The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/06/04 at 06:00 EDT

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/06/04 at 06:00 EDT

At Desjardins Insurance, we know that when you're a building contractor, your company's foundation needs to be strong. That's why our agents go the extra mile to understand your business and provide tailored solutions for all its unique needs. You put your heart into your company, so we put our heart into making sure it's protected. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Desjardins.com slash business coverage. From CBC News, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. The latest executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump went into effect at midnight,

and American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum now go from 25 to 50 percent, which means the economic outlook for thousands of Canadians just went from bad to worse. Anis Adhari reports. So most of our products are made out of steel or aluminum. Parag Shah is the president of Toronto's New Age Products. The company makes garage cabinets and outdoor kitchens. Even before tariffs doubled, he noticed them. There's a lot of uncertainty from the consumer.

They are sort of holding off on bigger purchases for their home. But it's not just Canadian businesses that will feel this. The Americans import most of their aluminum and most of their imports come from Canada. Jim Stamford is an economist and director of the Centre for Future Work. It is Americans who will feel the pain in an immediate way as well as Canadians. In Canada, steel industry advocates already pointed out hundreds of job losses were related to the 25% tariffs. The exact consequences of 50% tariffs are unclear because predictions often rely

on consistent policies, which these days they often are not. And in the midst of the ongoing Trump tariff campaign, the Bank of Canada makes its June interest rate setting today. It comes as the Canadian economy is slowing and the trade war is deepening. But analysts remain divided over just how the central bank should proceed. Peter Armstrong has more. It's never easy to predict what's coming out of the White House. Even when it comes to sweeping large-scale tariffs that will impact vast swaths of American industry, it's anyone's guess whether President Donald Trump will make good on the threats.

It's all but impossible for businesses, consumers, and yes, central bankers to plan how to respond. We still do not know what tariffs will be imposed. That was Bank of Canada Governor Tiff MacLachlan in mid-April. Back then, he was hoping he'd have a bit more clarity by now. We decided to hold our policy interest rate unchanged as we gain more information about both the path forward

for U.S. tariffs and their impacts. Here we are, seven weeks later, and that path forward remains at best just as cloudy as it was in April. Peter Armstrong, CBC News, Toronto. A shooting incident in the Toronto area has resulted in multiple victims and police are searching for multiple suspects. Police say one man was killed and five people were wounded when shots were fired in a residential area in North York.

Police confirm there are multiple suspects but can't say at this point if the suspects and victims were known to each other. Officials in Manitoba and Saskatchewan say areas being hardest hit by wildfires aren't expected to see much relief in the weather forecast in the coming days. More than 30,000 people in those two provinces have been forced to flee their homes, and more evacuation orders are almost certain. Here's Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moll. Many families are leaving their home and they don't know if they're going to see it.

They don't know if they're going to have the opportunity to go back there. They aren't just buildings. These are places where they have raised their family. HOFFMAN The Manitoba government says that while some rain is expected across the northern part of the province, it won't be enough to help wildfire suppression efforts in any significant way. Meanwhile, officials in Alberta say that the province is seeing, quote, slightly improved conditions. They say cooler temperatures and high humidity have helped the more than 1,000 firefighters battling blazes

across the province. Today will be the first true test of Canada's liberal minority government. MPs will be voting on the government's speech from the throne today. Earlier this week, the opposition parties amended the throne speech. They called on the government to table an economic update before the summer break. The vote on the throne speech itself is a confidence vote. So if the liberals lose it, Canadians could be forced into a general election. And that is the World This Hour. Remember, you can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts.

The World This Hour is updated every hour, seven days a week. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.