Your World Tonight - Canada’s Ebola measures, Western Premiers wrap talks, Canada’s Soccer men, and more

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

Canada’s health and immigration ministers announce new border measures to curtail any spread of Ebola in this country. They include suspending some visas and work permits for people arriving from affected nations. So far, there are no cases of the deadly virus here.The premiers of Canada’s Western provinces and territories weigh in on Alberta’s plan to ask voters if they want a referendum on secession, as the topics of national unity, and pipelines, dominate their meetings in Kananaskis, Alberta.And: The Canadian men’s soccer team gears up for the final stretch before the FIFA World Cup begins in North America. CBC News gets a glimpse at the squad’s training facility in Charlotte, North Carolina as it prepares for its opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.Plus: Former environment and climate change minister Steven Guilbeault set to resign as MP over climate policies, U.S.-Iran tensions, Israel steps up Hezbollah attacks, NASA’s moon base plans, and more.

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including the suspension of some visas and work permits. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. It's Tuesday, May 26th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. You've got the Premier of BC announcing LNG. We're working on Churchill. We're working on northern trade corridors. Why don't we hold off on this referendum talk for a year or two

and see if we get these pipelines under construction? Western premiers talk pipelines and unity, as Canada and Germany reach a deal on a major LNG project. Plus, people are looking up again, believing in big things again, and paying attention as America returns to the moon again, and this time to stay. On the heels of its successful Artemis II mission, NASA outlines its plans.

for a U.S. base on the moon? Will Canada be left behind? As health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding countries struggle to contain the Ebola virus, Canada has announced new measures to prevent the spread here. Health reporter Lauren Pelly has been following the developments. Lauren, what did we hear from federal officials today? Well, Canadian officials are now clamping down

on both travel and immigration from multiple countries in central Africa. Africa as the region continues to face this really fast-spreading Ebola outbreak. And they were careful to say this is not an outright ban, but a pause, and certainly a major move to keep the virus out of Canada. It comes as we're set to co-host the FIFA World Cup starting next month, bringing together massive amounts of tourists from dozens of countries in both Toronto and Vancouver. We're going to be hosting 13 matches. So this was a big talking point at this press conference about leading into the World Cup. So in terms of what they've announced, immigration documents from citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan are going to be suspended. Those include permanent residence visas, temporary residence visas, electronic travel authorizations, study permits, and work permits.

And any applications will not be processed for at least 90 days. There are some exemptions such as people who are mid-travel. And I should note, this marks the first time the federal government is using its new powers under Bill C-12. That's the law passed in March, which overhauls immigration powers and now allows Ottawa to mass pause or even cancel visas. Tara Lang is with immigration refugees in citizenship Canada. It's definitely not a ban. What it is is a temporary pause in processing of applications. In order to protect the health and safety of Canadians,

we want to curb travel from the affected areas, ones that have WHO rating of extremely high and extremely risky, and it is a temporary measure. And it's not the only measure. As of Saturday, there will also be added border measures under the Quarantine Act. So Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals who have been in impacted countries over the previous 21 days, they will be allowed to enter Canada but will undergo a health assessment. And any travelers with symptoms will be transferred to hospital, while others will need

to self-isolate for 21 days. Immigration Minister Lena Diab at the press conference today explained a bit more. Canadians and permanent residents in those countries always retain the right to return to Canada, provided they follow public health requirements and directions. We'll continue to process Canadian passports, permanent resident cards, and permanent resident travel documents as needed. Now, we're also told these plans are still under development, but screening measures for travelers seem to be put in place until August 29th. That's the latest. And what is the latest on the Ebola outbreak itself? Well, this outbreak is massive. It's one of the biggest on record, more than a thousand suspected cases, over 200 deaths, largely in the Democratic Republic

of Congo. Officials do believe it's likely far bigger already, given that infections were going undetected for weeks in many remote regions. What's really complicated about this right now is there is no approved treatment or vaccine for this relatively rare form of the Ebola virus. It was also starting in these really remote areas in northeastern, Congo that are experiencing intensifying violence. There's high levels of community distrust. So all of that is complicating efforts to get this outbreak under control. Lauren, thank you. No problem. Thank you. Health reporter Lauren Pelly in Toronto. The Western Premier's conference has wrapped up in

