Your World Tonight - Canada/U.S. trade talks collapse, Thrift stores sending clothes to landfills, BTS returns to Canada, and more

Episode Date: August 22, 2026

No deal is better than a bad deal. That's the message from Ottawa today, after Canadians woke up to the news that trade talks with the US had failed. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada entered negotiations in good faith, but Washington's demands were unfair. With that, those 50 percent tariffs on many Canadian goods are now in effect - and Carney is promising to match them dollar for dollar in response.Also: Charity thrift stores say they are getting buried in piles of donated clothes. Donations just keep coming, but the stores can't offload their surplus stock. So their sending more and more used clothes to landfills.And: Toronto is a little purple this weekend thanks to the Army - The BTS Army that is. The Korean boy band makes a trimphant return to the city this weekend, the only Canadian stop on their globe-spanning reunion tour. You'll hear from some excited fans about what the K-Pop kings mean to them. Plus: Reaction to trade deal fallout, Pricey new U.S. visa requirements, and more.

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Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians. Never a deal at any price or on any time frame. No deal. After trade talks collapsed late Friday night, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will hit back at new U.S. tariffs matching them dollar for dollar. You'll hear why Canada walked away from the table and its plan for retaliation. This is your world tonight. I'm Helen Mann. Also tonight, the blame game. Mark Carney says U.S. demands were unreasonable, while Washington says it's Canada that's at fault for the trade talks falling apart. And the fact that like, BTS is breathing our air. And I'm here for it. The Kings of Korean Pop make their triumphant return to Canada. No deal is better than a bad deal. That's the message from Ottawa today.

After Canadians woke up to the news that trade talks with the U.S. had failed. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada entered negotiations in good faith, but Washington's demands were unfair. Many Canadian exports are now facing hefty U.S. tariffs, and Carney is now promising to match those taxes dollar for dollar in response. Tom Perry has our top story tonight from Ottawa. We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked. Accompanied by his minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade and chief trade negotiator, both summoned back from Washington, Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out his

reasons for walking away from talks and into a trade war with Canada's largest trading partner. We were not prepared to compromise Canada's sovereignty or to undermine our key industries. Carney says Canada and the U.S. were making progress on a deal before U.S. negotiators demanded last-minute changes. The Prime Minister says the U.S. tried to add terms that would have hurt Canada's auto sector, specifically plants that build medium and heavy pickup trucks. He says the U.S. US also sought to limit Canada's ability to trade with other countries, a demand he describes as a power play. Canadians wouldn't accept that. We're proud independent country. We've got the right values. We'll make our decisions about who we want to trade with and how. Karnie says all of it raised serious

questions about the reliability of a potential deal with the administration of Donald Trump. We recognize that sometimes its signature was written in pencil. There's also the internal machinations of the Trump regime. Sources say Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik meddled in negotiations and argued against reducing tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and autos. Carney would not comment on Lutnik's role, but says there is a sharp difference between the Canadian negotiating team and the Americans. Everyone in the loop.

everyone knows what our objectives are collective decision-making. As I say, ultimately, I in the cabinet bear responsibility for those decisions, but unity. You cannot say that about the United States administration. With talks broken off, Trump's new 50% tariffs on nearly $30 billion in Canadian exports come into effect. Carney says Canada will match those dollar for dollar, with levies on American goods with a focus on steel, dairy, appliances, and other products. Carney's political opponents are so far on board. Conservative leader Pierre Pollyev says he'll speak to the Prime Minister

about how to fight for Canadian workers and businesses. Block Quebecois leader I Francois Blanchet says he applauds the decision to impose equal tariffs on U.S. goods. While Green Party leader Elizabeth May and NDP leader Avi Lewis say they agree, it's better to have no deal than a bad one. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The U.S. Trade Representative is contradicting Mark Carney's version of events, saying Canada is to blame for the talks breaking down. Jameson Greer also saying the trade war could get messier,

warning Canada's countermeasures will trigger more reprisals from the White House. Katie Nicholson has more from Washington on that. Katie, what is the latest from the Americans? The main voice in all of this has been the U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer. He hit Fox News again this morning to parrot a lot of what has been said. the night before, essentially that it was the Canadians who walked away, that Canadians had walked back previous commitments and resurfaced that frequent point of contention, that being that, you know, Canada was one of only two countries that retaliated against the first round of tariffs,

China being the other one. So here's a little bit more of what Greer said this morning, speaking from Washington, where, of course, U.S. President Donald Trump's Indy 500 race heats were underway. After a year of that retaliation, We've said enough, and so we've taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains. We've been offering to bring the Canadians along on that path, really to cut the tariffs on them, on steel, on tariff autos, even lumber, things that are sensitive for them. And they've always had the best deal, and they still would have an even better deal, but they didn't want that. Of course, the Canadians have characterized how the talks broke off differently, saying it was the Americans who kept moving the goalposts.

