Your World Tonight - Canada’s possible trade concessions, unemployment down, anti-doomscroll app, and more

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

Sources tell CBC News that Ottawa could be willing to meet some U.S. demands, as trade talks heat up ahead of the latest tariff deadline. Some of those concessions include dairy quotas, auto tariffs, and provincial booze bans. Some provinces say they want to see a deal before they’ll budge.Also: Canada’s unemployment rate drops to its lowest level in two years. But not everyone is benefiting from the hiring surge.And: Want to regain some of your time? How about an app intended to stop endless doomscrolling?Plus: What U.S. customs officers say is the real problem with the northern border, school shooting in Thailand, B.C. wildfires, and more.

Personally, from CBC Podcasts, allows you to get lost in someone else's life. From unearthing my childhood grief after the loss of my brother and my serious story about the kid, to attempt you to explain what vision loss feels like by exploring how it sounds and short-sighted. Each season of personally invites you to explore the human experience and all its complexity, one story or season at a time. This is what it sounds like to be human. Find personally wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC podcast.

They're getting in there, they're talking, they're trying to find landing zones, and this is hard work. Deal making in Washington. Canadian and U.S. officials remain tight-lipped as they conclude a week of talks. But sources say concessions are on the table for Canada if the Americans back down on some key areas of their own. This is your world tonight. It's Friday, August 7th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Tashana Reid, also on the podcast. It was unquestionably a positive data report.

We had yet another month of job creation. Back in business, Canada's economy adds tens of thousands of jobs as the unemployment rate drops to its lowest level in two years. But it's not rosy for everyone. And an unpredictable trade policy south of the border remains a wildcard. In the ongoing trade war with the U.S., Donald Trump has changed his demands of Canada several times. often with added economic threats. The latest, those 50% tariffs, are set to become reality in 12 days.

Now we're getting word the Carney government may be willing to meet some of Trump's demands in exchange for tariff relief, but also has some demands of its own. Kate McKenna reports. Serious senior in-person negotiations are happening in Washington. Flavio Volpe is on the Federal U.S.-Canada Advisory Committee. He says trade talks have momentum. And this could be the moment to reset Canada's relationship with the U.S. Now, of course, the President of the United States has to agree,

but he's shown with his most senior officials sitting down face-to-face, now in a frequent cadence with ours, that they are more than entertaining that. The U.S. Canada Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Trade negotiator Jenna Charette have wrapped up a week of meetings in Washington, and talks are set to continue every day until August 19th. the deadline for a new set of 50% tariffs on some Canadian exports. Brian Clow was a senior advisor to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on U.S.-Canada relations. The government is doing what it should be doing at this moment,

facing the very significant escalation in tariffs. They're getting in there, they're talking, they're trying to find landing zones, and this is hard work. The Blanc's office says it won't comment on ongoing negotiations, but two industry sources say behind the scenes, Canada and the U.S. are discussing detailed proposals. Canada wants the Trump administration to drop the new set of tariffs and to at least lower tariffs on sectors including steel, aluminum, auto, and lumber.

In exchange, the Carney government would be willing to tweak how Canada's dairy quota system works and end some of the retaliatory action it has taken, from removing counter tariffs on auto to ending provincial rules that make it harder for American companies to do business in Canada to potentially ending the U.S. booze ban that most Canadian provinces put in place. We're fully supportive of the Prime Minister and his government to land a comprehensive deal. Peter Bethlehem Falvi is Ontario's Finance Minister. Both Ontario and Quebec say they want to see a deal before agreeing to restock liquor stores with American alcohol. You know, devil's always in the details.

We want to see a comprehensive deal because that'll provide certainty for everybody so we can move forward. Prime Minister Mark Carney hasn't ruled out retaliating if the U.S. goes ahead with a new set of tariffs later this month. Dennis Darby is the head of Korni is the head of Korn. Canadian manufacturers and exporters. It's really important for Canada and the U.S. to have some kind of certainty, because that uncertainty, uncertainty we've had, is actually the biggest challenge we've seen in the sector

and by members of manufacturing in both Canada and the U.S. Sources have told CBC News that Canadian negotiators have told their counterparts that the August 19th deadline is a make or break moment, and that if the U.S. goes ahead with 50% tariffs, there will be little appetite in Canada for a return to talks. Kate McKenna. CBC News, Ottawa. For the third month in a row, job numbers in Canada are showing momentum.