Canaanascus, Alberta, but not without some tense moments between them about pipeline plans and Alberta's referendum question regarding separation. Caroline Bargut has been covering the conference, Caroline, tell us what stood out there. Well, the thing that really stands out to me is that this Alberta separatism debate does not seem to be going away. It was a topic of discussion yesterday at the Western Premier's conference. It once again was a topic of discussion today, even though these leaders should really be focused on working together and building their economies. Now, the leaders just held a press conference. It wrapped up just a few minutes ago.

And they do say that they agree that expanding export markets and strengthening trade courts, is important, but then the conversation quickly turned back to Alberta separatism. Manitoba Premier Wab Knoos said that he met with Alberta First Nations chiefs yesterday, and he relayed their message to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about the duty to consult. Now, the Alberta government cannot legally advance a separation process without first consulting First Nations. Now, that led to a tense back and forth between the two premiers. Take a listen. The way we're going to seek clarity is through the court. We think that the duty to consult is meant to be looked at through a lens of major projects,

and we take that very seriously. We had an indigenous roundtable yesterday where I shared with the premiers how we're using our Albert Indigenous Opportunities Corporation to help underwrite major project participation to give revenues to indigenous nations and how we want to continue engaging with indigenous nations on that. But the issue, I think, in the court is whether that, duty to consult should apply to citizen-initiated petitions. And that's where I think that the court erred in judgment, and I think it's also anti-democratic, the decision that they made.

Sorry, I'd like to respond. So I think we know that that is not correct. A lot of what you just said there, Premier Smith, specifically, and we spoke about this, so I don't mind repeating this. It is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfill the duty to consult. It is up to you, as the Alberta government to fulfill the duty to consult. And First Nations had challenged a pro-separation petition in court. They said that it violated treaty rights. A judge ruled in their favor earlier this month. So instead of having a referendum on separation this fall or on separatism, I should say,

this fall, the government is going to be holding a referendum on whether to have a binding referendum on separation. Okay. We'll leave that part of the story there. And let's come back to Energy and Trade Talks. What did the premier say about that? Well, we learned today that Canada has struck a deal with Germany to export liquefied natural gas from the northwest B.C. from the northwest B.C. President E.B. says that the federal energy minister will announce more on that deal tomorrow. A number of media outlets are saying that this deal is to export up to a million metric tons of liquefied natural gas from solicums in northwest B.C.

And that it's going to begin in 2030. Now, Solicums is on the major projects list. It's a partnership between the Niskination and a consortium of major Canadian natural gas producers in an American energy development company. This facility has not yet been built, and there is pushback from neighboring nations. But Premier Eby says the facility is advancing. Well, they have all of their permits from the provincial government, and they're ready to go. They are working towards what's called final investment decision, which is the go-no-go decision on construction. Part of the work to get to final investment decision is securing off-take agreements,

that's commitments to buy the LNG from the facility. So a major announcement with a European partner of purchasing LNG gets us that much closer to final investment decision of this more than $10 billion investment in British Columbia and Canada. So we are going to hear more about that project tomorrow, and hopefully we'll hear more about if First Nations in the neighboring nations are on board with this. Okay, Caroline, thank you so much. Thanks. CBC's Caroline Bargut reporting from the Western Premier's meeting in Alberta.

Former Environment and Climate Change Minister, Stephen Gilbo, is resigning as a member of Parliament. It's over concerns about Prime Minister Mark Carney's rollback of liberal climate policies. Parliamentary reporter Tom Perry has more from Ottawa. Will the Prime Minister reverse his policies of high liberal taxes and a weak Canadian dollar so Canadians can afford to fill up at the pump. Opposition leader Pierre Palliev still attacks Prime Minister Mark Carney for being, in his view, too slow to cut taxes on fuel and get shovels in the ground for big natural resource projects like new pipelines.

