Your World Tonight - 42,000 jobs lost, Americans on tariffs, Canada’s climate future, and more

Episode Date: September 4, 2026

After three months of gains, Canada’s job market has suddenly stalled. Statistics Canada says the economy lost 42,000 jobs in August.And: Amid the latest escalation in the Canada-U.S. trade war, our correspondent Catharine Tunney travelled to Michigan to find out how Americans in that border state are feeling ahead of fall midterm elections.Also: Canada should prepare for a climate that’s 3.5 to 5 degrees warmer. A new federal report says reducing greenhouse gas emissions could keep it on the lower side.Plus: Manitoba Hydro’s plans to burn more fossil fuels, duelling visions of Alberta separatism, Lindsay Clancy mistrial, and more.

With the help of Google AI, Access Now is mapping Canada's accessible places, empowering the disabled community to explore with confidence. Innovation is Canada's story. Let's tell it together. Find out more at g.co slash Canadian Innovation. This is a CBC podcast. It is interesting that the two of the weakest provinces were Quebec and Ontario when BC was on the south side as well, and those are exactly the three provinces that are being targeted.

Thousands of Canadian jobs disappear following months of gains. At the same time, jobs in manufacturing are up, despite punishing American tariffs. And the bigger picture could be brighter. This is Your World Tonight. It's Friday, September 4th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Helen Mann. Also on the podcast. He's for the people. I see a lot of stuff going on. So far, tariffs have not done anything for the people, except make everything get more expensive.

divided opinions from American voters in Michigan. Trade and tariffs are on the minds of many people in the border state as the U.S. speeds toward midterm elections. After three months of gains, Canada's job market has suddenly stalled. Statistics Canada says the economy lost about 42,000 jobs in August. A surprise, as economists had predicted, a fourth month of job growth. Senior business reporter Nisha Patel will help us break it down. Nisha, that's not a great headline. Where were those jobs lost?

Ontario and Quebec bore the brunt of the pain here. These were mostly full-time jobs lost, and that's always really difficult for households. Fewer Canadians were working in services, admin jobs, retail and wholesale trade, finance, and real estate, and public sector employment fell for the third month in a row. Were there any bright spots? Manufacturing, one of the sectors hit hardest by tariffs, actually added 20,000 jobs. And regionally, Alberta really stands out. Employment there is up by 3.6% over the past year. Much better than the rest of the country. It's less affected by tariffs and it's been boosted by those high energy prices.

Now, this jobs report does show a break in Canada's streak of job gains. So how concerning is that? It takes away some of the economy's momentum, but it is important to remember that the monthly jobs numbers are notoriously volatile. Doug Porter, Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets, says the long-term trend is more important to watch. In the last year, the Canadian economy has seen employment rise by about 1%. That's actually very, quote, normal. That's almost what I would expect in a typical year for the Canadian economy. So despite, you know, a lot of drama from month to month,

and unfortunately it was sort of negative drama this past month, the bigger story is that, you know, the Canadian job market is still holding up well, and the unemployment rate's actually a little bit lower than it was a year ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. reported much better than expected job numbers today. That was a blockbuster report for the U.S. adding 162,000 jobs. Sectors like hospitality and leisure gain positions, manufacturing, added the most jobs since 2023. Lots of construction jobs, too, likely because of how many AI data centers the U.S. is building.

And so part of the story there is that the AI boom seems to be offsetting the effect of the trade war with Canada and the rest of the world. Of course, trade tensions with the U.S. mean there's a lot of uncertainty ahead. How could that affect the job market in the next few months? Well, buckle up for more turbulence, especially for those who work in sectors directly impacted by tariffs. unless there is a trade deal with the U.S., unless there is a resolution to the conflict in Iran that will bring down energy prices, that uncertainty will hang over businesses and they'll be reluctant to hire. But Canada's economy is showing surprising resilience and finding new trade partners, getting rid of trade barriers between the provinces, that will go a long way to recovery. Nisha, thank you. You bet.

