Your World Tonight - Cost of the World Cup, Carney in B.C., ebola latest, and more

Episode Date: May 20, 2026

A look at the spending math as Ottawa’s parliamentary budget watchdog says hosting the FIFA World Cup will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion.And: Prime Minister Mark Carney goes to B.C. after premier David Eby accused the federal government of rewarding separatist behaviour by signing a deal with Alberta. The deal includes a preferential carbon price and an agreement to fast track pipelines.Also: Health officials say the ebola outbreak in Central Africa is likely to get worse before it gets better. There are more than 600 suspected cases of a strain so rare it hasn’t been seen in more than a decade — and there is no vaccine.Plus: Raúl Castro indicted in the U.S., backlash against Israel’s national security minister for mocking flotilla activists, new global warming projections, and more.

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When I think about what I'm hoping for out of this meeting, it's a fair share for of British Columbia of federal investment. The Prime Minister and the BC Premier grapple over faster investment and environmental protection in the shadow of Mark Carney's deal to move Alberta closer to a West Coast pipeline. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. It's Wednesday, May 20th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast?

They're looking for the average rate about $513 Canadian for a hotel room. What people are being expected to pay and what people are willing to pay. There's a gap there. So you're going to have to see some right-sizing in terms of pricing. Some tourism operators and analysts question if it's all worth it. As new numbers suggest the FIFA World Cup will cost governments across Canada a billion dollars. It's a closed-door meeting that either opened a lot of opportunities or caused a new rift in BC's relationship with Ottawa.

After weeks of tough talk over pipeline politics, Premier David E.B. and Prime Minister Mark Carney held crucial talks today in Vancouver. Marina Von Stacklebrook reports on the face-to-face and the potential fallout. On a day like today, in a province like this in this setting, You can't help but be optimistic and positive. Mark Carney stands next to BC Premier David Eby, with Vancouver's scenic harbor and mountains behind them, as the Prime Minister tries to put a sunnier view ahead of them.

The pair met for the first time since Carney signed another deal with Alberta. It sets out the timeline to build an oil pipeline straight through Eby's province. And there's no doubt in my mind, but that the Prime Minister is a friend to British Columbia. And an important part of friendship is telling each other the truth. Eby says the truth for BC is that Canada's big development projects must still protect the environment. That includes keeping the ban on oil tanker traffic along BC's North Coast. Eby has accused Carney of playing favorites with Alberta Premier Daniel Smith by, quote, rewarding bad behavior, prioritizing the pipeline for a Premier who he says threatens to leave the country.

What I'm hoping for out of this meeting, it's a fair share for British Columbia of federal investment that the Prime Minister is committed to for this country. I think I should say a few words about our recent agreement with Alberta. Carney also made his pipeline pitch to BC business leaders. He says it won't go ahead without Alberta following through on carbon capture commitments. And British Columbians should share substantial economic and financial benefits from projects that include or impact them. But the Prime Minister was also clear about the path ahead if BC doesn't get on board. If things get stalled here, we're going to be spending more time elsewhere in the country because we need to move forward. This interprovincial squabbling, it's unproductive. Martha Hall-Finley, a former Liberal MP and past executive at Calgary-based oil company, Suncor Energy,

says Ottawa doesn't need British Columbia's green light. That's not actually how the Constitution works. That said, of course, we collectively would rather have any of these projects be collaborative and with folks on board. But many First Nations in BC say they still aren't part of the conversation. Marilyn Slet, president of BC Coastal First Nations, says her group remains firm in not wanting any oil tanker traffic on the sensitive BC North Coast. And no offer of equity or ownership will change our position. Carney has promised no pipeline will go ahead without respecting the government's constitutional obligation to consult indigenous peoples. Marina von Stackleberg, CBC News, Ottawa.

BC's premier has dismissed Alberta's pipeline plan, calling it a fantasy with no private backer. Instead, Eby points to other so-called nation-building projects. his province has sent to the Carney government that are shovel ready. Let's bring in senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong with more. Peter, let's start with the major projects office. Where are we with that? I mean, it's moving along, right? Prime Minister Mark Carney broke around at that mine in Quebec just yesterday.