The country's working, we're moving forward. He's trying to hold it back. But Carney has plotted a different path than his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. He scrapped the federal carbon levy, one of Trudeau's signature policies on his first day in office. Since then, Carney has scrapped the previous government's electric vehicle mandate, hinted Ottawa will end its emissions cap on the oil and gas sector, and reached a memorandum of understanding with Alberta that could pave the way for a pipeline to the West Coast. I think the measures that he's taken to date have been, I would deem them as performative. To conservatives like Alberta MP Michelle Remple Garner, it's all a show. To them, Carney is no different than the man who came before him. For example, if he really wanted a pipeline, it would have been already designated in the national interest. Why do we have to wait three months?

But for some on the liberal benches, the difference between Carney and Trudeau is very real. Stephen Gilbo, who served as Environment Minister in the previous government, resigned from Carney's cabinet late last year over the government's MOU with Alberta. Gilbo has spoken out against other moves on the environment by the Carney government and tomorrow is expected to announce to his liberal colleagues, he'll step down as an MP when the House rises for the summer. So I'm a good friend of Stephen. I've worked a lot to bring him in politics,

and he will always be a good friend. Today, as rumors around Gilbo's future swirled on Parliament Hill, liberals like industry minister Melanie Jolie praised him as a colleague while defending the government's new policy direction. You need to be pragmatic. We're also dealing with an energy crisis. right now, which is affecting the gas of price across the country. But Gilbo is not the only MP who has raised concerns.

More than a dozen unnamed liberals recently wrote to the Prime Minister, expressing unease over his deal with Alberta and their government's new path. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, hope is waning that the Strait of Hormuz will fully reopen after the U.S. launches air strikes across southern Iran, accusing Tehran of laying new mines in the key waterway. Plus, attacks between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon are escalating, delivering another potential blow to Donald Trump's efforts to reach a regional peace deal.

Later, we'll have this story. I'm Thomas Daggle in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Canada's men's soccer team is training for the tournament of a lifetime. We're all going to push each other as much as possible to try and make that roster. All while contending with... the southern climate. Our Canadian boys are not used to playing in the high levels of heat. How to prepare for a World Cup held at home. That story later on Your World Tonight. The winding road to a potential peace deal between the U.S. and Iran has taken another turn.

Both countries reportedly attacked each other overnight. It's testing a shaky ceasefire and raising questions about what happens next. Aaron Collins has the latest from Washington. I think there's strong alignment and agreement on what a preliminary draft should look like. America's top diplomat insists peace talks with Iran remain on target. That despite the U.S. launching new attacks on the country targeting missile sites and boats, calling them self-defense strikes. Still, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists a deal is still possible. And it's going to take a couple days to settle on even down to the disagreements over a word.

sentence. So we'll have to work through that. If there's going to be a deal, we're going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it's either going to be a good deal or there isn't going to be one. Iran has accused the U.S. of breaking the fragile ceasefire between the two countries. Iran's Revolutionary Guard saying it has already retaliated, shooting down an American drone and firing at a U.S. F-35 fighter jet. Iran's president, Masood Peseshkian, saying the U.S. didn't imagine that our arms, forces our defensive power and our offensive system could perform such feats. The renewed hostilities called into question a peace deal that seemed to be getting close.

The president posting Saturday that the final details of a deal were being discussed and would be announced shortly. We see this kind of back and forth between the threat of military force and a desire for diplomacy. Imran Bayumi is a U.S. security expert at the Atlantic Council in Washington. He says a deal may be close, but it will likely kick the thorny issues of Iran's nuclear and missile programs down the road. I think the most likely scenario is that in a few days, maybe a week, we see some sort of document or agreement that basically formalizes the ceasefire for another set amount of time and really kind of punts all the big complicated topics to a later discussion date. Bayoumi says the immediate priority for the U.S. is to get the straight-of-hor movement.

