know who they are fighting for and will not lose faith. But he had harsh words for Vladimir Putin, accusing the Russian president of not respecting his own temporary ceasefire. Zelensky says Russia has violated the 30-hour Easter truce, which runs out in two hours. Washington says it would like to see it extended, but the Kremlin has said Putin has not taken any such action.

Israeli military officials are releasing the results of their investigation into last month's killing of 15 Palestinian medics. The group was shot to death by Israeli soldiers during a response to an emergency call. Investigators conclude there were what they call professional failures and say a deputy commander will be fired. The probe says the individual mistook the medics for Hamas militants due to quote, poor night visibility. Investigators say there is no evidence backing claims the medics were executed. At the Vatican, Pope Francis waved to those gathered in St. Peter's Square as he prepared to deliver the Easter blessing. The pontiff made a brief

appearance drawing cheers from the crowd of thousands. Francis met briefly with U.S. President, Vice President JD Vance. The 88-year-old Francis is still recovering from double pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for five weeks. And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Kate Rutherford.