There's this huge mining project in Saskatchewan that should actually be producing copper sometime this summer. But, Stephanie, the core promise was that Canada would move at, quote, speeds not seen in generations. And so far at least, we've seen a lot of agreements. But, you know, critics say it's pretty clear that we're still moving at the speed of government, which is not particularly fast. We just heard from Marina von Stackleburg, David E.B., saying he wants to make sure British Columbia

gets what he calls a fair share. Is BC getting a fair share? Look, BC is far and away, the biggest hub for these projects. It has more plans and more projects sent to the major projects office than any other province, right? two huge LNG projects, that North Coast transmission line, a multi-billion dollar expansion of the Red Criss Mine, which is way up on the border of BC and Alaska. Then there's this pipeline out of Alberta, at least the proposal for it. And, you know, you hear David E.B. talk about how important BC is and how big of a part of the

major projects pie BC is getting. So it's understandable. People in Alberta tend to bristle when they hear him talking about making sure the province gets its fair share. We also heard Mark Carney say if things get stalled in BC that Ottawa will be looking elsewhere. What does he mean by that? Well, I think that's something that you can frankly see for yourself, right? Capital is drawn like water downstream. It follows the path of least resistance. And look at just how easily and how quickly the latest version of the Keystone pipeline expansion

to the United States has moved ahead and compare that to the idea of building a pipeline to BC's west coast. The one to BC would give Canada the most leverage. It would give Canada the most benefit and would sort of get more Canadian oil to international markets. But it's also the most difficult. It's the most expensive. It's the most politically risky.

Building a pipeline to the U.S. will only make Canada more reliant on the American economy, more beholden to U.S. interest. But we've built a system that has made that one easier and the other one more difficult. What are you watching for next? I think what everybody's watching for is just the conversion from talk to actual delivering of ideas. And as I say, we saw that announcement yesterday. We'll see a mine open this summer.

They'll need to do more of that, if only to prove to international markets and international investors that this is the way things are going, that we are moving ahead and getting more projects done than we used to. Peter, thank you. Yeah, you bet. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong in Toronto. The FIFA World Cup is less than a month away. and according to a new report, hosting 13 games could cost Canadian taxpayers more than a billion dollars. Now, questions are growing about whether the payoff for the tourism industry will match the price tag.

She and Desjardin reports. From Dejardin, a business. Hotel X in downtown Toronto has been preparing for the World Cup for years. Smack dab beside the field, management anticipated a much bigger rush. Less than a month out. No nights are sold out yet. And I don't think that demand has been there yet. You know, still holding out hope.

But if it was anything like Taylor Swift, we would have had all the rooms in a long time ago. Because of row closures linked to the tournament, people have to book a minimum two-night stay on game days. According to Matt Black, the hotel's director of marketing and partnerships. He says bookings are trickling in, but not at the volume they expected. You have a lot of variables, a lot of factors that are new for this particular World Cup.

A, it's the first time it's expanded to 48 teams. B, it's being split over three countries, 16 different cities. You have a totally different geopolitical climate right now. Gas prices, airfare, everything is taking its toll. And it's not just Hotel X. Last month, the Toronto Hotel Association said FIFA canceled a slew of bookings in the city. In Vancouver, Canada's other host city, Jackie McMullen, the general manager of Times Square Suite, says they still have plenty of availability too.

We're waiting. We've got a few rooms left. We'll just see how that goes. And in the U.S., the American Hotel and Lodging Association reported bookings are also well below the expectation. Wayne Smith is with the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research at Toronto Metropolitan University. The real value in the World Cup isn't actually in the games and the tourism now is developing tourism for the next five, ten years. You experience this after the Olympics, where people for the next five, ten years, oh, I'm going to go to Vancouver.

