Your World Tonight - Canada not happy with U.S. offer, wildfire effect on farming, Farage vs Count Binface, and more

Episode Date: August 12, 2026

Sources tell CBC News Canada is unhappy with the latest trade deal offer from the U.S. as Minister Dominic Leblanc meets with his U.S. counterpart Jameson Greer again.Also: The effect of out-of-control wildfires on B.C.'s agriculture industry and the uncertainty faced by farmers for this season and beyond.And: A high-profile populist leader, a multi-million dollar crypto scandal, and a candidate wearing a trash can on his head — the state of British politics as Nigel Farage faces off against Count Binface.Plus: Cities want help to upgrade infrastructure to deal with extreme weather, grim ebola milestone, total solar eclipse, and more.

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As Canadians, we're always wanting to roll up our sleeves, engage, being proactive, and make sure that our American partners understand the essential nature of this bilateral relationship on the trade side. A relationship with an uncertain future. Sources say Canadian officials aren't happy with the latest offer from American negotiators. What comes next for the talks with a week before steep tariffs could go into place on a range of Canadian goods. This is Your World Tonight. It's Wednesday, August 12th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern.

I'm Colin Butler. also on the podcast. In the fruit industry, there's always things you can deal with or you can't deal with, but totally unknown answers is not what we're used to. Harvest interrupted by fire, the nervous weight faced by many farmers in British Columbia's southern interior, unable to return home, unsure if their livelihoods could go up in smoke. We're learning new details about the trade talks between Canadian and U.S. negotiators in Washington. some tension over the latest U.S. offer. Pressure is mounting ahead of a trade deadline in just a

week when the U.S. says it will impose a 50% tariff on billions of dollars of Canadian exports. Kate McKenna is learning more about what's happening behind the scenes. Kate, what do we know? Well, we know that the U.S. made a counteroffered to Canada yesterday and that Canadian negotiators aren't happy with it. So there's no deal in sight, at least for now. But the clock is ticking. They've got six more deals. days to make a deal before a new set of tariffs targeting a wide range of Canadian goods take effect. But both sides are at the table. Top Canadian officials remain in Washington. U.S. Canada trade minister Dominic Leblom met with his counterpart Jameson Greer yesterday for the third time

in three weeks. Since then, I've spoken with two sources familiar with the trade talks who are on both sides of the border. We're not naming them because they're not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations. They say proposals have been exchanged over the past few weeks. Canada wants a comprehensive deal that goes farther than seeing the new tariffs thrown out. The country wants relief on existing sectoral tariffs hurting the steel, aluminum, auto, and lumber industries. Meanwhile, the U.S. has nine priority issues they'd like to see addressed, including removing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, putting American booze back on provincial shelves, and tweaking how dairy quotas work.

Sources say the U.S. also wants to create a new security, critical mineral, and energy partnership with Canada that would see them get preferential access to the market. The U.S. is willing to make some concessions on things like the base rate tariff on autos, but they're not willing to go as far as Canada wants yet anyway. Okay. So what does come next? Well, deal or no deal, the relationship between both countries will change. The goal is to present a deal to the president by next Monday or Tuesday. They're not there yet.

If there's no deal, the prime minister has said retaliation could be on the table, asking the premiers to suggest potential options to hit back last month. We also reported last week that Canadian officials have warned the U.S. If they can't reach an agreement by next Wednesday, then Canadians may not have an appetite to keep going with these talks. All right, thanks, Kate. You're welcome. The CBC's Kate McKenna in Washington.