So far, nothing from the U.S. President in response to Prime Minister Carney's comments today, though that could change. What is the potential political fallout? Well, Democrats are already making hay with this. Representatives, senators, even presidential hopefuls heaping scorn on the Trump administration for those 50% tariffs, which many point out will be paid by the American public. This is, of course, ahead of November's midterms as inflation and affordability issues are all. already plaguing Trump and his GOP. But there is also the specter looming here, too, of Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliation, which could be used strategically with a, I don't know,

scalpel-like precision in swing states in districts where Republicans might be vulnerable. Think swing states with heavy steel and manufacturing economies that do a lot of cross-border trade with Canada. Ohio is one. Pennsylvania or specifically more rural areas like that pencil-tucky area, heavily agriculture-based. And then there may be more far-reaching consequences, right? Just think about how this is going to strain business relations on both sides of the border and further inflame Canadian anger toward the U.S. Already tourism in just Vermont, down 40 percent.

And that attributed by Senator Peter Welch to the administration's rhetoric toward Canada and the trade war. So other ways that this economic pain could play out. All right, Katie, thank you. You're welcome. That's CBC's Katie Nicholson in Washington. Still ahead. For decades, charity thrift stores in Canada sold their excess donations to other non-profits

who in turn could sell those clothes to support their own causes. Now those thrift shops say the system isn't working anymore and much of that inventory is ending up in landfills. That's later on your world tonight. Staying on our top story, provincial leaders say they are backing team Canada. The premiers say the Prime Minister was right to not accept a bad deal, even if that means short-term economic pain for their constituents. Philip Lee-Shanik reports.

At the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, people are spoiling for a fight. We have to stand up because Trump is really bullying us. Giving in to him isn't going to make things get cheaper. There's no point giving in now. We've stood strong this far. We are Canadian and we need to stand up for what we believe in. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford agrees with Carney that the deal was bad for his province's auto steel in manufacturing sectors, and he called on Canada's premiers to present a united front. When we work together and we put political stripes aside, we cannot be stopped.

Ford was steadfast in refusing to return American booze to provincially run liquor store shelves and earlier threatened to cut off electricity exports. We're going to win this fight. We're going to use every single tool we have here in Ontario. and hopefully the rest of the premiers feel the same way. Prime Minister Carney held a meeting with premiers this afternoon, explaining why Canada had to walk away from trade talks and promising federal support in the weeks to come. Most provincial leaders, no matter their party, broadly backed Carney

and are pushing forward a Team Canada approach. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the status quo is not possible. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham, like Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, pledged their full. support. The Americans, to put it politely, are taking us for granted. British Columbia Premier David Eby said every possible weapon must be deployed to counter an unfair economic attack by the United States. They don't clearly understand how significant and entrenched our relationship is and how much they benefit from it. They have a lot of cards they can play,

as do Canadians, but it looks like we're going to be in this for the long run. Former federal conservative deputy leader Lisa Raid is on the advisory committee on Canada-US relations. Will there be an export tax levied on oil and gas? That is a fight for the premiers to have, no question about it. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith agreed last-minute U.S. demands were too much to accept, but cautioned that her province's oil and gas industry is not a bargaining chip. Team Canada is 100% united.

Manitoba Premier Wab Knew says Canadians should be prepared to play the long game. He's got two more years left in office. We should be prepared to do it. out for two years. And then hopefully sanity will return to America. In the meantime, Canada is formulating its list of retaliatory tariffs, likely aimed at economic targets that will cause political pain. Philip Lichita-Shadok, CBC News, Toronto. Among the provinces likely to be hardest hit by the U.S. tariffs is Quebec, particularly its

manufacturing sector. In response, the Premier is now promising to help those businesses weather the economic storms ahead. Alexander Silberman, reports. It is essential to protect businesses. Quebec Premier Christine Frischette, pledging to defend her province's economy. She says the new tariffs will impact $7.7 billion of the province's exports. So we will be in close contact with economic leaders in order to identify the best way to retaliate. Frischette, acknowledging the tariffs will cost workers their jobs, and Quebec will have to defend itself. She announced two government programs.