reopened. That pressure mounting as high gas prices continued to plague U.S. consumers. I feel like it's been going up about like 30 bucks more like per pump. Avoiding those high gas prices. I saw somewhere in my travels today, 6.59 for gas. We came to a visit a clothing store, but I even thought about us and maybe we shouldn't have come out, you know. Those prices likely to stay high as long as peace talks remain stalled, hoping to get things moving again. President Trump reported to be holding a cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Erin Collins, CBC News, Washington. One of Iran's conditions to end the war is an end of fighting in Lebanon, but today, fighting

intensified as Israel steps up its offensive against Hezbollah. Chris Brown explains why now. Smoke rose into the skies over the southern Lebanese cities of Tyre and Nabatia, as Israel Israel's military escalated its attacks from the air and on the ground. Meeting with this cabinet, Israel's Prime Minister at Benjamin Netanyahu said, we're deepening our operation in Lebanon. The IDF is operating with large forces on the ground and is seizing strategic areas. It all adds up to what could be a fatal blow for the U.S. brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel that's been in effect since April 16th.

Netanyahu claims the escalation is in response to the intolerable threat posed by Hasbalah's quad-copter drones. They're guided by ultra-thin fiber-optic wires, making them hard to jam and detect, and they've killed or wounded dozens of Israeli soldiers, including four deaths in just the last week or so. In Israel, the political pressure is rising. Finance Minister Betzel Smotrich, who's been sanctioned by Canada, for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank demanded a ruthless shift in strategy. He said Israel should effectively attack Lebanese civilians instead.

The most effective way to stop them is to announce that for every drone, 10 buildings in Beirut will be brought down, he said. Israel has inflicted severe blows to Hezbollah, including killing much of its top leadership. But with the United States simultaneously, trying to broker a deal with Iran. Beirut analyst Ali Risk says Netanyahu is desperate for a definitive victory over the militants. Those achievements by Netanyahu are in doubt.

And so I think that he wants to prove himself by doubling down on Lebanon and doubling down on the efforts to defeat or eliminate Husbalah once and for all. In reality, the ceasefire was never a real truce, but this escalation has created. panic, says Medi Omar, who's among those who fled to Beirut's waterfront. Our people fled from all over the neighborhoods of Dachia, Beirut's southern suburbs. The pavement here is now filled with people, he said. Military officials from Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to meet at the Pentagon on Friday under U.S. supervision.

But Lebanon's National Army remains powerless to disarm Hezbollah, nor does it have the leverage to push Israel to end its attacks. leaves millions of Lebanese caught in the crossfire and hoping international intervention can once again halt the war. Chris Brown, CBC News, London. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. NASA's historic Artemis II mission sent four Astrosy.

to the far side of the moon, deeper into space than any humans in history. Now, NASA is racing towards another first, building a permanent base on the surface of the moon. Karen Paul's has the details. And as I take me his last step from the surface. In December 1972, American astronauts were the last people to walk on the moon. We leave as we came, and God willing, as we shall return. No humans have returned since. But now, following the success of Artemis II, which included Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen,

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman says, that's about to change. The grand return is close at hand, and we will not slow down. The first phase, deploying robotic payloads and uncrewed lunar terrain vehicles, and sending drones to scout hard-to-reach craters. Carlos Garcia Galan heads the moon-based program. Phase one, for example, we'll have three. 25 launches, 21 landings. The second phase will see astronauts on the lunar surface every six months.

They'll prospect for water ice and prepare permanent habitat sites. By phase three, Garcia Galan says NASA aims to establish a permanent nuclear-powered lunar settlement. Then we'll be able to say, hey, we're permanently here and we're not giving it up. NASA's Artemis program relies heavily on public-private partnerships. Europe and Korea will be involved, but the Canadian Space Agency does not have a major role after the cancellation of Lunar Gateway, a space station orbiting the moon. NASA is pivoting those resources towards the lunar surface base instead.

We could potentially be left behind. Gordon Ossinsky is a professor in planetary geology at the University of Western Ontario. He says NASA has set an ambitious timeline, but he thinks it's doable. Canada is planning another much larger rover that does fit into the moon base plans and to Artemis. But the current timeline that the Canadian Space Agency has been working to is the mid-2030s. And so we really have to get our act together in Canada to make sure that we can keep up with NASA. Lori Glaze is with NASA's exploration systems development mission directorate. She says there are a lot of conversations going on.

