Your World Tonight - Advance polls open, Ukraine ceasefire talks, the Bible in Hollywood, and more…

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

Advance polls are open, bringing with them the opportunity to vote, but also some frustration. Line ups at some polls are long, as people use a holiday to get out and vote.And: U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to help broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine but – he won’t wait forever. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. could give up on the talks within days. One discussion that’s still happening – a possible mineral deal between the U.S. and Ukraine. Also: Bible stories are proving to be a big business for studios and streamers. Both Amazon and Netflix have signed deals to have more Biblical content. Plus: A Democratic senator visits a man in El Salvador who was mistakenly deported from the U.S., new search and rescue drone technology on B.C.’s North Shore, and more.

Just weeks after 9-11, letters containing anthrax were sent all over America, and it would go down as the deadliest biological attack in U.S. history. I'm Kathleen Goltar, and this week on Crime Story, I speak with Jeremiah Kroll about a long-forgotten story that's had a lasting impact on American life. Find Crime Story wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. I was a little surprised to see the length of the line this morning, it means that we're, everybody's waking up.

I think the urge to vote is more important now than ever, and I want to get it in and do my duty as fast as I can. Voters are passionate. It's the biggest thing that's ever happened in my life. Advanced voting. I think it's a good sign. People are engaged. Whether it's a holiday rush or voters wanting to cast their ballot as early as possible, in an election unlike any other, Canadians rushed to polling stations on day one of

advance voting, starting a long weekend in long lines as party leaders start to push their campaigns to the finish line. Welcome to Your World Tonight, I'm Stephanie Scanderis. It's Friday April 18th coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern also on the podcast. If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people, and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that. The United States is losing patience,

and it could mean Ukraine-Russia peace talks will lose a critical mediator. More than three years into the war and with negotiations at a standstill, the White House says it's ready to move on if those negotiations keep dragging on. With the official debates in the rearview, the major parties are now full speed ahead on the campaign's final stretch. And if the turnout at advance polls is any indication, Canadians across the country are engaged and eager to vote.

The CBC's Tom Perry begins our coverage tonight. Across Canada, voters lining up at advance polling stations waiting patiently to cast their ballots. We came to early voting and we got here and waited two hours to vote but we weren't gonna leave because we thought it was important and we thought it wouldn't take so long. At Ottawa City Hall the line this morning stretched out the door and down the length of the building. There were long lines as well in places like Vancouver. It was important for me to come out and

get it done just so that I felt like I had it over with. This has been, I'm 65 years young, this has been probably one of the most important federal elections we've ever had. While some voters have already made their choice, party leaders were back out today looking to win over those who might still be wavering. We can give ourselves so much more

than the Americans can ever take away. Liberal leader Mark Carney was in Niagara Falls, Ontario on the U.S. border, making his case once again, this election is about choosing which leader can best take on U.S. President Donald Trump. We will build Canada strong, Canada free, a Canada that's forever independent of the United States. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev started his day in Montreal, sticking to a theme he's repeated throughout the campaign, that there's no real difference between Carney and Justin Trudeau.

Now the question is whether we, with rising costs and costs and crime the liberals deserve a fourth term in power or whether it's time for a change with a new conservative government. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was also campaigning in Quebec hammering home his message to voters that they should elect new Democrats to keep whoever wins this election in check. Ottawa does work best when one party doesn't have all the power. I'm going to let people know on the last ten days of this campaign. Bloch-Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet making a similar pitch. Let's go back to the campaign and discuss the real issues,

which is the weight that Quebecers could choose to give the Bloch-Québécois not to provide Mr. Carney with too large mandate. No one has won this election just yet, but the campaign is in the home stretch. Parties are expected to release their costed platforms over the next few days, though many voters aren't waiting, their minds already made up. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The campaign may be down to its final 10 days, but party leaders are still pushing their messages and making new announcements. CBC News has reporters covering the major campaigns.