The CBC's Nisha Patel in Toronto. Trump, tariffs, trade. They're top of mind these days. days, especially since the latest escalation in the Canada-U-S trade war. The busiest trading corridor is between Ontario and Michigan. So how are Americans in that state feeling about it ahead of their fall midterm elections? Catherine Tunney takes us there. At this bowling league in Flint, Michigan, the gap between bins isn't the only kind of split.

At one lane alone, a political divide. Scott Holmes vocal in his support for U.S. President Donald Trump. He's for the people. I see a lot of stuff going on. Congress people that are Arabs in Islam. They are swearing on the Quran or whatever, and that's not right. His teammate, Dick Hunt, frustrated by the president's trade war. As the people, we end up paying for it. Many fellow bowlers say they're already feeling.

squeezed by rising prices. This is one of the state's hardest hit by tariffs, and Canada's incoming retaliatory measures are threatening to make life even more difficult. Some put the blame squarely on Trump, like Peggy Banks. So far, tariffs have not done anything for the people except make everything get more expensive. The bowling alley, just a short drive to the GM plant. Statues here gnawed to the city's auto routes. But signs of a struggling economy like vacant stores, with broken windows are everywhere. Historically, the Flint area has voted Democrat, but in recent years, Republicans have made inroads,

setting it up to be competitive in the November midterms. The Democrat, running for the open Senate seat, wants the trade war to be a voting issue. Abdul al-Said told CBC News, while he supports some tariffs, the ones slapped on Canada, are illogical. This is just across the board ridiculousness for no particular reason. So I can't quite explain it.

except for that everything Donald Trump does is ham-fisted, chaotic, and self-serving. El Sayed's opponent, Republican Mike Rogers, is more muted on tariffs that backs the president's objectives. The Canadians have not been good partners on this. Polls suggest the two candidates are neck and neck, but feelings about the escalating Canada-U.S. Trade War could move the needle. Long-time friends Brenda Davis and Dolores Evans sit side-by-side on a bench in Grand Blank, Michigan. not always where they find themselves politically.

I normally do Republican, but I have done both. I go Democrats. They're not sure how Canada and the U.S. found themselves in this fight to begin with. And everybody come together and make it good for that side and make it good for that side. The hope here that Canada and the U.S. get back to sitting on the same side soon. Catherine Tunney, CBC News, Flint, Michigan. Coming right up, miraculous rescue. Two hydro workers in Nepal are found alive following devastating floods as crews searched for more survivors.

Plus, a mistrial in the high-profile U.S. murder trial of a mother who killed her three children. And later, we'll have this story. I'm Bartley-Kivas in Winnipeg, where Manitoba Hydro plans to meet the growing demand for electricity by burning more natural gas in Brandon. Critics say this is the wrong move for what right now is one of the world's greenest power utility. We really think this is a massive missed opportunity. I'll have the burning question in Brandon, later on your world tonight. After nine days trapped in a giant mud-filled tunnel in Nepal, two men were pulled out alive earlier today.

Newly energized rescuers are pressing on in search of many more. Several hundred hydroelectric plant workers were below ground when the catastrophic glacier collapse swept away thousands of people. Sasha Petrissik reports. After nine days of digging, two men are pulled from a deep muddy hole. Prayers answered in Nepal as they're carried to waiting helicopters by a search party. I spent my time saying mantras, says Sanjay Sa, from a stretcher. You've been given a second life, answers a rescuer.

The two men were workers at a hydroelectric plant some 20 kilometers. from the glacier whose collapse triggered the devastating flood along the Trishuli River. At least 900 of those still missing are believed to be in deep tunnels linked to a dozen similar power plants high in the Himalayas. With time running out to find them alive, relatives of those rescued today call it nothing short of a miracle. More than 4,000 people are unaccounted for in the region, including trillions. trekkers and foreign tourists. 29 Canadians are among these. Officials have been collecting DNA samples from their relatives,

says Mark Allen, Canada's deputy ambassador to Nepal. To be able to establish matches between direct family members and the remains that are the result of this mass casualty event. Funeral ceremonies now fill Kathmandu. For Nepalis whose bodies have been found, and symbolic ones for those still missing, likely swept away by the water, never to be found, says Pakriti powder, mourning her mother.

