Your World Tonight - Countdown to Trump's 'Liberation Day', Danielle Smith says mission accomplished, Rising cost of medical equipment, and more

Episode Date: March 30, 2025

In just a few short days, Donald Trump is promising to use tariffs to liberate his country from foreign goods. Its not entirely clear yet what will happen on that day. But Canadians will likely pay a hefty price. Also: Alberta premier Danielle Smith says her trip to Florida to meet with conservative media personalities has paid off - getting the message out that tariffs are no good for either country. You'll hear how conservatives feel about her strategy, and whether or not Canadians think it's getting results.And: The threat of U.S. tariffs has health professionals warning about the rising cost of medical equipment. We'll take you to Newfoundland and Labrador, where the healthcare system is looking at everything it buys and searching for alternatives to U-S-made products. Plus: Search and rescue efforts continue in Myanmar and Thailand, Entering week two of the federal election campaign, Maple syrup industry braces for tariffs, and more.

I've been covering politics for 20 years and I can't remember a time like now when everything we thought we knew has been thrown in the air. From Trudeau's resignation to Trump's tariffs to a spring election during huge shifts in the polls. There's a lot at stake and power and politics is here to guide you through it. I'm David Cochran and on CBC's only political

daily I speak to the key players in this election. From the candidates to the analysts to the journalists on the campaign trail, you can find power and politics wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube. This is a CBC Podcast. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Julianne Hazelwood. We have Liberation Day as you know and we have I'm Julianne Hazelwood.

We have Liberation Day, as you know, on April 2nd, because many countries have taken advantage of us, the likes of which nobody even thought was possible. In just a few short days, Donald Trump is promising to use tariffs to liberate his country from foreign goods. It's not entirely clear yet what will happen on that day, but Canadians will likely pay a hefty price. Also on the podcast, as the federal election campaign heads into its second week, we'll tell you where the major party leaders are and what they're promising to make life more

affordable. And even the healthcare sector is not immune to a trade war. All the traditional gowns, masks, gloves, everything from cardiovascular stents to, you know, flow valves for the ORs. Newfoundland and Labrador is on the hunt for new medical equipment suppliers. Donald Trump's trade war looks to open a sizable new front this week. It takes aim at Canada, foreign cars and a host of other nations and comes with

plenty of uncertainty. Sarah Levitt leads off the show tonight in Washington where the White House is defending its sweeping tariff plans. Tariffs will make America great again. A constant catchphrase from a Trump administration steadfast on slapping down tariffs to bolster American production. One that Peter Navarro, the president's senior advisor on trade, continues to talk up on Fox News. Tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs are national security, tariffs are great. This after US President Donald Trump told NBC News yesterday he couldn't care less if prices on cars go up.

He once again defended the 25 percent tariff on imported foreign vehicles, adding they will be permanent. Trump's calling April 2nd Liberation Day the day auto tariffs go into effect alongside 25% across the board tariffs on Mexico and Canada. It's also when the global trade war heats up even more with US reciprocal tariffs set to be announced on a slew of other nations the details on those not yet known. Navarro defending it all.

When you say a tax cut, how exactly is that going to work? We're going to raise about $100 billion with the auto chair of Salon. What we're going to do is in the new tax bill that has to pass, it absolutely has to pass, we're going to provide tax benefits, tax credits to the people who buy American cars. That messaging though, disputed by Ottawa. Along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, leading up to the Capitol, a series of ads are on display in bus shelters. Tariffs are a tax on hardworking Americans, they read.

Brought to you by the Canadian government. Susan Holt is the Premier of New Brunswick. New Brunswick and I think all Canadians have felt angry that our nearest neighbour, what used to be our closest friends, were insulting our country. There is optimism though, after Prime Minister Mark Carney's phone call with Trump last week, when the President called extremely productive. To hear the Prime Minister say that it looks like we will receive a favourable, if you can call it that, level of tariffs.