It became a choice in people's brains when it may not have even thought of beforehand. Not ideal for those hoping to make money now. The parliamentary budget officer estimates Canadian taxpayers are shelling out more than a billion dollars to host, costing all levels of government about $82 million per game. But Kelly Jackson, with the Tourism Group at Destination Toronto, agrees it will pay off. Literally billions of people tune in to watch each match. And there's such an opportunity for us to inspire future travel to the city. You know, we're going to have all of these people coming to travel here, many of them first-time visitors.

They're going to be spending money here on the ground. And says the experience of being at the center of one of the world's biggest sporting events is a win on its own. She and Desjaldane, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, a critical delay in detection. The World Health Organization now believes the deadly new strain of Ebola has circulated in Central Africa for months. Plus, Donald Trump touts the U.S. indictment of former Cuban president, Raul Castro, on murder charges dating back to the 90s. Later, we'll have this story. I'm Nick Logan in Vancouver. 20206 is predicted to be yet another

one of the hottest years on record. So why is a worst-case scenario prediction for climate change being changed? What we have here is this truly a good news, bad news story. I'll explain. coming up on Your World Tonight. One person in Ontario is being tested for the Ebola virus. The province's health ministry says the person recently traveled to East Africa, and the testing is out of an abundance of caution. There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ontario. As for the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

officials say there are about 600 suspected cases and nearly 140 deaths. And as Christine Birak reports, A vaccine may still be months away. A man washes his hands at a border crossing in Rwanda as health workers do temperature checks. They're screening people returning from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, trying to stem the rising tide of Ebola cases. WHO assess the risk of the epidemic as the high at the national and regional levels and low at the global level. Ted Rose Adhanem Gabriasis, Director-General of the World.

World Health Organization has declared this outbreak a public health emergency. It's being driven by a rare strain of Ebola, not seen in more than a decade. Nearly half those infected die, and there's no vaccine for it. Officials say they're working to adapt existing vaccines, but a trial for this strain will take time. So this needs to be prioritized as the most promising Bundibukyo candidate vaccine. The information that we have is that this is likely to take six to nine months. Vassi-Murthy is the WHA's senior advisor on research and development. He says there is another candidate vaccine which could be ready in two to three months. They are manufacturing that as we speak, but there is no animal data to support that.

Global Affairs Canada says about 3,600 Canadians are registered in the DRC and Uganda. It's not aware of any Canadians being affected by the virus. An American doctor has tested positive for Ebola and six others may have been exposed. The Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the WHO earlier. this year. Last night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the emergency declaration came a little late. The head of the WHO responded to Rubio's criticism. So this is very important on what the secretary say. Gabriaces says Rubio may not fully grasp how the WHO works with countries. We don't replace the country's work. We only support them. So that's why there could be some lack of understanding.

Officials say the outbreak may have been missed for a month or two because DRC tests were looking for a different strain of the virus. Response efforts in the hardest hit province are also being slowed by ongoing conflict. That's displaced more than 100,000 people. UNICEF is deeply concerned. Dr. Paul Ung-Wakam with UNICEF Africa says it can feel like a never-ending cycle of suffering. Between 2018 and 2020, there was an Ebola outbreak in this region of the Congo with over 2,000. He adds, the psychological trauma is still there. He adds, the situation is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Christine Birak, CBC News, Toronto. CBC is pausing production on a comedy series after complaints. A historian and a writer say they were tricked into taking part because of their views on Canada's residential schools. And the National Police Federation now says active and retired RCMP members also took part under false pretenses. Northland Tales had not aired yet. It was pitched as an unscripted comedy series

using pranks as a form of social action. It's a co-production between CBC and the Aboriginal People's Television Network. The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Cuba. Today, the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment of former president Raul Castro in connection with the downing of two civilian planes 30 years ago. The move comes as Cuba faces severe blackouts and fuel shortages amid tighter U.S.

restrictions. Katie Simpson has more from Washington. There was a standing ovation inside a packed room in Miami's storied Freedom Tower, the place generations of Cuban refugees first had their immigration claims processed, where Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, made the announcement. Charging Raoul Castro and several others with consistent. conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. Raul Castro, the 94-year-old former Cuban president and brother of Fidel Castro, is also facing four counts of murder and destruction of aircraft charges.