I'm trying to be strong this time. I hope she will rest in peace in heaven. Others are trying to live however they can amid the devastation. Many of them now homeless. Huddled as aid agencies deliver food and medicine using drones over the rugged terrain. They are even traveling by zip lines to reach help over rushing water and gorges opened by the flood,

hoping for more survivors, but also moving on. Sasha Petrosick, CBC News, Toronto. Argentina and the United Kingdom are once again at odds over the Falkland Islands. The disputed islands lie off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic Ocean. Britain claims ownership of the Falklands, but the two nations fought a war in 1982 when Argentina invaded. The UK has been pushing for increased oil drilling near the territory,

and Argentina's president, Javier Malay, has threatened sanctions against companies if that goes ahead. Toronto police have arrested one man and are still looking for another after several cars were set on fire outside the home of a liberal MP. Two vehicles in front of Selma Zahid's house were destroyed a week ago, and a third was damaged. There was no damage to the house and no one was injured. Saheed represents Scarborough Centre Don Valley East. She's been MP since 2015.

Police have not said whether they suspect the attack was connected to her work. The Canada West Foundation says separating Alberta from Canada would come with a big price tag and plenty of uncertainty. In a new report, the Calgary-based group details just how hard it would be for Alberta to leave. But a second report from a pro-separation group envisions a very different path. Erin Collins has the details. While the grievances are real, separation is not the solution. Gary Marr clear on where he stands on Alberta Independence.

The former provincial cabinet minister and current head of the Canada West Foundation says a new report by that think tank supports that position. Our purpose is to inform and give evidence-based information to Albertans. The study Alberta in Confederation was penned by legal, economic and political experts and concludes that sovereignty would likely be a costly bet for the province. It suggests that setting up an independent Alberta would cost north of $200 billion and damage the economy.

The authors also suggest that the province's debt would skyrocket, assertions that Marr feels aren't addressed by separatists in the province. The assumptions that some of the, leaves side would make here in Alberta are not well grounded in the factual experience of other jurisdictions. It's a position that leading sovereignties in the province reject. They're filled with doom and gloom. I joke that the only thing missing from the report is the asteroid striking Earth. Keith Wilson is a lawyer and the co-lead of the Alberta Transition Council. Wilson rejects the notion that separation would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and his group also released a

document this week that details a very different vision for Alberta secession. They're pessimistic reports assuming every possible thing that could go wrong. Our transition plan is a clear-eyed look at how this can be done. The Alberta transition plan was written by Wilson and dozens of other authors who chose to remain anonymous. That white paper envisions a smoother, if imperfect, transition to independence. The ACT plan strikes me as a very unsophisticated document. Errol Mendez is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Ottawa. He says secession, if it were to happen, would include complex negotiations around pensions, debt, and indigenous

treaties, to name a few. A document which essentially says, you know, as long as you can have a fairly solid Alberta government, we can take care of everything else. just doesn't live up to any form of reality at all. Albertans will vote on October 19th on whether to remain in Canada or to hold a binding provincial referendum on separation in the spring. Erin Collins, CBC News, Calgary. An improperly measured Edmonton Marathon course has cost 13 runners a chance to run the Boston Marathon. Edmonton organizers have admitted the route for the race last month was nearly six,

675 meters too long. That affected the times for those trying to achieve the qualifying standard for the elite-level Boston race. Boston organizers said they would still accept people whose times met the standard at the longer length. 92 competitors did meet it. A U.S. judge has declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. Proceedings were live-streamed for weeks, putting maternal mental health in the spotlight. And after seven days of deliberations, the jury could not agree. whether Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three young children. Philip Lee-Shanock reports. What do you want me to do?