First to Montreal. I'm Kat Tenney covering the Conservatives. As this election campaign turns the corner into the final stretch, leader Pierre Polyev says he'll bring plastic bags and straws back. Speaking from a recycling plant in Montreal, Polyev promised to end the federal ban on single-use plastics. We will end the liberal ban on convenience. We'll base policy on evidence and affordability, not on elite virtue signaling. The policy is currently tied up in the courts. Poliev's announcement comes on the heels of last night's debate, where tensions in the media room became so heated due to the presence of the right-wing media outlet Rebel News,

the traditional post-debate news conference was canceled. Poliev was asked whether the debate commission should be abolished. The conservative leader was also asked whether he'd still fire the Bank of Canada governor, a promise that has been a staple of his speeches. Do you still want to fire the Bank of Canada governor, a promise that has been a staple of his speeches. Do you still want to fire the Bank of Canada governor, sir? It's an easy question. We talked about it for years. Kholiev didn't answer the yes or no questions.

When journalists shouted for him to clarify his position, his staff moved in to surround reporters and drown them out with clapping. Catherine Taney, CBC News, Montreal. I'm Evan Dyer covering The Bloc. Today The Bloc announced a proposal to remove the GST from new home sales for first-time buyers up to a value of $750,000, a proposal similar to those made by other parties. Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet also condemned the debate commission for allowing a large contingent from Ezra Levante's rebel media into the media room at last night's English language debate. The ruckus that ensued led to the cancellation of his one chance to address his supporters in French, he said.

The Bloc is now running about 20 points behind Marc Carney's Liberals in Quebec, but Blanchet says he believes that might turn around because former Bloc voters who plan to vote strategically out of fear of a poly-F government are now less fearful after the debates. People have been scared. And if they believe that Canada will choose Mr. Carnic, they will feel free to go back to the Bloc Québécois, because this is what they like.

No one loves Quebec like a Quebecer, he said, but past elections have shown that voters here don't always agree that loving Quebec means voting for the sovereign disoption. Evan Dyer, CBC News, Langoy, Quebec. I'm Carina Roman covering the Liberal campaign. In Niagara Falls, Ontario, across from Niagara Falls, New York, Liberal leader Mark Carney says the now fractured U.S.-Canada relationship due to Trump's tariffs and sovereignty threats

will be felt more keenly here and in other border towns than anywhere else in Canada. The ties are even deeper, ties of blood and workplaces and others. The situation is very fluid. It will not fully go back to where it was. The U.S. has changed its priorities. This is not a little thing and we have to be clear-eyed about that. On the heels of last night's English debate, Carney today had no platform announcement

simply using the backdrop of the falls to push his key message. I, for better or worse, have managed crises almost all my professional life. I think I know not just what it takes to survive a crisis, to get through a crisis, but what it takes to emerge stronger than before. Tomorrow, Kearney is expected to unveil the costed Liberal platform, in which voters will finally be able to see the total tally of all Kearney's promises and how he plans to pay for them. Karina Roman, CBC News, Niagara Falls, Ontario. For us when we lay out our vision for Quebec it's one of acknowledging Quebec as a nation.

NEP leader Jagmeet Singh is outside Montreal today in a riding north of the city. He's there to help Ruth Ellen Brosseau win her seat back. She garnered national attention back in 2011 for flying to Las Vegas during the election campaign to celebrate her birthday. She had never set foot in her riding before becoming its MP. New Democrats Los Bertie Masquillange back in 2019, now Brosseau, is fighting again trying to take the riding back from the bloc. When you get on an airplane right there's the right wing there's the middle but we also need the left wing so I think people are going to sit down with their family and their friends and they're going to look at the options and they're going to say hey new democrats are there to fight for me.