The U.S. Department of Justice is alleging that back in 1996, when Castro was defense minister, he ordered the downing of two civilian planes flown by a Cuban exile group, killing four Cuban Americans. An indictment that adds to the broad pressure campaign the U.S. has imposed on Cuba since early this year. We're freeing up Cuba. President Donald Trump has openly mused about a, quote, friendly takeover and essentially blocked oil sales to the island nation

by threatening tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba, leading to intense fuel shortages and blackouts. No, there won't be escalation. I don't think there needs to be. Look, the place is falling apart. It's a mess. Trump declined to say whether the U.S. military would conduct an operation to seize Castro, similar to what American forces did in Venezuela,

when President Nicolas Maduro was captured and flown to New York to face drug-related charges. The move facilitated a leadership change in Caracas viewed as more favorable to Washington and U.S. oil interests. Castro will appear in court one way or another, says Todd Blanche. This isn't a show indictment. We expect that he will show up here by his own will or by another way. Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Cannell, is condemning the indictment. In a post on social media, he says the case against Castro has been fabricated to justify military aggression against Cuba.

The Cuban leadership is certainly not going to just turn him over. Peter Cornblum is a senior Cuba analyst with a research group in Washington, And he predicts tensions are about to rise. I think we're living in a very grim moment in which the dark cloud of possible U.S. acts of war against Cuba are coming. Donald Trump has said many times. He built up the military in his first term and now he's going to use it in his second term. If the U.S. does decide to take action, it won't likely happen quickly since so many resources are already deployed to the Middle East for the U.S. war in Iran. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington.

There is diplomatic backlash against Israel's Itimar Ben-Givir. It's over a video posted by the far-right politician where he hurls insults at a group of handcuffed activists. Several countries, including Canada, are condemning his actions. Cameron McIntosh is in Jerusalem with more on the controversy. In the video, a pro-Palestinian activist's head is pushed down while Israel's national security minister, Immar bin Gavir is seen mocking her and others. All detained in international waters after Israeli forces blocked a flotilla of ships

trying to reach Gaza. Others are shown forced to kneel with their hands bound. Ben Gavir posting the video with a caption, Welcome to Israel. Flotilla organizers say 12 of the detainees are Canadian. I have directed my officials to summon the Israeli ambassador regarding the mistreatment of civilians aboard the flotilla.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand denouncing the video. What we've seen, including the video shared by Itmar Ban Gavir, is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable. About 450 pro-Palestinian activists on more than 50 small ships were stopped by Israeli forces, including a ship carrying Canadian Ehab Latoya, who we reached Monday at sea before he was detained. Our goal is to wake up the conscience of the world. His wife, Talley Good Friend, has not heard from him since his detainment, but has seen the video.

I think just, yeah, seeing that, it was very, it was really shocking and disheartening. You know, many more words come to mind, but yeah, it was bad. It was bad for sure. It's not the first time activists have tried this or that Israel has detained them. Lawyers for the activists accuse Israel of violating international law. Hadil Abu Saleh is with the human. Rights Group, Adela. It says that no country can basically do any investigation or arrest on a ship except for the country of the flag. And all of the boats were foreign-flagged boats. If the protesters' point is to draw attention to Israel and the conditions Palestinians facing Gaza,

Ben Gavir, who is on the far right of Israel's governing coalition, and already sanctioned by Canada may have helped. The video drawing plenty of international condemnation. In a post, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the treatment abominable, while Israel's foreign affairs minister called Gavir's post disgraceful, undermining the work of Israeli forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced it while accusing the protesters of supporting Hamas terrorism,

saying he's given instructions to have the activists deported as soon as possible. Lawyers for the detainees say almost all are being transported to an Israeli prison. Global Affairs Canada has not said if the Canadians have met consular officials. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Jerusalem. 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.