As Canada struggles to reach a trade deal with the U.S., there's a new sign of just how tense relations between the two countries have become. Tens of thousands of Canadians have signed their name to a petition. It calls on the federal government to remove Pete Hoekstra, Trump's U.S. ambassador to Canada. Tom Perry reports. It is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship. He's a diplomat with a reputation for having a distinctly undiplomatic manner. Pete Hoekstra, Donald Trump's U.S. ambassador to Canada has scolded his host country for what he sees as its anti-American.

attitude while expressing astonishment that Canadians might somehow take offense to Trump's punitive tariffs on key sectors of their economy. I'm not going to try to analyze Canadians anymore, okay? If they want to be mad about the sectoral tariffs, which are totally legitimate under Kuzma, an agreement that Canada agreed to, they can be mad at the United States. To Hoekstra, the same goes for Canadians upset about Trump's repeated threats to turn their country into America's 51st state. The ambassador recently reposted a social media message from Trump, reviving his push for statehood, arguing it was his job to present the president's views to Canadians. But Canadians have

views of their own about Trump and his representative. Tens of thousands of them have now signed a petition that will eventually be presented to Parliament calling on the federal government to declare the U.S. ambassador persona non-grata and requests his removal. His attitude is disrespectful. Former Canadian diplomat Jeremy Kinsman thinks the petition is a small but accurate reflection of how many Canadians view the Trump administration and its ambassador. What the president of the United States thinks is offensive, it's hostile, it's aggressive, it's uninformed, it's untruthful, all of those things. And the guy radiates it. The federal government has made a point of not reacting to every comment,

or social media post from Trump and his envoy. And so today, finance minister Francois Philippe Champagne carefully skated round a question about the ambassador and the petition to remove him. From the first day, our mission has always been to fight for industries, fight for our workers, fight for Canada. Petitions are a routine part of parliamentary business and cover all sorts of topics.

Many gather far more signatures than the one aimed at the U.S. ambassador. but this does come at yet another tense moment between Canada and the U.S. with Trump threatening fresh new tariffs next week. The U.S. Embassy in Canada would today say only that it's aware of the petition and that it would comment no further. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. One of Trump's top people is leaving their job. Carolyn Levitt says she will step down as White House Press Secretary at the end of the month. The 28-year-old Leavitt is the youngest.

person to ever serve in the role. She took a brief leave in May after giving birth to her second child but is leaving to spend more time with her family. In a social media post, the U.S. President called her one of his most trusted aides. An independent appeal board has ruled five members of the 2018 World Junior Team violated Hockey Canada's Code of Conduct. The five were acquitted last year on sexual assault charges. From an incident after a Hockey Canada gala, involving a woman known as EM. Several have gone back to playing in the NHL, but they have remained suspended from hockey Canada's sanctioned activities.

One is eligible to return immediately. The other four remain suspended. Coming up, fires and farming, the impact of out-of-control wildfires on BC's agriculture industry and the uncertainty faced by farmers for this season and beyond. Plus, aging infrastructure. and Ontario City cleans up after major flooding, as it and other municipalities across the country

call for major upgrades. And later, we'll have this story. I'm Anna Cunningham in London. Why is the leader of Britain's Populist Reform Party, Nigel Farage, being challenged for a parliamentary seat by a man dressed as a trash can? Hello planet Earth. Hello humans.

Count Binfez here. Later on World Tonight, I'll explain why voters in one English seaside town are going to the polls for a very peculiar election. More whales are being moved from a shuttered Ontario aquatic theme park. Six belugas are on their way to new homes in Chicago and Atlanta. This is the third batch of whales that lived at marine land sent to new homes. Eleven belugas and four dolphins remain as well as a number of deer.

The park closed its doors in 2024. The unrelenting wildfires across BC are disrupting, not just lives, but also livelihoods. Farmers in the Okinawagon were forced to evacuate in the middle of their crucial harvest season, and many are wondering how much of this year's crop can be salvaged. Julia Wong tells us more. Bright, big, huge flames. You know, I've never seen nothing like it.

When the Bald Range wildfires spill down the mountain near Mike Dickinson's family farm in Summerland, BC, this past weekend, he knew it was time to get out. I was running around trying to get some clothes. the medication and grab some computers. But he had to leave behind his 10-acre farm, which is mostly covered with cherry trees and has been in his family for about 60 years. Dickinson was able to go back Saturday to check on the property

and says there isn't any noticeable damage. But with no timeline on when evacuees can go home, he's worried. Unknowing answers is hard to deal with. You know, in the fruit industry, there's always things you can deal with or you can't deal with, but totally unknown answers is not what we're used to dealing. BC's agriculture minister, Lana Popham, says the province gets how hard the wildfire has been on farmers like Dickinson and ranchers as well.