Across the country, tens of thousands of jobs were created last month. Unemployment is now at a two-year low. But not everyone is benefiting from the hiring surge. Jamie Strassion has the details. The Canadian economy appears to be rebounding. 75,000 jobs were added in July the third straight month of positive gains, dropping the unemployment rate to 6.4%. Mark Desarmot is an economist with the Business Council of Canada.

It was unquestionably a positive data report. We had yet another month of job creation continuing, coming to the end of a three-month period that was very strong. Ontario added a bulk of the new jobs. While manufacturing growth has been hampered by U.S. tariffs, other sectors have flourished. In the last few months, we've seen strong gains in high, high-wage services, which would include professional services, as well as the financial sector.

And then the healthcare sector has been strong. Stepan, our man, a director with Indeed Canada, has noticed a shift from both employers and those looking for work that's reflected in today's numbers. We're coming out of a pretty prolonged period, a very kind of low-fire, low-hire environment, where we've had kind of a lot of caution on both ends, both in terms of the job seeker, also in terms of employers. Certain groups are still facing challenges, including the 15 to 24 cohort, but experts say there is some good news there. For example, at a recent job fair for the C&E in Toronto, many of the 50,000 young people who showed up for the 5,000 jobs expressed their frustration. It's been rough, like, especially something that I want with, like, regarding the hours and, like,

good management and stuff like that. It's been hard. I can't lie. It's been tough. It's been very competitive and I might have to say that I feel a little disheartened about the results. But Tara Perry, a placement director for Robert Half Canada, points to the upper end of the cohort where unemployment is at a record low. It's still really tricky to find that first job as a high school student, but we are seeing more and more of the elder youth. You know, those university-aged professionals coming into the job market are finding work. Despite the mostly good news in today's report, there is no guarantee it will last, says Mark Desarmou.

The outlook is still risky. Uncertainty around U.S. trade policy is holding back business investment across Canada. There are geopolitical tensions. All factors that could mute the recent bounce many Canadian job seekers have enjoyed. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, the relentless threat of wildfire in British Columbia. And as firefighters battle the flames, fires from the sixth. are moving in. Plus, a legal blow for the construction of Donald Trump's giant new ballroom.

And later, we'll have this story. A new social media app designed to get you to put your phone down. Livio has no algorithm, no advertising. And once you get to the end of the feed, it tells you to take a break and connect in real life. Social media that we are using right now aren't social anymore. I would call them more like an entertainment app. I'm Alexander Silverman. I'm Alexander Silverman. in Montreal, later on Your World Tonight, a possible solution to curb social media use and the growing debate over its benefits and harmful risks. The intensity and scope of wildfires in BC are not letting up. The threat to human life and property remains high. Expanding fires in the Okanagan have led evacuation orders for hundreds of properties, while fires raging in Washington State are

creeping closer to the border. Jessica Chung has the latest. You're a good girl. It will be good. We're safe and we're good. Clutching her cat Spitzie, Ray Jan Simpson, takes stock of what's left after a wildfire in BC's Okanagan took her home. The cops had it blocked off and they weren't going to let me go in. And I said, my house is right up there. My animals are up there.

I have to get them out. She only had 15 minutes to grab all she could, including Spitzie and her daughter. Nova. Then she left as the flames destroyed the house she built with her late husband. I felt his spirit. I felt his love all through the house. And now that's gone. I know he's still with me, but it's all gone. The wildfires in the Okinawagin have been relentless. The Colpittock Creek fire grew by 50% on Thursday. It forced evacuation orders for more than 400 additional properties bring the total number to over 2,600. And this has the smoke from the fire's blanket, much of southern B.C., air quality warnings say the health risk is very high.