Before declaring a mistrial, Judge William Sullivan sparred with defense lawyer, Kevin Reddington, over how he read his instructions to the jury. The fact that I perhaps didn't give it my full inflection, I'm sorry about them. I'm not an actor. Reddington accused the judge of not emphasizing to jury members that they must be unanimously convinced of Lindsay Clancy's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. You're kind of glossing over the issue. I am not glossing over this issue. Clancy is accused of strangling to death her three children,

aged five, three and eight months old in 2023. She then attempted to kill herself by jumping from a window. Police charged her with three counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say she planned to kill her children, then faked her suicide attempt, which left her paralyzed. Her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible due to postpartum depression and psychosis. The jury heard testimony from more than 80 witnesses

and viewed hundreds of exhibits. They'd been deadlocked for a week. Reddington says it came down to one juror who refused to admit they harbored reasonable doubt, even when questioned individually by Judge Sullivan himself. We have a person who, under their oath, stood in front of you yesterday, looked you in the eye and lied. And if that's the case, that's jury misconduct and that's a mistrial.

California lawyer Molly Murphy is a criminal trial strategist. She says jury deliberations are confidential as they are in Canada. A mistrial means the prosecution will have to begin again. They have to refile it. Now, what that does is it gives both sides an opportunity maybe to try it a little differently. Jean Ross is a Washington, D.C. based former U.S. federal prosecutor. He expects murder charges to be relayed against Clancy.

When you have a mother who takes the life of three children, five or under, it's almost impossible in a prosecutor's office to just let that go. And he expects details of the jury's deliberations to be revealed. There are going to be some jurors that are going to be interviewed. That's where both sides have an opportunity to find out the good, the bad and the ugly of their case in chief. The district attorney's office says the prosecutor's only motivation is to seek justice for the three clancy children,

and they have not yet made a decision on whether to retry their mother. Philip Lyshawnock, CBC News, Toronto. For centuries, the world map, most people know, has been wrong, and the United Nations is adopting a map, it claims, is a more accurate representation. The General Assembly voted 164 to 1 to a... adopt what's called the Equal Earth Map projection. It replaces the Mercator projection. That made land masses near the poles like Canada and Greenland seem larger,

and Africa appears smaller than it should. Togo's foreign minister, Robert Deucy, called today's vote a historic step toward a more accurate representation of the world. A map is indeed a technical tool, but is also an instrument, an instrument. and knowledge and representation that shapes how people and continent perceive themselves. The U.S. provided the one dissenting vote. The last few years have been some of the hottest on record in Canada,

and a new federal climate change report says we need to prepare for even more heat. Scientists say based on different scenarios of how much or how little action is taken to help fight it, This country could be three and a half to five degrees hotter by the end of the century. Inayat Singh explains. There's now a significant amount of warming baked in that we have to adapt and adjust to. It's time to heed the warnings, says the Canadian Climate Institute's Ryan Ness. He's combing through the federal government's latest climate change report. The first time it was ever done was seven years ago.

Since then, Canada has faced major climate disasters that have made the toll clear, and climate scientists have much better projections for the end of the century. In a best case scenario, Canada is expected to warm by about three and a half degrees before things level off. That means a significant amount of climate change, more extreme rainfall, more droughts, more extreme heat, more wildfires. That's the stark message of the report that Canada now faces unavoidable climate destruction, even in a scenario where the world reaches net zero carbon emissions in this century, Canada, which is warming at twice or more the global average, will have to adapt to more extreme weather that is now irreversible.

But that's not the only scenario the report explores. In the longer term, the level of climate change will depend on whether the world is successful in reducing emissions. Nathan Gillett, research scientists at Environment and Climate Change Canada, says Canada faces worse outcomes if the world just stays on its current emissions trajectory without more action. In this scenario which corresponds to roughly current climate policies globally, we see much more climate change in Canada, intensified warming in the north, we see loss of almost all the glaciers in West in Canada by the end of the century, profound climate changes in the country.

The Canadian projections come in the same week as enough. global report from the United Nations that acknowledges for the first time that the world will go past a key warming threshold despite the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit climate change. Elizabeth Gilmour, climate scientists at Carlton University in Ottawa, contributed to that report. What this means is it means that we are going to face higher risks and we are going to need more adaptation in order to be able to live well. Gilmore says she hopes the federal government will take this as a call to action as Canada faces tough decisions on adapting to its climate future. In Ayat Singh, CBC News, Toronto.