might be changing in Manitoba, though this time for good. We might stop changing our time, but which way should we go? Premier Wab Canoe is asking the public to make that decision through a survey launched today. The survey asks if Manitobans prefer to stay the course or choose a permanent time. And if they choose the latter... Do you want the earlier sunrises in winter with standard time, or do you want the later sunrises? in summer with daylight time. Let us know which you prefer. There's a lot to consider from fewer strokes and car accidents to those beautiful summer nights. Big debate. BC and Alberta have

already stopped the time change, officially joining Saskatchewan and Yukon with a permanent time. Manitoba's survey will be available until August 31st. The world's climate scientists are revising the worst-case scenario for warming. They now say, it may not be as bad as they once expected. U.S. President Donald Trump says that proves their previous estimates were wrong. Researchers say it actually shows the world is doing something right. Nick Logan explains. Flood waters sweep through parts of China forcing thousands of people from their homes,

while residents of India and Pakistan swelter in temperatures topping 46 degrees Celsius. But this week's climate change headlines aren't all bad. It seems to be increasingly likely that we won't see a doubling or tripling of global carbon dioxide emissions by the end of the century. Climate scientist Zeke Housefather explains why the baseline for predicting how much the world's climate will change is also changing. So every decade or so, the climate community puts together a new set of emissions scenarios to reflect the fact that the world has changed. Housefather is the lead author for an upcoming report from the UN International Panel on Climate Change. He says a previous worst-case scenario based on predictions made more than 15 years ago is no longer seen as plausible, thanks to changing climate policies, significant developments

in renewable energy, and the rising adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles. He explains it was one of a set of possible scenarios that are now changing. They have much more reasonable names like, you know, low, medium, and high. This might have all gone unnoticed had it not been for U.S. President Donald Trump. In a social media post, he claimed the UN's top climate committee, quote, admitted its own projections were wrong, wrong, wrong. It certainly was very bizarre. I mean, I think this is just an example of how science works, right? What we have here is this truly a good news, bad news story. Rick Smith is the president of the Canadian Climate Institute.

At the same time, as this worst case scenario has been dialed back, scientists have admitted that the previous best case scenario is, increasingly unlikely and that we are unlikely at this point to keep average global warming under 1.5 degrees over the next few decades. And he points out that Canada is warming up at an even faster rate than much of the world. We've already seen in our country 2.5 degree warming, which is what scientists think on average the globe might get to by the end of the century. Despite Trump misrepresenting the shifting emissions scenarios, he may actually be an influence on some of the new projections.

Father says the updated high-emissions scenario envisions a world in which climate progress is rolled back and fossil fuel use is ramped up. It's a very Trumpian future. The new UN emissions scenarios are still being finalized but should come out in September in a year that is likely to be once again among the hottest on record. Nick Logan, CBC News, Vancouver. Finally. That's the moment in the dying seconds when the Ottawa charge scored the go-ahead goal in a must-win game against the Montreal Victoire. Montreal leads the PWHL Best of Five final series to one. Game four is tonight in Ottawa.

The visitors will have to contend with that roaring crowd and Ottawa's secret weapon. That's the original Kazoo crew, started by superfan Britt Hurley and a group of friends. The women in Section 11 lead the crowd in cheers. and the number of kazoo's in the stands has grown every year. This year we decided instead of buying them, let's bring some money into the community, let's support some of the local businesses or charities. So I started, I learned how to 3D print in the off season. For Hurley, the kazzoos are really about bringing people together.

Thousands have been given away for pay-what-you-can donations. This year's recipient is the Ottawa Bandits, a special needs hockey program where some of the kazoo crew service, coaches. Especially in the times that we live in, where I think a lot of things are created to divide us and to create less community. Having these people remind me that community exists and the power of that has been life-changing. That sense of community led to a PWHL record crowd of nearly 17,000 on Monday. It's another big turnout tonight too, and the Kazoo crew will be leading the cheers all night. This has been your world tonight for Wednesday, May, May.

20th. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Thank you for being with us. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.