We expect there to be tiers and for Canada to fall in the lowest level. Others aren't so sure faced with a president who continues to change his mind one day to the next. It's not just foreign-made cars, tariffs are also coming to auto parts. That has Scott Lambert worried. His Ontario business provides parts to U.S. companies, mostly in the auto industry. Our customers in the United States or maybe a couple tiers down are going to be forced with a decision. Is it worth it to source it from Canada still? So yeah, we'll definitely be losing business. Lambert said he's holding his breath, something many people are doing. Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Washington.

In that same NBC interview, Donald Trump said he could seek a third presidential term. The U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two four-year terms. Trump told NBC News there are methods that would allow him to stay in the White House. He did not elaborate on what those methods are. Alberta's premier describes her trip this week as mission accomplished. She says her time in Florida to meet with conservative media personalities has paid off,

and it got the message across that tariffs are no good for either country. Sam Sampson has more on how conservatives feel about her strategy and whether or not Canadians think it's getting results. This is the reason that I think that what President Trump is doing with tariffs right now could be a massive mistake. Ben Shapiro is one of the most popular podcasters in the United States and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith is claiming to be responsible for what he says in his latest episode. When they say that these tariffs are going to result in new annual revenue to the

United States government, they mean you are going to pay a higher price for your Hyundai and the government is going to take a piece of that. This past week, Danielle Smith took part in a fundraiser in Florida with Shapiro. On her Alberta wide radio show yesterday, Smith claimed her conversations with him and other American influencers are paying off. He devoted his entire podcast to talking about how terrible tariffs were. And that is exactly what we wanted to accomplish. Shapiro's hour-long episode that day did include a lengthy section about tariffs

and their impact on Americans, but it also focused on other topics. Smith is saying mission accomplished. This is going to be the way we move the dial. But some aren't convinced this was the right call like conservative political analyst Sarah Biggs. If it's what floats our boat to go to the US and really try to spread the good word of Canadian oil and you know no tariffs that is fine but what I'm questioning are the vehicles of communication. Biggs takes issue with where the Shapiro meeting happened, a fundraiser for PragerU, which is not an accredited university,

but a group that says it tries to combat woke themes and anti-American sentiment in schools. And I think that Albertans are entitled to have those questions of why is she going on those very controversial platforms where the work needs to be done in the White House. Others like University of Calgary political scientist Barry Cooper says her strategy seemed to work. But whether or not Canada will face widespread tariffs

on April 2nd based on this conversation is unclear. Whether that's actually the case in the sense that she changed his mind, I think is probably questionable. But you know, that said, she's certainly been a lot more active than any other Canadian politician. Smith has spoken with American media personalities other Canadian politicians have not,

including an interview with right-wing media outlet Breitbart in early March. She reiterated her support for Pierre Poliev and noted that since the US tariff threats, support for the federal liberals has increased. Let's just put things on pause so we can get through an election. A comment that garnered cross-country criticism, especially from the liberals. But Smith has held her ground, saying last week she was willing to walk into the lion's den to change the minds of Americans and that she won't be silenced.

Sam Samson, CBC News, Edmonton. The Trump effect continues to loom over Canada's election. While the Liberals did not hold any public events today, the Conservatives and NDP toured battleground regions with promises aimed at affordability and surviving the trade war. Tom Perry is covering the Tories and kicks off our election coverage. This will be like economic rocket fuel for Canada. Pierre Poliev campaigning in North York, Ontario, pushing his plan to temporarily eliminate the capital gains tax on investors who sell an asset and then reinvest the money in

Canada. A plan his conservatives say they'll keep in place until the end of 2026 and make permanent if it's successful. There's no way the Liberals will allow these kinds of policies to go ahead. The Conservatives once held a commanding lead over their political rivals but polls show them trailing the Liberals under their new leader Mark Carney. Conservative insiders have told CBC News they're worried about what they see as a dysfunctional campaign. With Canadians fearful of the threat posed by Donald Trump, they've been urging Poliev to talk more about the U.S. president and his tariffs. We are standing up to the Americans with a Canada first reinvestment tax cut

that will bring tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars of investment into our economy. The Conservatives say their tax plan would cost roughly five billion dollars this year and five point five billion in 2026. Poliev says his policies will boost the economy and put Canada in a better position to take on the US. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Jagmeet Singh is in British Columbia for the first time this race with his plan for first-time home buyers. Janice McGregor has this look from the NDP campaign.