The party hopes this could be one of the seats where New Democrats expand their footprint in the province beyond their lone Quebec MP. David Thurton, CBC News, Yamashish, Quebec. The housing shortage is a big concern for voters and all of the major parties have been making promises about how to build more homes. But there's another shortage of workers and recent changes to immigration rules aren't helping with that. Lisa Shing explains. Townhouses are getting built at a construction site in the suburbs of London, Ontario. While work is steady, real estate developers like Sue Wastell are seeing a big problem on the horizon. We are really struggling with getting

the right type of workers into the residential construction industry. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says nearly six million new homes need to be built by 2030 to tackle the affordability crisis with the majority of the supply gap in Ontario and British Columbia. But Wastel says that may not happen

because the industry is desperate for entry-level workers such as framers, tile setters and general labourers who learn on the job. We just haven't been able to keep up domestically and what we're seeing on the immigration side is that the type of workers that are being brought into Canada are not necessarily the workers that we need. The federal points-based immigration system mostly brings in workers with specialized certificates or degrees. They've left certain trades behind.

It's not just residential construction that's experiencing the pinch, but municipal infrastructure too, according to Patrick McManus, head of the Ontario Sewer and Water Main Construction Association. If these issues aren't addressed, we're going to deal with problems like rising costs on construction projects, delays in construction projects. The critical construction worker pilot is one stream under our provincial nominee program. Some provinces worked with the federal government to tackle the problem and are seeing success. In 2023, Nova Scotia launched a pilot program to target the jobs it needs. Jeremy Smith is with the province's Department of Labour Skills and Immigration. Providing flexibility there allows those individuals who are coming from another country who might

not be able to finish high school because they've gone straight into the construction trades to have great flexibility there, not've gone straight into the construction trades. To have great flexibility there, not have to provide that documentation, work with the employer and then use this pathway that's available to them. A points-based system doesn't accurately reflect what the job market actually needs, says Rupa Banerjee, a professor of human resources at Toronto Metropolitan University. We need to make sure that we have a real wide variety of skills and a real wide variety of people, different types of people from different backgrounds.

Immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada told CBC News it's working to focus permanent residence pathways for skilled workers in critical sectors, which includes assessing the effectiveness and outcomes of the points-based system. Lisa Sheng, CBC News, Toronto. Still to come on the podcast, a new way to find those who get lost on Vancouver's North Shore Mountains, the homegrown tech that's a game changer for rescuers. Plus biblical stories back on the big screen, why there's a resurgence in Christianuers. Plus biblical stories back on the big screen, why there's a resurgence in Christian content.

That's all coming up on Your World Tonight. Ending the Russia-Ukraine war may have been a campaign promise from Donald Trump. But if peace talks between the two countries don't make progress soon, the U.S. president says his country may pull out of the negotiations. Philipp Lee Shennock has more on growing frustration in the U.S. and the uncertainty that's creating in Europe. ...continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end. In Paris, after landmark talks with U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the U.S. will walk away if there's no progress. If it is, we're in. If it's hot, then we'll have to, we have other priorities to focus on as well. But just hours later in Rome, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance sounded more positive. We do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close. Then this afternoon from the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in.

One of the two parties makes it very difficult. We're just going to say you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people, and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that. We want to see it end. Every day a lot of people are being killed. We won't have to do that. We want to see it end. Every day a lot of people are being killed. That includes one person in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv after a Russian missile strike today. More than 100 others were injured.

Russia's military said it was targeting drone launch sites. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insists there is progress on peace talks. Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov Contacts going on are quite complicated. The topic of peace settlement in Ukraine is not an easy one. There is some development off the battlefield. Ukrainian officials announce that they've agreed to a framework of a deal with the U.S. over minerals that could be signed next week. Ivana Kimpush-Sinzadze is a member of Ukraine's parliament.