And that's canceled events in the Okinawagin, like the Apple Triathlon in Colonna, one of the community's keystone summer competitions. And it's not just fires in the country threatening Canadians. A massive fire burning in wild. Washington State, south of a Soyuz, is about 20 kilometers from the border. The lower Similkameen Indian ban has declared a state of local emergency. Chief Keith Crowe says residents there have been put on an evacuation alert, in part, to protect their cattle in the backcountry. So we could have the prep time, get things ready. We've got a couple crews going in. As of this morning, we're going to go start looking for some of the cattle to bring them out of certain areas.

in Abbotsford, the federal government announced its plan to sell 10 military Hercules aircraft to BC-based Colson Aviation, which will convert them into firefighting planes. Stephen Furr is the Secretary of State for Defense Procurement. They're needed doing the firefighting role. We want to spend our money on things that we're using for the calf. So everybody is wishing to get these airplanes moved from where they are now to the end user, which is Colson. These planes won't be online for around 8.5. a year, which is cold comfort for those facing fires now.

Like Simpson in the Okinawagin, who is now turning her focus to rebuilding from the ground up. I will be back there where I was living. That's where I want to be rising from the ashes like the Phoenix. Jessica Chung, CBC News, Vancouver. Two 18-year-old men are charged with murder after shootings at a popular Toronto Street Festival. They face a total of 37 charges, including first-degree murder. month, thousands were in attendance at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival when gunfire broke out. Officials say homicides and shootings are down in the city, but Toronto Police Chief Myron

Demkew says events like this have a disproportionate effect on people's sense of safety and security. We have a growing concern around the brazen behavior we are seeing, and that needs to be tackled. That has not been addressed adequately in my view by some of the partners in our system. We need some significant reform in that regard. We need a justice system that addresses this, and we need to actually hold offenders accountable in a meaningful way. 25-year-old Shaquan Quashi and 20-year-old Cesar Varnaza were killed. Police believe these were targeted shootings.

Five other people were injured. At least seven people have been killed, including five teachers after a teenage boy opened fire at his home and high school near Bangkok, Thailand. dozens of others were injured. Some are in critical condition. Thailand has had several mass shootings recently. This is the second one at a school this year. As Nala Ayyad reports, it's triggered calls for tighter gun laws in a country with one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Southeast Asia. What you're hearing is a moment captured in a classroom by one of the students crouching under

their desks as the rampage unfolded. Even as they waited in silence, it's hard to miss the fear. As the shooting continued, other students started falling out with the help of teachers and police. Some 3,000 students were about midway through their year's first term when at around 10 a.m. Friday in Bangkok, the shooting at the school started. My friend suggested that we start running, says 17-year-old Pachanth Sankan, So that's what we did. We just ran.

Another student described how it started getting more frequent. Like bang, bang, bang. I didn't think it was the sound of a gun, he says. It was police say, in fact, a handgun. Wielded by a 14-year-old student that had belonged to his grandfather. On Friday, he used it to shoot at least 26 bullets

before shooting himself. And earlier, also killed, were the shooter's grandparents with whom he lived. Their bodies carried out to an ambulance, while investigators carried away evidence. It's the second school shooting in Thailand this year, a country with an estimated 10.3 million guns. That's 15 for every 100 people. Recently, there have been mass shootings at a market and a mall, and in 2022, a protracted attack by a dismissed policemen left dozens dead, including 22 children at a daycare. It makes me wonder if guns have become so accessible that someone could carry out a mass

shooting in a school like this, says this grade 12 student. I hope to see stricter weapons control, she says. On Friday, the Prime Minister promised a new law on carrying guns in public. No hint whether any changes will affect who still gets to own them. He added, today's attack was. not spontaneous. He intentionally came to school today to commit this unfortunate case. Investigators say the shooter still had 30 more rounds when he took his own life. For survivors, the scale of the crime and the loss are unfathomable. Nala Ayed, CBC News, London.