to support businesses, including interest-free loans for impacted sectors. It is important to unite ourselves in this period, and I think that the federal government can be an important actor in that context. Quebec's economy has already been hit hard by existing tariffs on steel, aluminum and softwood lumber. The province lost more than 58,000 jobs since the start of the year, according to research by economists at Desjardin Group. Much of the drop is in the manufacturing sector, which is heavily tied to trade. Now 11% of the province's exports are tariffed, according to the government. The Quebec economy has been resilient. Eric Chiral, Quebec's Minister of Finance, says the province is ready to weather the storm

and in a strong economic position to support workers and businesses. It's very important to be a united boat as Quebecers, as Canadian, support each other, support the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of Quebec. These are difficult times. For workers in manufacturing like David Janut, the tariffs mean a major drop in business and the risk of imminent layoffs. Before tariffs, 90% of our production would be sold in the U.S. Jeannut is the operations manager at Cveco, a steel wire manufacturer and supplier

south of Montreal. The company has already been hurting from existing duties on steel. When the tariffs hit, of course it was a big hit. You know, and it's not only the tariffs, it's the uncertainty that comes with it. I've been here for 25 years. Most of these guys, I know their wife. I know their kids. So it's tough.

A tough hit as workers bear the cost of the trade war. The Quebec government hopes to alleviate those impacts by helping businesses bridge the gap in revenue. It's also calling on the federal government. government to help, hoping to save as many businesses and jobs as possible. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Montreal. Three people are injured after a shooting in the Northwest Territories Friday night. The RCMP says multiple gunshots rang out after a group of men got into a fight at the annual Fireweed Festival in Fort Smith.

The Mounties had issued a shelter-in-place order for the area, but it has since been lifted. Charity thrift stores say they are getting. buried in piles of donated clothes. Donations just keep coming, but the stores can't offload their surplus stock. So they're sending more and more used clothes to landfills. Terran Grant has more from Halifax. With a gentle thud, a mound of clothes lands in the dumpster behind a thrift store in suburban Halifax. Clothes really shouldn't go in the dumpster, but there's just so many clothes being generated now with fast fashion. Kathy Broussard is the director of Hand and thrift store. It generates money for a registered charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Broussard says she used to be able to sell her stores excess clothing to other charities. They would sell some to for-profit stores like Value Village, and some might be exported to other countries. But six months ago, the charities stopped buying because there's just too much. It's a treadmill. It doesn't end. It keeps coming and going and being sorted to where it needs to go. Roussard says dumpster pickups have gone up 50%. She hates to send things to the landfill, and every pickup costs money, eating into her charity's bottom line. Used clothing expert Charlotte Genge says the same problem is hitting charity thrift stores across Canada.

Through the system that we have created, I think it's worked really well for many, many years. The real problem is just that we need to turn off the tap, ultimately. The National Diabetes Trust collects used clothing to sell wholesale. It uses donation bins, and until recently, it would also buy from charity thrift stores. But it stopped doing that in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia, citing changing market conditions and higher donation volumes. Another big player, Value Village, is shifting away from buying from charities. The thrift giant would not do an interview, but in its annual reports,

it says around three quarters of its stock now comes from direct. donations, up from about half in 2019. This isn't just a Canadian problem. It's a global problem. Stephen Bethel's company, Bank and Vogue, exports used clothing to 32 countries. He says pressure is mounting on the international marketplace. And under pressure also in a really thin margin, it's a low-value commodity. Bethel says inflation and global unrest have driven up the costs of exporting used clothes. Plus, some countries are adding taxes to try to slow the stream.

Gengh says the only real solution is policy. It almost needs to get worse before it's going to get better because it's been so out of sight, out of mind for so long. She'd like to see more textile recycling and for manufacturers of new clothes to face the burden of disposal. Terran Grant, CBC News, Halifax. The Trump administration has made visits to the U.S. more costly for tens of millions of millions of people. Whether for business or pleasure, visa applicants from dozens of countries are now required to put up thousands of dollars. Washington says it wants to discourage people from overstaying their welcome. But critics say it's discouraging legitimate travel. Freelance reporter

Kunle Babs has more on that for us tonight. I travel to the United States at least twice a year for business. Kasem Husseini is a car dealer in Abuja. He regularly travels to the United States to source vehicles and says the visa bond could have another significant cost to his business. If I have to set aside that amount before every trip, it will increase my cost of doing business and traveling to the United States. More than a 142,000 Nigerians traveled to the United States on non-immigrant visas in 2024. Last summer, the Trump administration announced a pilot program requiring business and tourist visa applicants from 50 countries to post a refundable bond. 30 of the affected countries are in Africa, including Nigeria. The rest are in South

America, the Caribbean, Asia and the South Pacific. The program took effect in January. It was made permanent in early August and the maximum bond was raised from 15,000 to 20,000 US dollars. So it would certainly discourage many Nigerian and African travelers. Immigration expert Docas Ahmed says the added financial burden will push Nigerian travelers to other destinations. They will look into other alternatives, like probably China and Turkey for business, like Canada, Europe, for tourism. The bond is part of a wider tightening of US visa rules. Since January, Washington has also restricted entry to foreign nationals from 19 countries, including Nigeria, with limited exceptions. The US government says the measures are for national security reasons.