This is impacting approximately 50,000 animals. That doesn't mean that those animals are necessarily in imminent danger, but they are threatened, and we are trying to manage that on the ground. And Popham says the impact on BC's agriculture industry, could take some time to sort out. We are receiving reports of some livestock losses, significant impacts of farms, ranches, and vineyards, around irrigation, infrastructure, and fencing.

Those are issues that we're going to have to address over the next coming months. You know, you can't stop it, but you're just hoping. Evacquees like Kyle Anderson also want to go home. He was building a house in the community when the wildfire erupted. Now that he's evacuated, all he can do, is watch the firefight from across the lake. I figure that any thought that I have as an untrained Joe Blow on the street is useless compared

to, but this organization hasn't placed. They're trained. This is their job. And so I'm going to trust them. Rain may be in the forecast today and the wind could get gusty. Fire information officer Gene Strong. When we see kind of this shift in conditions, something's that we might see are thunderstorms or those convective instability. That can create things like more erratic winds that can increase fire behavior, although sometimes it'll also bring rain with it, which is really appreciated. As for Dickinson, he's cautiously optimistic about the firefight and aching to reunite with his beloved family farm. Yeah, I'm pretty anxious to get back and, you know,

and deal with what it has to be dealt with and hopefully, you know, get on with life. But officials are adamant. That won't happen yet, saying the fire is dynamic and conditions are just not safe. Julia Wong, CBC News, Penticton, BC. Homeowners in St. Catherine's, Ontario, are still cleaning up after major storms, overwhelmed sewers and flooded into thousands of homes. The mayor says the city needs help to upgrade its aging wastewater infrastructure to keep up with extreme weather. As she and Desjardin reports, this isn't the only Canadian city that urgent. needs those updates. I have a dump-up.

The water came from everywhere, a back-to-back deluge in the Niagara region, dropping an astounding amount of rain. You okay? Thrashing down through windows, overflowing the sewers. It was a brown and a yellow tinge to it, so that was really disgusting. And the water was so deep, soaked halfway up the couch. Linda Hamilton has lived in her St. Catherine's Ontario home for decades. The basement has lived.

flooded before but nothing like that and thousands of other homes flooded too. A week later streets still lined with mountains of ruined furniture and trash bags. There's obviously something that's not right. I wish they would figure out what it is. I hope they invest money into getting the problem fixed. Mayor of St. Catherine's Matt Cisco says the city's wastewater infrastructure can't keep up. Some of the pipes are over a century old. We need help. They are actively upgrading the system, he says,

but don't have the funds or manpower to get it done fast enough. If there's not new investment from the provincial and federal government, we're not going to be able to adapt fast enough to what is very clearly changing weather patterns, changing climate. The most recent data from Statistics Canada found that over 11% of Canada's water and wastewater infrastructure is already reported to be in poor or very poor condition. Replacing it all is estimated to cost over $100 billion. There are government grants available to municipalities, but...

We all scramble to fight for that limited funding. What we need in our sector is long-term reliable funding programs, not these once in a few years announcement of a grant. Robert Holler is the executive director of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association. We need to set our priorities that water and wastewater systems are there and secure. They can handle the climate change. Back in Hamilton's basement. Furniture, it was full of furniture. The vast majority now piled in her driveway, contaminated, wet, but some special items remain.

Some of my blacks and my memories. Photos of her competing in the Paralympics are still hanging on the wall. And upstairs, two expensive wheelchairs salvaged after Hamilton desperately crawled over furniture to save them. them. They were sitting in water, so I'm hoping the wheels are not damaged, but I'll have to get that checked. She and Desjardin, CBC News, St. Catharons, Ontario. Hungary is sending in the military to try to avoid a shutdown of its only nuclear power plant. Prime Minister Peter Maggiar says water levels in the Danube are catastrophically low, and that could lead to the plant's complete failure.