The United Nations says more than 80% of the buildings in Gaza are damaged or destroyed. That number has grown despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that started in October. The UN says although destruction has continued, the amount of aid is on the rise, 33% more in July compared to June. But most civilians there remain displaced and in poor conditions. A U.S. appeals court has ruled U.S. President Donald Trump cannot build a massive ballroom at the White House, even though he's already torn down the east wing and started construction. The court says he needs congressional approval. As Tom Perry reports, this is Trump's second legal defeat in a week for his Washington makeover plans.

These days, it's not easy getting a good look at the White House. Much of the official grounds are a construction zone, though that is now in limbo. An appeals court in Washington, D.C., has upheld a ruling ordering a halt to most work on U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for an ornate, opulent, ballroom bigger than the White House itself. I want to build a ballroom. It needs it badly. The ballroom project has been top of mind for Trump, who today posted an angry response to the court ruling on social media, calling it judicial overreach and an unjust decision that must be overturned by the Supreme Court. For Trump, this is the second legal setback in a week. Last Friday, his handpicked U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, former Fox News host Janine Piro, dropped a case against David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympian who was accused of vandalizing another of Trump's stalled renovation projects,

the botched overhaul of the historic reflecting pool on the National Mall. Hearn went on CNN this week to talk about his ordeal. It's very unsettling. It's not the United States of America that I know. It's not the United States of America that I've represented in many competitions overseas, including three Olympic games. ballroom and reflecting pool are just two of Trump's attempts to remake the U.S. Capitol. He famously added his own name to the John F. Kennedy Center until a court ordered him to remove it. In recent days, scaffolding covering two statues that have stood in D.C. since the 1950s

was removed, revealing both now newly coded in Trump's trademark gold. And then there's the president's plan to erect a 250-foot triumphal arch that will tower over just about every other monument along the national mall. What's the arch about, right? What is it about? To historian Neil Flanagan, Trump is treating Washington like one of his properties. When you have a single person with so much in power, they are remaking these spaces to their own tastes, and it's a taste that seems to have nothing behind it. So it is sort of, it is desecrating it. In its ruling today, the appeals court in D.C. reminded Trump, the White House does not belong to him. Each president is a temporary tenant, the court wrote, not the owner.

But in his social media post, Trump says the ballroom is a gift from him and the wealthy donors who have poured millions of dollars into the project who Trump calls the great patriots of the United States of America. Tom Harry, CBC News, Washington. New rules, new laws, and armed patrols. The U.S. President has made border crackdowns a big part of his policy approach. Donald Trump has blamed Canada for illegal drugs and human trafficking. The CBC's Willie Lowry got a behind-the-scenes look at how the U.S. protects its border with Canada. And he found U.S. officers say the main concern isn't what's coming into America. It's what's heading north. The brand new U.S. port of entry facility at the Gordi Howe International Bridge is massive. 400,000 square feet of building, it sits on nearly 170 acres of land.

All of it paid for by Canada as part of the $6.4 billion construction costs for the bridge. It is the largest U.S. facility along the northern border by a considerable margin. From the sky to the water, and there's lots of water, the Detroit sector covers 1,388 kilometers of border. On a warm summer afternoon, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection patrol the Detroit River, something they do every day, weather permitting. Boats bob in the choppy waters floating between the two countries. Chris Grogan is the external communications chief. of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's air and marine operation. We saw how many boats today? And every boat could be a smuggler unless we stop every single boat.

So you have to use intelligence and partnerships to be able to secure this area up here. When Trump first slapped tariffs on Canada, he cited what he said was the country's inability to prevent drugs and human traffickers from pouring across the border into the U.S. as justification, calling it a national emergency. But the reality on the ground in Michigan doesn't exactly line up with Trump's description. Lavares Miller is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Watch Commander. No, it's really not that big of a problem for inbound. A lot of the stuff that we actually gave, we get a lot of it going outbound. And when you say outbound, you mean going from the U.S. into Canada.