As climate change highlights the need to wean the world off fossil fuel, one Canadian province is planning to burn more of it. Manitoba's power utility says it's the only way to get new electricity quickly. And as the CBC's Bartley-Kivas reports, its plans are also facing a trade snag. south of the border. Kettle Rapids on the Nelson River is one of 16 hydroelectric stations in Manitoba. They generate almost 98% of the province's electricity, making Manitoba's grid among the greenest in the world. But having the most clean power right now doesn't mean enough power for the near future. By about 2030, the winter peak demand is going to exceed the available

capacity that we have. Manitoba Hydro's Peter Chura says the utilities in danger of midwinter power shortages by the end of the decade, mainly because of a growing demand for electricity, not from AI data centers, but pretty much from everything else. There's more EVs being plugged in, more devices being plugged in at homes, and expanding populations that are just using more electricity. Hydro solution? Expand its natural gas burning station in Brandon, Manitoba's second largest city. Hydra wants to add three more turbines at a cost of $3 billion. This plan faces a lot of opposition. load forecast in terms of electricity increases in the next few years.

Katrina DeLay is a lawyer for the public interest law center, a long-time hydro watchdog. She argues hydro hasn't proven it needs the power and hasn't bothered to consider battery storage instead. Consider maybe one combustion turbine rather than the three that Manitoba Hydro is proposing, but also look at installing a meaningful amount of battery storage. Manitoba's climate action team says there's another reason to reconsider gas turbines. The golden age of America begins right now. The turbines Manitoba plans to buy would be manufactured in the U.S.

in the middle of a cross-border trade war. James Wilt speaks for the climate action team. We really think this is a massive missed opportunity that will end up funneling huge revenues to G. Renova, which is a U.S.-based company, which manufactures these turbines in deep in Trump country in South Carolina. Last week, Manitoba's premier suggested he's open to buying turbines elsewhere. I wouldn't say it's a done deal. Premier Wab Knew says he's more likely to direct Hydro to make $30 billion worth of future machinery purchases

somewhere other than in the U.S. If all of a sudden firms in Trump's America were not eligible for that. I wonder how much attention that would get. Manitoba Hydro says there is no other supplier who can deliver the turbines on time. Either way, James Wilt says Hydro's image as a green power utility is already tarnished.

I would say that reputation is certainly in jeopardy. Manitoba's energy regulator is going to weigh in on Manitoba Hydra's gas turbine expansion. Wab Cano's cabinet has the final say. Part of the Kivas, CBC News, Winnipeg. And finally... The sound of young karate students practicing their craft at a dojo in Vancouver.

The team just got back from the Pan American Championships in Costa Rica. Evan Choi competed in the under-14 division. He says he was nervous but prepared. Sometimes that... You have to get past that and just do your best, do what you practiced, and yeah, just get past all those nerves. Ethan Choi took part at the junior level for ages 16 to 17. He was one of just two Canadians to compete in two separate karate disciplines, Kata and Kumite. I'd say that Kata is probably harder because you have to be really precise and clean.

And if you don't practice it for a while, it becomes really hard to keep it up. You don't know if they're going to attack, when they're going to attack, so you have to play that mind game, figure out when you're going to attack, and when you have to defend as well. The other Canadian taking on the two disciplines, 13-year-old Kai Lim. He says his main motivation in the sport

is to follow in his father's footsteps. Before I started seriously, I always wanted to know why he loves priority so much, why and how it shaped him. So obviously, I'm not him, so. But as I continued to take him, it more seriously. I think I get a better grasp on why he is the way he is. Kenny Lame is the chief instructor at West River Karate. He says the sport is about much more than winning.

For me, the biggest thing is it the athletic accomplishments. I really try to build them in athletes first. I don't believe that any parent or guardian brings their child in right away and be like, make my kid a champion. I think it comes from a very different headspace. I'm a parent myself first. So I always make sure that they're growing up correctly, making sure they have the etiquette and manners. And they go up to be good people first. This has been your world tonight for Friday, September 4th. I'm Helen Mann. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.