Madjar says the army will help. build a riverbed sill between the riverbanks in an effort to raise the water levels, and if necessary, sink two barges in the vicinity of the plant. Magyar warns the shutdown of the plant would put the country's entire economy in an extremely difficult situation. Major rivers across Europe have reached the record lows amid a string of heat waves. A forklift hoists supplies onto a cargo plane in El Salvador. It's the first of two planes loaded with aid, El Salvador is sending to the earthquake-ravaged part of Colombia. The 7.4 quake hit Monday. More than 250 people are confirmed dead, and rescuers are still looking for survivors and collapsed buildings.

The chances of finding survivors diminish after the first 72 hours. Health officials warn the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now on track to become the deadliest in history, threatening to surpass the 2016 epidemic that claimed, more than 11,000 lives. As cases surge, aid workers on the front lines say the hardest battle is reaching infected families before it's too late. Christine Birak has the story. It's horrible.

There are families that have 15 people that have died in their family. Trish Newport is an emergency coordinator with Doctors Without Borders in Bunya, in a Turi province, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She says 60% of new cases. never make it to treatment centers, dying at home instead. For those who do reach help, survival often comes with unimaginable loss. I can think of one family that came to one of our Ebola treatment centers. The mother had died, the father had died, the grandmother brought a child who was sick,

and then the grandmother died, and so this child was left, and this child recovered. Under the leadership of the government, we're now scaling up every part of the response. At a news conference in Geneva, WHO director Tedros Gabriasis warned the Ebola outbreak in Congo is the fastest growing on record. More than 4,400 cases have been confirmed, with the death toll doubling from 1,000 to 2,000 in just three weeks. Most concerningly, he confirms what Newport is seeing on the ground that many people are dying in their communities, outside of known cases. That tells us there are chains of transmission. know about and until we know about and break every chain of transmission, we will not stop the outbreak. Unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks, this one is driven by the rare Bundy-Bugio strain,

and it had a significant head start before being detected. With no approved vaccines or treatments, responders are relying on clinical trials and containment teams face security hurdles on the ground. It is happening in an environment that there is currently armed conflict, there is mobile displacement, fragile health systems, and to me that is very concerning. Obedima Azica is an assistant professor and microbiologist at Western University. He says misinformation is spreading quickly in communities already distrustful of outsiders. And so many of these factors create fuel for mistrust, particularly the health system.

The response itself is scary if it's not explained before. because why can you not hold someone when they're dead or when they're sick, especially when it's your child? Trish Newport says engaging with community leaders and overcoming that mistrust is the only way to stop the virus and save lives. Health officials expect the peak of the outbreak to be reached in six months. In a worst-case scenario, it could be up to a year. Christine Burak, CBC News, Toronto. At least 44 people are dead after a ferry capsized on a lake in Zimbabwe. and early investigations suggest the boat was overloaded with passengers.

Officials say the ship was made to carry 90 people, but there were more than 120 on board. Dozens of people were rescued. They received medical attention at a local school. A high-profile populist leader, a multi-million dollar crypto scandal, and a candidate wearing a trash can on his head. Voters in a British coastal town head to the polls tomorrow in a by-election that's equal parts political spectacle, and satire. As Anna Cunningham reports, there is a serious message hiding beneath the bin. Hello planet Earth. Hello humans. Count bin face here. With a large trash bin on his head, this self-proclaimed intergalactic being is Nigel Farage's main contender for a seat in the

British Parliament. The comedian behind the mask never reveals himself. Count bin face for mayor of London. He's challenged multiple British prime ministers. But this time, all the main political parties refuse to stand. They accuse Farage of a stunt by resigning, then standing again, claiming it's an attempt to divert attention from questions about a 9.5 million Canadian dollar donation he received from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harbourn. Amongst the 32 others standing, there is someone called Nick the Flying Brick and Baron von Thunder clap. It's going to be like Comic-on up on that stage. But there is a deeper and political message, behind the satire 10 years on from the Brexit vote.

Academic Tina Monk is from Nottingham Trent University. He has become a symbol, a symbol of activism, calling out the politicians and their establishment and their promises that they never follow up on. Alistair Campbell once ran Coms at No. 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister Tony Blair. He now co-hosts one of the UK's most popular political podcasts. I guess what it speaks to is a belief that even when you're taking politics seriously, you should always have space for humour.