It's never been done before, but if we... Seeing an opening on the left created by a policy shift to the centre by Liberal leader Mark Carney, Jagmeet Singh stopped by a Port Moody, BC park and made his pitch to first-time home buyers. This would make a huge difference in people's lives. They'd be able to have affordable loans so they can actually buy their first home. A proposal to change the mandate of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to turn it into a mortgage lender.

CMHC has been insuring mortgages for years but Singh's plan would direct a taxpayer subsidized public lender to offer lower rates than the market currently offers. When asked if he's consulted with banks and credit unions on this. I'm not too worried about what banks think this is about helping out people. The NDP hasn't costed this proposal yet. Singh says the criteria to qualify for these mortgages would be similar to what financial institutions consider. A dozen NDP candidates joined their leader

for today's announcement in this Port Moody Park. They were grilled about how their campaign's going in the wake of polls that suggest that the NDP's in trouble. They insisted that they're still finding solid support on the ground. Janice McGregor, CBC News, Port Moody, British Columbia. Still ahead? Is there a product that's more Canadian than maple syrup? Two-thirds of the world's supply comes from this country, most of that from Quebec. And maple syrup producers in that province tell CBC News Donald

Trump's tariffs are threatening their business. That story later on Your World Tonight. An ice storm is making its way across eastern Canada tonight. There are weather warnings in parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. And in Ontario, some communities have declared states of emergency, while crews are busy trying to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. Philbly Shannock now on the damage and the recovery. It's happening in a heartbeat. Michael Olsen was outside his home in Kingston when he says it felt like the whole world came crashing down.

I could hear my neighbour here scraping his windshield and all of a sudden a big snap. And a massive branch came out of his tree and he ended up down at the hospital. Anyway, I think he's going to be okay. From Ontario's cottage country, the region north and east of Toronto through Peterborough, Kingston and into the Ottawa area, a slow moving storm brought prolonged rain with freezing temperatures near the ground. Mark Robinson is a meteorologist with the Weather Network. Because the meteorological conditions were exactly perfect to produce that ice.

This is a relatively unusual phenomenon. I know that we get freezing rain from time to time, but to have it this extensive doesn't happen every year. Peterborough and a Barrie area municipality declared states of emergency. Ontario Provincial Police say they're investigating a fatal collision near Ottawa, which may be storm related. Acting Sergeant Jake Dane says hundreds of crashes have been reported as well as trees making roads impassable. We're getting calls about people who are getting injured from falling trees as they're out on their property looking at it.

We're getting calls from people getting injured in motor vehicle collisions. Hydro One says at its peak, crews were dealing with almost 390,000 customers without power. This has been a very challenging weather event with multiple systems in it. Tiziana Bechega-Rosa says crews have restored service to about 200,000 customers, but their work won't be done for days. And then it's anticipated to move up further north, up to Timon.

So we will continue to have more outages. The storm is expected to move through Quebec and the Maritimes, encrusting trees and roads with ice along the way. Philip Le Chat Noc, CBC News, Toronto. Police in South Korea accuse a man in his 50s of starting the country's largest wildfire. They say the fire began when the

man was performing an ancestral rite at a family grave last Saturday. That wildfire killed at least 30 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, including historic temples. South Korea's finance minister says a budget bill will soon be submitted to the country's parliament to respond to the fallout from fires. In Myanmar, the search and rescue effort is about to become a recovery mission. Hundreds of people are still missing after Friday's earthquake, believed to be buried under the rubble. Our South Asia correspondent Salima Shivji is in Bangkok tonight, where rescuers are

trying to locate dozens of workers after the collapse of an apartment building. The scramble to rescue a survivor from under massive concrete slabs in Mandalay. The emergency crew knows every minute counts, with hundreds still trapped under rubble all over central Myanmar. This one a happy outcome. She was freed and gripped the arms of her rescuer in shock.

But many hundreds of others are still stuck, deep undermounts of mangled concrete. And panic keeps striking in Myanmar's second largest city. A group of volunteers trying to free people from a collapsed building run for cover after a series of aftershocks hit. collapsed building run for cover after a series of aftershocks hit. At this monastery, the earthquake demolished an entire wing where nearly 200 monks were writing an exam. Rescuers are using drastic means to get to whomever might still be breathing under the rubble.

I can't describe how sad I feel, fellow monk Bonetutta says. I'm at a loss when I see all this destruction. Foreign rescue teams are slowly getting into the country largely isolated from the world. But a severe lack of medical supplies and heavily damaged roads make progress difficult. And aid organizations are sounding the alarm. Marie Manrique is the Myanmar program coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross. What we're seeing here in Myanmar is a level of devastation that hasn't been seen over a century in Asia.

Devastation made worse with reports the military junta, which sees power in a coup four years ago and is fighting a civil war to hang on to that power, has not stopped its bombing campaigns against rebel-held areas. With the death toll already so high, projections show it could top 10,000 people. And the crucial window before rescue becomes recovery will close soon. In Bangkok, more than 1, thousand kilometres from the epicentre, heavy machinery was brought in,

where a high-rise under construction crumpled in seconds, trapping dozens of workers. The rescue efforts are painstaking as the operation enters its third day, while families wait and watch, helpless and exhausted. Hope is now slim of finding survivors with the signs of life rescuers heard previously now weak but not completely stifled say the families clinging to thoughts of a miracle. This family 20 members strong has been sleeping near the collapsed building since hours after the quake hit. Ghani Ghanu-Misri's husband Yotin was on the 24th floor, working as an electrician.

I'll wait here as long as it takes until we find him, she says. Our youngest son asks where his daddy has gone. I tell him that mommy will bring daddy home. Hope is all she has left now. Salima Shevji, CBC News, Bangkok. Israel's military pressure is working, Benjamin Netanyahu says. Israeli Prime Minister says his cabinet has voted to intensify the bombing campaign in Gaza and force Hamas to release all remaining hostages.

The Palestinian militant group said Saturday it agreed to a proposal for the release of five hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire. Israel has sent a counterproposal. Netanyahu is also disputing what he calls Hamas' lies about the final stage of the hostage ceasefire deal. Hamas will lay down its weapons, its leaders will be allowed to leave, he says. Israel will take care of security in the Gaza Strip and enable the implementation of the Trump plan. That contentious proposal would see the

U.S. take ownership of Gaza and redevelop it into a resort and Gazans would be relocated to another country. The incoming US tariffs mean Americans may have to start pouring corn syrup on their pancakes. The United States does not produce nearly enough maple syrup to meet demand, so it imports hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the sweet stuff each year, most of it from Quebec. As Vanessa Lee reports, maple farmers in the province fear the trade war will sap their profits. We're proud of it.

You know, we try and do the best job we can. Maple sap has been flowing from trees at Hall Acres Farm in Brome Lake an hour east of Montreal since the 1860s. David Hall is a fifth generation maple syrup producer. We only produce 20 to 25 days a year. Livelihoods largely dependent on weather are now tapped into even more uncertainty with tariffs on Canadian imports set to take effect in days. Last year, $450 million worth of maple syrup was sent to the U.S.

That's 62% of Quebec's maple exports. Are people going to stop buying syrup in the U.S.? Probably not. Will they buy less? Probably if there's a 25% tariff. We're going to have meetings with the buyers and see what we can do but you know for to say that the producers were going to get 25% less none of us would be in business. Across the Quebec border, Vermont is the top producer of maple syrup in the U.S. The markets are very interconnected. Jim Judd and his partner run Judd's Wayisis Farms in Morgan, half an hour from the border.

They depend entirely on supplies and equipment made in Canada. It's crucial because they manufacture just about everything that we use from our pipeline to gather the syrup to the tanks that we stored in. My biggest fear in all of this is that we might lose track of the fact that we're neighbors and we're friends and this might impact that. Vermont's Maple Sugar Makers Association worries all of the uncertainty could lead to price hikes and shortages on American shelves, stalling growth in the industry. Allison Hope is the executive director. Vermont and the U.S. don't make enough maple syrup to fulfill the needs of our domestic

market. And so it's important to the value of the U.S. industry that we have an adequate and appropriately priced supply of Canadian syrup. It takes decades for maple trees to grow big enough to tap, making it impossible to replace Canada's famous export overnight, as farmers on both sides of the border set their focus on production over politics. Vanessa Lee, CBC News, Brom Lake, Quebec. The ripple effect of the trade war is also being felt by the health care system.