I think there's a lot of excitement with the international. community about different ways they can participate and collaborate. There is extra urgency as China makes progress towards its own 2030 moon landing. The nation that establishes the first permanent presence will claim strategic and economic dominance in deep space. I think it's important for us to get there first. Because, says Isaacman, there's a bigger goal in sight. Astronauts can go and plant the stars and stripes on Mars someday.

Karen Paul's, CBC News, Winnipeg. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. You can hear your world tonight wherever you are. Just subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast app. Or download the CBC News app. Just go to the local tab and press play. The FIFA World Cup is just over two weeks away,

and Canada's top men's soccer players are in a crucial training camp. But they're not on home soil. They're in Charlotte, North Carolina. The reason? Well, they won't just be taking on some of the world's best players. They'll also face the weather. Thomas Dagla is in North Carolina and reports on how the team can defeat the heat. With Drake blaring from the speakers, 30 players threw on their tacky green, red and black Canada gear to start training together for a historic World Cup.

Only 26 will make the final roster. Midfielder Liam Miller is among those buying for a spot. We're all going to push each other. much as possible to try and make that roster. This group is really selfless. This group really just wants what's best for this team. When the team bus pulled up, Miller jumped out in a black hoodie. I didn't think it was that hot.

I got off the bus. Probably just took my sweater off of this. With the temperature hovering around 28 degrees in Charlotte this afternoon and the humidity making it feel even hotter, Canada's soccer got what they came for. We came down to Carolina to put them in higher temperatures, more humidity. Jesse Marsh is head coach of the men's national team. Ahead of the global tournament kicking off next month in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico,

Marsh says he wanted to push his players in conditions they're not accustomed to. We're going to see higher temperatures, we're going to see more humidity, and we're going to see more national teams that struggle to understand how to manage that in their play. He pointed to the team's unexpected success two years ago. The tournament, David, in front, Schofelberg won nothing. reaching the Copa America semifinals after training in Atlanta's scorching heat. At this World Cup, the Canadians are only guaranteed to play three matches in Toronto and Vancouver. But if they reach the next round, the team might play at the San Francisco Area Stadium

recently found to have the highest solar intensity among open-roof venues in the U.S. For me, one of the bigger pieces to it is almost the mental aspect of knowing that you can get through it. Adam Parr is head of performance science for Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer. The club's facilities are hosting the Canadian men this week. Parr says preparing for the elements isn't just about getting ready physically, but also mentally. I firmly believe that it just helps you. So when you are in those situations, you know that you can keep going and not even have that be something that's in your mind. Whereas maybe your opponents, it is.

Players will find out Friday if they've made the cut and are bound for the biggest stage in their sport. Thomas Daggle, CBC News, Charlotte, North Carolina. Finally, a surprise celebration in Stratford, PEI, where a big crowd turned out for an emotional homecoming. Nine-year-old Maverick Bishop and his mom have spent the past 20 months living in Toronto, while Maverick was on a transplant list. I have to be here for a new heart, and we have to stay at two hours radius from the hospital. That's Maverick earlier this year, living in a Ronald McDonald house not far from Toronto's sick kids hospital.

Born with a congenital heart defect, he'd already had five surgeries by age five. Then in January, he finally got that gift of life. Now home, he was clearly moved by the community's response. Happy and it's what I love. Maverick's parents have been advocating for new transplant rules in P.E.I. They want families to be allowed to name their children as potential donors if tragedy strikes, as they are in some other provinces. But for now, Dad Woodrow is just happy to have his family reunited.

Getting home here and seeing that the reception that he got is just emotional and overwhelming, to be honest. Already an honorary coach for the Charlottetown Islanders junior hockey team, Maverick plans to put his new heart and energy into finally playing. the many sports he loves. This has been your world tonight for Tuesday, May 26th. I'm Stephanie Skendaris. Thank you for being with us. Good night.

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