The basic tenet of diplomacy's reciprocity. Retired diplomat Okbole and Medu Ode says Nigeria should consider a reciprocal response to the U.S. visa bond policy. Nigeria should go out there and impose. It's not that U.S. citizens don't travel in here. They're traveling here, even if they are very few. While Washington says the bond is designed to encourage compliance with U.S. immigration law and deter overstays, Many African travelers believe it will simply make legitimate travel to the United States harder to afford. Kunibabs for CBC News, Abuja, Nigeria.

A mystery is unfolding in the professional women's hockey league. Where's Walter? The Walter Cup awarded to the Montreal Victoire earlier this year is missing. It was supposed to arrive in Lethbridge, Alberta for an event on Thursday, but the container showed up without the cup inside. The missing trophy is not the same one that's presented to champion teams on the ice, but rather a version for the winners to take home. The PWHL says it is working closely with the shipping company to help find it.

Toronto is a little purple this weekend, thanks to the Army. The BTS Army, that is. The Korean Boy Band makes a triumphant return to the city this weekend, the only Canadian stop on their globe-spanning reunion tour. Griffin Yeager spoke to some excited. fans about what the K-pop kings mean to them. It's a moment years in the making for the devoted fandom. BTS is breathing our air, and I'm here for it.

The K-pop superstars shining a light on Toronto with two sold-out shows in the city. It's BTS's first Toronto show in over a decade and the only Canadian stop on their Arirang World Tour. Comedian Ann Pornel saw the group in Paris earlier this summer. This time, they're on her home turf. This is like waking up on Christmas morning and seeing your parents got you the whole list. The last time BTS played Toronto, it was for a crowd of under 1,500 fans. After a pandemic cancellation in 2020, they're making up for lost time in a major way,

playing to over 100,000 people over two nights. BTS are Korea's most successful musical group ever, having sold tens of millions of albums worldwide. Their reach is global, including in Toronto, where pop-ups, parties, and fan events are everywhere. The city even temporarily renaming a stretch of a major street to BTS Boulevard. I'm sure the waterworks are just going, like, happy, elated tears. That's Katie Frazier. She's been in the BTS Army for years, but this will be her first time seeing the group, A fan so big, her husband surprised her at their wedding with a choreographed dance to the band's hit Butter.

When tickets went on sale, she says she wouldn't take no for an answer. I said to my husband, if there was anything we were spending money on over the next year, it was that we needed to guarantee that we would be at this concert. They kind of went on break when they really had a kind of pinnacle of global popularity. U of T professor Michelle Cho studies Korean media and pop culture. She says when Korea's mandatory military service forced PTSD to go on hiatus, it created pent-up demand and avoid that no other K-pop group was quite able to fill. They're kind of irreplaceable.

And so I think a lot of the hopes of the K-pop industry were pinned on BTS, being able to come back and really have the kind of scale of mainstream success that they had had before their hiatus. The Toronto shows are drawing fans from well beyond the city. I, for instance, know someone who is coming in from Trinidad. I talk to people who came from all over Europe, from South America, from other parts of North America, to see this band. The Kings of K-pop setting the night of light in Toronto. Griffin Yeager, CBC News, Toronto. And finally, if the U.S.-Canada trade war has you feeling a little bit more patriotic this weekend,

we leave you tonight with something else that brought the country together. Ten years ago, the tragically hip took the stage in their hometown, Kingston, Ontario, and played their final concert. That performance was broadcast live on the CBC, becoming a shared national celebration. Think about it. It doesn't feel like 10 years at all. It feels like half that. Guitarist Paul Langlois speaking to Cues Tom Power this week. He says no one in the hip thought the band would ever tour again. after singer Gord Downey was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in December 2015. But Languas says Downey was insistent.

You said, we did a record, didn't we? Yeah. Were we going to tour? I said, well, we had talked about it, you know, in June, but then you got diagnosed and had a couple of brain surgeries and now your radiation, so we haven't talked about it again. And he's like, well, I think we should do it. Don't you?

And I said, well, sure. More than one-third of the country tuned in to give the tragically hip a final send-off. As Downey sang hits like Grace 2, ahead by a century, and Bob Cajun. Gore Downey died one year later. In honor of the 10-year anniversary, the CBC's rebroadcasting the tragically hip a national celebration on CBC TV tonight and streaming the concert on CBC Gem and CBC Music's YouTube channel. There are also watch parties in dozens of cities and towns across Canada. We'll end our program tonight with a sample of that concert.

Here's a little more of Bob Cajun. This has been your world tonight for August 22nd, 2026. I'm Helen Mann. Thanks for listening. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca.