Your World Tonight - French debate night, interest rates hold, women's pro soccer in Canada, and more

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Canada’s main election rivals are on stage tonight for one of their toughest challenges: the French language debate. The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Québécois will be out to take the sheen off the Liberals who are doing well in the polls. Absent from the stage will be the Green Party, which lost its spot at the eleventh hour.And: Dozens of ridings where First Nations people dominate – are close races in this campaign. But their issues have not found much traction, so the question is how many will choose to cast a ballot?Also: A new chapter in Canadian sports is about to begin. The long-awaited "Northern Super League" – Canada's first pro women's soccer league – launches tonight with its inaugural match in Vancouver.Plus: The Bank of Canada stands pat on interest rates, the UK Supreme Court rules on the definition of “woman”, and more.

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. It's an opportunity for Canadians to hear what the leaders have to say. Hopefully the most amount of people will tune in. I think there's a lot of important things that people have to hear about our economy,

our social welfare system, health, housing, jobs, workers' rights. You've seen them at campaign rallies, in TV ads, photo ops and interviews. There's been no shortage of FaceTime for the federal party leaders over the past few weeks, but tonight they face each other. The first debate and a first chance for Canadians to see how they handle going head-to-head. Welcome to Your World Tonight. It is Wednesday, April 16th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern.

I'm Susan Bonner, also on the podcast. I had what many would describe as a rude awakening this morning. In discovering at 4 30 in the morning that something quite unbelievable had happened. Uninvited and under pressure. A last minute decision will keep the Green Party out of both leaders debates and with polls suggesting voters are gravitating towards other issues the Greens are fighting to avoid more bad news on election day. And... It's getting harder and harder to exist as an openly trans person in this country. Britain's Supreme Court rules the definition of a woman is based on biology,

a landmark ruling that some say excludes and endangers trans women. It's one of the most anticipated events of the campaigns. In just a short while, the main party leaders will face each other in the French language debate. How they perform could change the course of the race. Catherine Cullen is in Montreal where the debate is happening. Okay Catherine set the stage for us. What makes this debate stand out from debates of the past? Usually, Susan, we would have seen the leaders face off dozens of times in the House of Commons but Mark Kearney has never held elected office so we really haven't seen these dynamics

before. The stakes are incredibly high over the next couple of nights, and we do not know how these men will handle facing off with one another. For three of them, this won't be in their first language tonight either. And it's worth noting that the format of this debate is also different from the last election. Just one moderator with an intention that the leaders have more time to interact, even more so now that there are only four leaders participating with the Greens being excluded at the 11th hour. We also don't have full platforms for many of the parties yet, so it's going to be interesting to see if we learn something new about their policies as well as how they intend to pay

for them. The topics tonight, cost of living, energy and climate, the trade war, identity and sovereignty, and finally immigration and foreign affairs. Okay, Catherine, let's work our way through the leaders and what each of them needs to do to convince voters. A lot of eyes on Liberal leader Mark Carney. What's his goal? Two big things.

Because he's the front runner, everyone is going to have their barbs aimed at him. He's got to stay calm and cool, even if the attacks become personal and question his integrity, for instance. In past business dealings, we know Kearney does sometimes bristle when journalists have pushed him on those issues. Second, he's not fully comfortable in French. He'll likely have the hardest time on that stage. He has said that he considers his French skills to be about a six out of ten, though there's

a question of whether he benefits from lowered expectations around his performance. And what about Pierre Pauliev, known as a good communicator in both languages? Right, and for so much of his political career, his biggest asset has been that he is an attack dog. Tonight, he's got to flip the switch and look not like the leader of the official opposition, he has got to look prime ministerial while still trying to persuade voters away from Carney. Poliev also has to lay off both the Bloc and the NDP parties he has spent much of the last two years attacking. He needs both those parties to rise in the polls, the Bloc so they can pull some seats away from the Liberals in Quebec and the NDP so that they split the progressive vote in many

writings, clearing a better path forward for the Conservatives. The NDP's Jagmeet Singh is struggling to get traction in this campaign. How does he try to get some of that coming out of tonight? He's gonna have to convince people who voted for his party in the past to come back. He'll likely try to remind progressive voters that Carney politically is not as progressive on many issues as Justin Trudeau was. He too may struggle because he's apparently been pretty sick in the last couple of days. And what about Yves-Francois Blanchet? Big night for him.

Yeah, and he's got to get some momentum back. Expect him to focus solidly on Carney, though he may have a few thoughts for Poliev, too. He's the only francophone in this debate tonight. He's an experienced debater. This could be make or break for him tonight as well as his party. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you. That's Catherine Cullen, host of CBC Radio's The House, tonight in Montreal.

And you can join me and Pia Chattopadhyay Thursday for full coverage of the federal leaders English language debate. We'll have analysis and the leaders Q&A sessions after the debate. And then it's your chance to weigh in with a special edition of Cross-Country Checkup with Ian Hannah Mansing. It all begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on CBC Radio and the CBC News app. Well one leader who won't be involved in either of the two debates, the Green Party's Jonathan Pidnau. He was informed this morning that he was cut just hours before the French language showdown. As Carina Roman explains, this marks another hit for a party struggling to stay relevant.

This has been a difficult day for democracy, a sad day for democracy. Outside the Montreal broadcast centre where the French debate takes place tonight, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneau slams the Leaders Debates Commission for its decision and the timing of it. Unfortunately, it takes time to do an injunction. We were assured up until 7am this morning that we were going to participate in this debate. Pedneau says the Conservatives in Bloch-Ybiquois made a concerted effort to get the Greens ousted.

It appears that the Commission caved in to pressure from other parties. 28 days before the election, each party had to have endorsed, not nominated, candidates in at least 90 per cent of federal ridings. The Green Party met that bar, but the Commission now says the Greens intentionally reduced the number of its candidates since then for strategic reasons. And Pedno's inclusion would undermine the integrity of the debates. That's a deplorable position by a commission that is there and was created to ensure that we have every voice included and that it will not be the case today.

Pedno says the party did pull 15 candidates out of the race in an effort to undermine the chances conservatives win in those ridings. But that does not account for another 96 ridings in which the Greens aren't running candidates. Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May points out it's not the first time the party has faced being shut out of the federal election debates. The consistency in it is its inconsistency. A desire by larger parties to keep out the Green Party. The party wrote a letter to the Commission asking for reconsideration, arguing that if it can make a last-minute change to the start time of the debate,

because of a hockey game, it can reverse its decision on this as well. The debate decision is a blow to a party already struggling. Eric Grenier is a poll analyst and the publisher of the RIT.ca. The numbers they've been putting up in some of the polling has been probably among the worst for the party that I've seen since it first really came on the scene and started to register in polls 20 years ago. Chad Walcott is the Quebec representative on the board of the Green Party. He says with the uncertainty created by tense Canada-U.S. relations, voters are gravitating to the two parties with a history of governing.

So I think the dip in interest that we're seeing maybe around the Green Party in this round of elections is unfortunate but perhaps predictable. Walcott says they still hope to maintain their share of the vote, but it's clear that the party's goal of growing beyond its two seats became even more of a challenge today. Karina Roman, CBC News, Montreal. Their votes could be a deciding factor in some races, that is, if they vote. Indigenous people have a complicated relationship with the federal government and traditionally are less likely to participate in elections. But the Assembly of First Nations is hoping to change that.

Karen Pauls has this look. Just off the road. Tanya Cameron and her sons drill holes into the frozen ground. Setting up campaign signs in a strategic intersection of the Wishagamas Bay First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Stop going this way. Like this. Cameron is the NDP candidate for Kenora-Kiwetanung,

the second largest Ontario riding covering one-third of the province. I am doing my best to get to every little town, every big city, and all the First Nations in the riding. That's my goal. Whether I can get to all of it, we'll see. Kenora-Kiwetanung is held by conservative Eric Melillo, who's running again. and all the First Nations in the riding. That's my goal, whether I can get to all of it, we'll see. Kanora Kuwaitinang is held by conservative Eric Melillo, who's running again.

And it's one of 36 ridings across the country, where the Assembly of First Nations says the outcome of this federal election could be determined by First Nations voters. I'll use this one. About 20 minutes away in Kanora, Liberal candidate Charles Fox is setting up his campaign office. I'm appealing to the leadership, I'm appealing to the younger generation to say we got to participate.

Fox says many older indigenous people have never voted and young people haven't been taught the process. So he's doing a lot of education on the doorstep. If you're going to influence policies in this country, we have to participate in this exercise. You've got to get a member of parliament into the house, the big house, as I tell them, the big band office. First Nations leaders are also encouraging Indigenous people to find out what they need to vote, where to go, and then get out to cast their ballots.

Welcome to Fireside Chats with me. Jerry Daniels is the Grand Chief of the Southern Chiefs' Organization in Manitoba. He recently did a whole podcast on the election and the Rock the Vote campaign launched by First Nations leaders across the country. Now is the time to ensure that the First Nations voices are shaping the political landscape. My name's Tanya. Back in Wishagamas Bay, Tanya Cameron is chatting with John Wysiakisik. Have you decided who you'll be voting for?

I haven't decided yet. All three main parties have made promises on Indigenous issues but they haven't gotten much attention in this campaign. I haven't really heard anybody say anything really. Making it even harder to convince people to vote. They haven't gotten much attention in this campaign. I haven't really heard anybody say anything really. Making it even harder to convince people to vote. Karen Pauls, CBC News, Wishagamish Bay, Ontario. Coming up on the podcast, a best case, worst case economic forecast from the Bank of Canada.

The I Will, If You Will plan by some provinces to lift inter-provincial trade barriers and how the Supreme Court in the UK defines a woman. For the first time since last summer, the Bank of Canada has decided not to lower its benchmark interest rate. It remains at 2.75%. The bank's governor says with all the economic uncertainty being caused by the United States, it's difficult to predict what's next for Canada and the forecasts range from stable to scary. Our senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong is here with more. Peter, what is the bank's message?

Look, the primary warning, Susan, is about uncertainty. And, you know, when you dig into it, this is actually a fascinating report from the Bank of Canada. The word uncertain or unknown is just peppered throughout it at a rate I've frankly never seen before. And the main message is that all that uncertainty is so thick and it's so pervasive, it's impossible to see through. Just listen to Tiff MacLachlan explain his confidence in really any forecast right now. What happens to the Canadian economy and inflation depends critically on US trade policy, which remains highly unpredictable.

Given this uncertainty, point forecast for economic growth and inflation are really of little use for anything. Little use for anything? That's not the usual fare for central bankers. It's not and as you well know, they like to hedge, right? But Macklem is very clear to this point and underlined it by saying just the uncertainty is already eating into the Canadian economy. Employment has started to drop. Businesses are scaling back their hiring plans. So he won't call it a forecast, but he did calculate what he calls scenarios.

What are they showing? This to me is where things get really interesting. The first scenario explored how the Canadian economy would look if things stayed kind of as they are now. Tariffs that are fairly limited in scope. So let's start with the first. I was a bit surprised, frankly, at how muted the impact would be. The bank says uncertainty remains high, growth would weaken, sure, but only temporarily, and that inflation would remain at or near the 2% target.

Okay, but what about the second scenario? This is the scenario everybody's trying to avoid. This is also what forecasters have been trying to figure out. What happens if we get into a position where the tariffs are more broadly applied, the conflict runs longer and deeper than expected, and in this, Tiff Macklem was not pulling punches. Canada's GDP contracts in the second quarter, and the economy is in recession for a year. Growth gradually returns in 2026, but remains soft

as U.S. tariffs permanently reduce Canada's potential output and lower our standard of living. It's like a tale of two economies. It is. And there's absolutely no question about which one of those two economies you want to be in. But Susan, the thing that hovers above and around all of this is that notion I started with about uncertainty.

And one of the biggest uncertainties is what it's going to take to keep Canada in scenario one instead of scenario two. And we're what? Three months into this administration, this trade war, and the fact is we still just don't know the answer to that question. Thank you, Peter. You bet. CBC's Peter Armstrong here in Toronto. Donald Trump's tariffs may be the new reality but Canadian businesses have been dealing with different kinds of trade barriers for a long time. The ones set up between their own provinces. Today Ontario announced a plan to change that and make it easier for goods and workers to move more freely. Ethel Musa has more on that story.

Today we're taking a historic step forward to protect and unify our country. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's committed to tearing down internal trade barriers and his government introduced new legislation today to do just that. Ford also signed related agreements with the premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to boost trade within Canada. With President Trump taking direct aim at Canada's economy, it can't be business as usual. I always say tariffs is the most beautiful word to me in the dictionary. The aim of the new legislation is to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs,

which have sent markets into a tailspin and countries scrambling. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Huston. What a moment for our country. We have to act on this moment and make sure that we open up true free trade across Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford likens internal trade barriers to a self-imposed tax, claiming they raise the cost of everyday goods and services by nearly 15 percent. Breaking down internal trade barriers so that we can have one Canadian economy, not 13. Liberal leader Mark Carney says removing obstacles to the free movement of workers, goods and services

within Canada would lower prices for consumers. If elected as Prime Minister, he says he'd be ready to make that happen by Canada Day. The federal government is leading by committing to legislate the end of all federal barriers to inter-provincial trade by July 1st. Ontario's new bill would also remove barriers that make it hard for people in certain jobs to work in different provinces. The legislation would also allow Ontarians easier access to a range of goods and services, including alcohol, which they will be able to order directly from producers in other

provinces and vice versa. I think it's really good for the Canadian people to support our local businesses. It's much better, especially now we have a little bit with the American tension. Nicholas Lee is a professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. He says while this move to weather US tariffs seems positive, it will not offset the economic benefits of trade with the US. The reality is that the Canadian market is just, you know, 10 times smaller than the American market. It may help cushion the blow a little bit, but I think it's maybe being oversold.

But Liberal leader Mark Carney says improving free trade between provinces could help boost Canada's economy by up to $200 billion. Ivo Moose says CBC News, Toronto. The trade conflict between Canada and the United States is affecting travel plans for people in this country. American border officials say the number of Canadians going south dropped dramatically in March. Nearly 900,000 fewer people went to the U.S. compared to last year, a decline of 17%.

March is typically one of the busiest months for U.S.-bound travel, with many people heading south for spring break. A U.S. federal judge is threatening to charge the Trump administration with criminal contempt of court. The judge says Trump officials are willfully ignoring an order to return hundreds of migrants deported to El Salvador. The ruling raises the stakes in a growing number of clashes between Trump and the courts. The president is standing by deportations the court says were illegal, including one of a man his administration

admits was deported to El Salvador by mistake. The UK Supreme Court has ruled a woman is defined as someone who is born biologically female. While supporters of the ruling say it's a simple recognition of biology and a victory for common sense, transgender activists worry the landmark decision could lead to more discrimination for a community that's often threatened and marginalized. Briar Stewart has the story. Outside of the Supreme Court in London, activists with the group for Women Scotland cheer a

decision handed down by the UK's highest court on a highly political issue here. The connection between biology and gender identity. We are enormously grateful to the Supreme Court for this ruling. Susan Smith is with the group, which challenged the Scottish government over the 2010 Equality Act, legislation protecting people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. The government argued that trans women with a formal legal document called a gender recognition certificate can't be excluded from women's only services and spaces, like shelters or prisons.

Smith and others thought they should be and the court agreed. Women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women. When the decision was delivered, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court cautioned against any group viewing it as a triumph or a loss. But trans activists like Helen Belcher fear where the decision may lead. It's getting harder and harder to exist as an openly trans person in this country. Belcher is also a local councillor in southwest England and says she has a message for other trans people. I am equally scared as to where this ends up, but nothing significant changes in your

day-to-day life, but we need to make sure that it goes no further. Britain's government said the court's decision provided clarity. Deborah Hawk, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law at Queen's University, believes the time will come when Canadian courts will likely have to consider similar cases. Well, I don't think we've had necessarily a legal reason yet, but I think it's definitely coming here. She says Canada's human rights legislation doesn't clearly define terms like woman, gender identity or gender expression. We are going to eventually have to have courts define what those words and terms mean in a context where they are now used inconsistently.

And she believes given the case in the UK and a similar recent case in Australia, there could be a push by some to get Canadian courts to weigh in. Briar Stewart, CBC News, London. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and 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. A new chapter in Canadian sports is about to begin. The long-awaited Northern Super League launches tonight with its inaugural match in Vancouver.

It's Canada's first pro women's soccer league. Georgie Smythe spoke to the people who built it. It's game day for Canada's first professional women's soccer league. Every decision we're making is to build women's soccer in this country. The Northern Super League, a dream years in the making, built from scratch by co-founder and former national team member Diana Matheson. She says Canada needed its own women's league to build on past wins and achieve more. We have the opportunity to build one of the best women's professional soccer leagues in

the world. Really for the first time in the last five or six years women's professional sport has been treated like a business and it's at the beginning and there's this growth industry that's only going to continue for the next two decades. The league begins play with six teams from across the country Vancouver Rise, Calgary Wild, AFC Toronto, Ottawa Rapid, Montreal Roses and Halifax Tides. Matches will be broadcast live with agreements on streaming services and TV.

This is coast to coast across Canada, it's ours and we can't wait to put on a show. Soccer legend Christine Sinclair co-owns Vancouver Rise and like Matheson became a force off the field fighting for equality in opportunity and pay for female athletes during an especially rocky time with the sport's governing bodies, where Sinclair told a heritage committee in 2023 that the leadership at Canada Soccer lacked respect for its women's national team. Our most painstaking battle has been with our own federation. The journey for the league's creation has been a hard fought battle, one that officially

began three years ago, asked again about the obstacles at the league's launch. I don't think we're going to let Sink answer that one. Do we wish it was here earlier? Yes. But there's more to do they say, they want more teams and stadiums to support the league in becoming one of the best in the world, one that can also measure its success in inspiring the next stars too. Anna Heinemoller is the coach for Vancouver Rise. This means a lot and I don't think we know how much it means until we actually get started.

As for who will win tonight, Sinclair says. Oh Vancouver obviously, I hope. There is some poetry to Vancouver and Calgary playing the league's opening game. They were the first two teams to sign on for what will be a historic game, whatever the score. Georgie Smythe, CBC News, Vancouver. Finally tonight, it is a remarkable survival story and a thank you more than 50 years in the making.

It changed the course of my life. It woke me up, made me appreciate how valuable important life is, you know. Toronto resident David Blackmore looking out at Lake Ontario and looking back on one day in April 1968. Blackmore was 10 at the time. He'd purchased an inflatable dinghy from an Army surplus store and set off into the lake. Just a little joyride before making it home for dinner. I kind of laid down and kind of daydreaming and then when I

got up I was like wow I'm way out there and I started paddling and paddling and I just got exhausted and the wind picked up and it just started pushing me out. The hours passed and a dramatic search and rescue operation was taking shape involving dozens of police officers and volunteers, military planes and helicopters. It was just after dawn when a Coast Guard ship spotted Blackmore about 8 kilometres from shore. He'd spent the night out there freezing and hallucinating The guard ship spotted Blackmore about 8 km from shore. He'd spent the night out there, freezing and hallucinating. And back on land, he faced the media.

I only had one paddle and the wind blew me out and I couldn't get back in. How far out did you go? Six miles. And did it make you feel like a parrot? Yeah. What did you do? I tried to paddle back, but I couldn't. I wasn't getting nowhere, so. Blackmore recently wrote a book about the ordeal.

And while researching, he found a letter from the captain of the ship that found him. The captain had asked Blackmore's parents to thank the police, military, and the public for the search effort. He worried that never happened. So on the anniversary of his rescue today, Blackmore joined first responders to mark the occasion

and finally thank them. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Wednesday, April 16th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.