She says she hopes that deal doesn't cost Ukraine too much and adds that the US threat to abandon talks is not realistic. I cannot even imagine that the United States actually, by saying that we will just walk away, will recognize this incapacity to deal with the authoritarian, dictatorial, terroristic state. just walk away will recognize this incapacity to deal with the authoritarian dictatorial terroristic state mixed messaging never works well with dictatorships

It is one of the worst ways to negotiate Oral Braun is a professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto He says confusing messages coming from the u.s. Creates uncertainty So you're not the states still has to play a pivotal role, but the Europeans in Canada have to compensate for the diminished contribution by United States. Trump did not say what would happen to American military aid to Ukraine should the US decide to abandon ceasefire negotiations. Trump had promised to stop the fighting in Ukraine

within the first 24 hours of his presidency. It's been nearly 100 days and there's still no end in sight. Philip LeShannok, CBC News, Toronto. Donald Trump today also repeated his refusal to help a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ordered him to be brought back. As Katie Nicholson tells us, the disagreement is testing the limits of the president's and the top court's power and has the potential to create a constitutional crisis.

Moments after landing back in the U.S US Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen described his brief sit down with Kilmer Abrego Garcia. I told him that millions of Americans understand that what is happening to him is a threat to their own constitutional rights. The father was taken into custody by immigration officials on March 12th

and mistakenly deported to an El Salvador super prison. He said that thinking of you, members of his family, is what gave him the strength to persevere. El Pueblo unido, la mas la vencido. The case sparked widespread protests in part because Abrego Garcia has a special legal status preventing him from being sent to El Salvador and because he was denied due process. President Donald Trump today heaped dissent on the Democratic senator for his visit. He's a fake and they have no interest in that prisoner. And repeated a familiar line about Abrego Garcia.

He's an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist. Abrego Garcia's lawyers have denied allegations of gang or criminal involvement and say he has no criminal record. But Trump officials like White House press secretary Caroline Levitt have doubled down all week. He will never live in the United States of America again. This defiance in the face of district court demands supported by the Supreme Court that the administration facilitate Abrego Garcia's return.

Last evening, a blistering unanimous order from an appeals court lambasted the government for quote, asserting a right to stash away residents of this country and foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is foundation of our constitutional order. And it warned that the judicial and executive branches of government are quote, grinding against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both. He could get Kilmore back to the United States with one conversation. Democratic Representative Robert Garcia is among those pushing for a congressional visit to check in on Abrego Garcia's well-being at the prison.

He says the president could easily end the drama. He can get him home and actually follow the law and not enter into this crisis where he begins to defy the courts in a way that's open and concerning. The more the White House resists the courts, the more fears grow of a constitutional crisis between the president and the highest court in the land. We join our hearts in prayer for Qomar. All while Abrego Garcia's family prays for his return. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington.

You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. News, Washington. With breathtaking views and majestic wilderness, it's easy to lose yourself in the beauty of Vancouver's North Shore Mountains. It's also easy to get lost. Thousands of hikers and climbers trek into the backcountry every year, and it's the job of North Shore Rescue to make sure they make it out. Now, the busiest urban search team in the country is getting some help from some homegrown technology. Georgie Smythe went along to see it in action. Mount Fromme in North Vancouver, wet, steep, forested slopes of the Coast Mountains,

where it can be gruelling to locate the lost. Search and rescue operator Grant Baldwin launches a small drone. It's equipped with thermal imaging software. I'm at 120 meters. This is kind of like my sweet spot for searching with my thermal. From high up above the drone can detect heat in the forest below. It displays that on a monitor. In an endless forest of dense trees, suddenly out of nowhere there's an outline of a person, a blinding bright yellow heat print. Now do you see them? It's pretty wild, hey?

In Vancouver's steep, lush and rain-soaked mountains, more than 100 people get lost every year. For decades searching for and rescuing them has meant boots on the ground slogging through steep dangerous terrain with little visibility. That won't change, but new technology has the potential to be a game changer. Besides detecting heat from the air, BC-based company Eagle Eyes has developed drone-based visual recognition software to detect any bright colors or movement

in a landscape, anything that stands out from the surrounding terrain. And right there we start getting a detection, we can tap on it, zooms us in right here. Founder Peter O'Connell says the computer picks up things almost invisible to the human eye. Like a color through a tree canopy or some bit of motion. And the operator is really looking for anomalies and so our computer vision system is basically doing the same. So the message would be don't wear green and brown. Don't wear don't wear green and brown wear bright colors. Grant Baldwin who spent months developing the thermal imaging drone says his organization North Shore Rescue

is also looking at using the Eagle Eye software. I think it's more of a useful summer search technique with thermal not being reliable in the summer. Baldwin's drone technology now deployed with the helicopters and ground teams is already saving lives. In December a hiker was missing for hours in the dark. And it was on my last battery, I actually spotted the subject. He was quite herpothermic, he had fallen in some creeks.