Vote for the Looney Party! Political satire is part of British culture. In the 80s, Screaming Lord Such created the monster raving Looney Party. It once campaigned for all-day pub opening hours and pet passports. Both policies now adopted into British law. Bimface's manifesto includes pledges

such as nationalising the singer Adele and moving the hand dryer in the men's toilet to the pub. He also promises to build at least one affordable house. Professor Tony Travers is from the London School of Economics. There's a great shortage of affordable housing in Britain at the moment. And against that backdrop, making the point of one actually touches a real piece of political nerve. It would be a political earthquake where Count Bin faced to win. There's quite a lot of serious politics going on beneath the bin. And I don't want to spoil the fun. I know that he's not a real count and I know who he is. And I also know

He's a very clever guy. This election will go down in British political history as quite possibly the weirdest vote ever held. Anna Cunningham, CPC News, London. A special place to cast you're home for me. A cabin bear. It's been more than 20 years since Europe experienced a total solar eclipse, but today the skies in Spain went dark. The celestial event drew onlookers from around the world.

Nala Ayyad tells you. us more. Struggling with wildfires and straining under heat warnings, Spain somehow still played host to thousands drawn by the eclipse. A larger-than-life moment for Spaniards and foreigners alike. I do feel a bit emotional, yes, says this man from Italy, because I know I won't have another chance in my lifetime to see an eclipse. All over Europe, even partial eclipses drew crowds, looking to be odd.

The Greenwich Royal Observatory in London, a premium perch for those lucky enough to get a spot. Liz Avery is the observatory's head astronomer. You're watching the inner workings of the solar system play out in front of your eyes and you're sharing that experience together. I think that there is something really special about that because it makes you remember that you're part of something bigger.

For a group of Canadians visiting Spain, eclipses are much more than a spectacle. A perfect opportunity to raise money for threatened species. To do that, for a year now, they've been selling solar glasses online. They are in four different languages to accommodate for English speakers, French speakers, Spanish speakers, and German speakers. This year's campaign is their second, this time protecting Finn Wales. Thanks to their parents, we were able to connect. Taylor Denton is 19 and one of the founders of the Fin Whale Eclipse Project. Yeah, so the solar eclipse is following the migration path of the fin whales from Iceland down the coast of UK to Spain. So that's our target audience.

Emily LeClerc is 18 and is also one of the founders. So we're hoping the money can go towards a great charity that will help preserve these animals and to keep them from going to Iceland all the to Spain so they can migrate and reproduce without dying. A slow fade, and then this. And then a whole minute and a half of darkness. For the Canadians, the impact is multiplied. A single person does make an impact on the environment that they live in and how they interact with the environment.

They plan to be there again for the next total eclipse a year from now, which will be seen from parts of North Africa. and southern Spain. Nala Ayed, CBC News, London. And finally, I think it's because they're just so beautiful and they take you out of your place, your tiny world and open things up for you.

You feel connected to the whole world and the universe and the lighting is amazing. That's Judy Anderson talking with CBC News Network about why she and her husband, Jay, have been chasing solar eclipses for about 47 years. Today, the Winnipeg couple was on a boat off the coast of Greenland

to see the latest occurrence of the celestial phenomenon. The hobby has brought the couple all over the world. You end up in a grass shack in Madagascar on a cold night or you might end up in a luxury hotel in India. It can be everywhere the shadow falls.

Gets you out of the house. Jay Anderson is a retired meteorologist. These days, he's most interested in the science behind the event. I'm looking at the shape of the corona and the chromosphere, but I also carry a little diffraction grading so I can look at the spectrum of colors in the eclipse and things like that. For Judy Anderson herself, a retired biology professor,

it's the emotional experience that draws her in. It's kind of like candy or the best apple you ever had. You need it again. And so you just go a little further. And then you've seen two and you think, wow, that would be cool. and the next one, almost the minute totality is over, people are starting to talk about the next one. You can't eat just one peanut.

You can't just eat one. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Wednesday, August 12th. I'm Colin Butler. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.