Heather Gillis reports from Newfoundland and Labrador where health care centres are looking at everything they buy from brown paper bags to beds and searching for alternatives to U.S. made products. Rolling along the towering aisles of Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services new distribution centre, it almost looks like a Costco. Tony Williams runs this 85,000 square foot warehouse. We like to think of supply chains as the backbone of the health system. Williams and his team order everything needed to run hospitals, clinics and care homes.

Traditional gowns, masks, gloves, cardiovascular stents to flow valves for the ORs. In the face of possible tariffs from the U.S., the provincial government has directed Williams and his team to sort through everything, figure out what's from the U.S., try to find alternatives. Because as a trade war looms, even health care isn't immune. But there's a lot for Williams to untangle. We're looking at all these products and we're saying here, for example, Baxter. So it's one of our largest suppliers They're in made in the USA. So that product made in the USA Whereas here as you can probably see in the same aisle that we're in Baxter again

And this one is made in Canada a few aisles over. It's the same thing with 3m respirator masks Ones here are made in Canada, but further down the very same aisle. Same company, same product made in the USA. We've got to differentiate how many of these are made in the USA, how many are made in Canada, and then decide once again can we make a switchover. In some cases, Williams says they can't avoid US-made products, especially for surgeries. Williams says when looking for new health suppliers, there's a lot at stake. Healthcare products have to be high quality and they need a high quantity.

Our number one concern in all this is patient care. Health procurement CEO Christine Donaldson agrees. Her company, Health Pro Canada, bulk buys for about 2,000 facilities across Canada. About a third of their contracts have ties to the US. But we are very similar to the automotive industry where a lot of our components and products go back and forth across the border many times. Lives are on the line. When finding an alternative, Donaldson wants to prevent shortages or skyrocketing costs, which could cost the health care system millions.

And I think the last thing we want to see here is that there has been an unintended outcome for patients where you can't get that first line therapy, you can't have that diagnostic tool or that lab test that you need. Donaldson says Canada spent five billion dollars on importing medical devices from the U.S. in 2022, things like MRI machines, ultrasounds and parts for orthopedic surgeries. While medications are already on the list of Canada's retaliatory tariffs, medical supplies and devices are not. Donaldson is calling for all of it to be exempt from tariffs on both sides of the trade war. Heather Gillis, CBC News, St. John's. And finally.

If you saw some 41 perform in the early aughts as I did, you likely heard this track off their first album. They were a bunch of young guys from Ajax just outside of Toronto who met in high school, played in a battle of the band show as their first gig and ended up signing a record deal. A punk rock skater alternative vibe that landed them early success. Nearly 30 years after they started the band, they'll play their final performance tonight

at the Juno Awards. There are moments, a lot of moments on stage where I go, wow, I can't believe I'm gonna walk away from all this. That's Derek Whibley, the band's front man. He says he doesn't know what comes next, but the decision to move on was something he felt in his gut, that it's time to close this chapter.

The farewell is bittersweet, and how could it not be after decades of making music with your friends? I'm thinking, you know, I've been standing next to these two guys since I was about 14 years old. From the first day of high school, Dave on my left and Conan on my right. And here we are, you know, 30 something years later, still standing right next to each other. And as they take their final bow, they'll receive a final honor. Sum 41 is being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Wibbly was

totally shocked by the news. To him, they'll always be a punk band of kids from Ontario practicing in the garage. We'll end with a track from the band's final album, in part a throwback to Sum 41's early pop-punk roots. This has been Your World Tonight for Sunday, March 30th, 2025. I'm Julianne of my mind. I'm not right without you, is that so wrong? I can't help but walk through your landmines, I'm bleeding and all I need is a sign.

I'm out here and I've been waiting.