It was about minus six, so if the team hadn't found him that night, I think it would have been more of a recovery. A new Canadian-developed solution helping to make these beautiful but sometimes dangerous mountains a little safer. Georgie Smythe, CBC News, North Vancouver. The stories aren't new, but the storytelling is. Biblical tales, thousands of years old, are being rebooted for contemporary film and TV productions. The genre is attracting new non-Christian audiences, and fans have faith the trend will continue.

CBC's Magda Gabrber-Solasa reports. Listen carefully because I'm going to tell you what is about to happen. The secret's out. Biblical stories have made a comeback on the big and small screen and the moviegoers we talked to in Toronto are here for it. People want to see epic epic storytelling. Nancy Putzpapan is among those that went to see season five of The Chosen, a dramatic series about Jesus and his disciples out in theaters now.

Over time the show reports it's reached more than 280 million viewers. I think it's about 30% of our audience globally does not identify as religious or church going. Actor Jonathan Rumi, who plays the role of Jesus, explains why he thinks audiences are tuning in. I think with everything that's happening on the world stage, the divisiveness politically, the conflict that we're seeing.

In every part of the globe, I think people are hungry for something. They're hungry for change. They're hungry for positive. When baby Jesus came into the world. Also in theaters now, the animated King of Kings, with Charles Dickens narrating the story of Jesus. Goliath! And on TV, House of David, which came out in February, proved to be a big hit for Amazon Prime.

It's already been given the green light for season two. What studios see, they see the audiences, they see the numbers, they see the dollars. John Jurgensen is an entertainment reporter with the Wall Street Journal. He credits the current interest in Christian content to the success of The Chosen and the contemporary film Sound of Freedom. God's children are not for sale.

The 2023 hit made more than $250 million U.S. at the box office. Because of the story it was telling about child trafficking, it was ringing a bell for people. It's interesting because it's not an explicitly Christian film, but at the same time, it was almost marketed like that. Father Eric Ma is a priest in Colgan, Ontario. He also reviews movies on his YouTube channel. His take, there's another contributing factor to the current interest in this faith-based content.

I think before the focus was on making Christian films with the purpose of catechesis or evangelization. And now I think people are just focused on making good films. And more biblical films are on the way, including the sequel to The Passion of the Christ, which goes into production this summer. Makda Gebre-Salesa, CBC News, Toronto. Finally tonight recycling and rethinking traditional indigenous clothing. It's light, it's airy, you know it's flexible. It's not bad. It's nice colour too. It's nice and bright.

You know blue and yellow. Chase Me Chance of Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan says the idea came to him in a dream. He was at a powwow and everyone was in ceremonial regalia, ribbon shirts and pants made from reusable shopping bags. Mechance does most of his shopping at his local Walmart and thought the color scheme looked good. So he asked his uncle, Sage Ballentine, to make it a reality. It took 13 bags to bring that bad boy together. You know, I think it's pretty cool.

I'm thinking about making myself one here before Regina Powell this weekend if I can get the timing. and get the timing. MeChance showed off the creation on his TikTok account. And it wasn't just the shirt. Valentine thought the blue Walmart ribbon shirt would go well with bright yellow pants made from no-frills supermarket bags. The designs have been a hit. There aren't plans to expand the clothing line, but MeChance hopes it inspires others to give it a try. The materials are pretty easy to find. I hope more people catch on and then make their own.

At the end of the day, it's just some fun idea that I came up with in the dream and just wanted to share it with the world. This has been Your World Tonight for Friday, April 18th. I'm Stephanie Scanderres. Thank you for listening. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.