In 2024, nearly 90% of guns recovered in crimes in Ontario were traced back to the U.S. Kelly Sunberg is a professor at Mount Royal University specializing in border security. He says both countries pose threats to each other. Firearms for sure, but also the United States is in between the middle ground for drugs coming up into our country from Mexico and from South America. Going south, the threat that we pose is actually the people we let in on temporary status. Despite all the political tensions, U.S. officials, say the working relationship with their Canadian counterparts remains unchanged. Willie Lowry, CBC News, Detroit.

Governments around the world have been moving to restrict social media use by children. Canada is one of several countries planning to ban social media for kids under 16. But one young Quebecer has come up with his own way to break social media's hook that can lead to addiction. It's an app intended to stop endless scrolling. Alexander Silberman explains the idea. Be able to add some new friends. Alex Ebasi is scrolling on his smartphone through Livio, a new social media app he designed to keep users off social media.

There's an end to the feed. I tell you to close the app and go back to real life. There's no algorithm, no advertising, even messages encouraging users to disconnect. My screen time was way too high. I could reach 6 to 8 hours a day. Bussie created the app after experiencing the toll of doom scrolling, the compulsive habit of endlessly seeing negative content online,

even when it causes anxiety. In the 21-year-old Montrealer says it left him feeling low. A loss of motivation because your dopamine level are so messed up from scrolling on your phone. Bussie tried screen time limits and deleting social media entirely. but he wanted a way to still connect with friends online and not be glued to his phone. So he created Livio, a simple app to show updates from friends and nothing else. Social media that we are using right now aren't social anymore.

I would call them more like an entertainment app. The app is a possible solution, according to experts, as mental health advocates continue to draw attention to the harms of social media. A survey by Mental Health Research Canada found people who report seven plus hours of screen time are significantly more likely to experience severe anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. People tend to say that they spend more time on it than they would like. Jay Olson is a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. He says apps like Livio could help people effectively decrease their time on screens.

and are easier than going offline entirely. What we do know is that what we are doing right now doesn't seem to be working. The push to curb social media use is now before Parliament. Bill C-34 would ban children under 16 from opening accounts, unless platforms establish approved child safety safeguards. I think a ban, like a straight-up ban, is just not the answer. Inaura Allen is a teen content creator in Hamilton, Ontario. She understands the motivation, but is advocating for a different approach.

Better protect young people without imposing an outright ban. Setting young people up with the resources that they need to go into the online world more informed. Alan promotes diversity in children's books on social media. The 17-year-olds found a large audience for her work on Instagram, leading to speaking gigs, a TV show, and awards. For me, social media was really a place to find my voice. It was a really powerful experience in a community that I found. A powerful tool with a growing debate over its limits.

Alexander Silverman, CBC News, Montreal. And finally. I looked into my room and there was a coyote on my bed. An unusual Tuesday evening for Toronto's Alice Kent. A coyote pup somehow gets into her bedroom and curls up in her bed. She told CBC Toronto Metro morning host Chris Glover, it happened a few weeks after she first noticed coyote pups resting on a daybed in her backyard. We looked out back and there were two, sometimes three pups who were very cute. They looked very comfortable. And they ended up just having a nice little nap back there.

So she called the Toronto Wildlife Center for tips on how to scare them off. We tried like opening and closing an umbrella, waving a garbage bag around, loud noises, We bought an air horn. We finally got them to get up and out when we sort of pulled the day bed out and shook it around a bit and we kind of sprayed some water near them. At this point, Kent thought she was in the clear. Days past. She leaves the back door open for her house cleaner who lets herself in and goes up the stairs. And she very calmly kind of comes back down half of the stairs and says to me,

I think there's a fox in your bedroom. And I thought maybe she was playing a prank or she left a stuffed animal out for me or something. But it was no fox and certainly not a prank. Cue a range of emotions. Denial is always the first one. I was like, no. No, thank you. And then it was immediately just a lot of thoughts and feelings about danger or my kids or my clean.

or myself. I thought, you know, if it was cornered or if it was, you know, in a place that had no escape, it might get aggressive. But in the end, no one was harmed. Police and the Wildlife Response team found the coyote pup hiding under the bed. They treated it for mange and released it back to its family. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Friday, August 7th. I'm Tashauna Reed. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.com. c a slash podcasts