Your World Tonight - Hurt and help for Canada’s economy, delay on EV sales targets, Quebec couple dies in Lisbon, and more

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

Canada’s unemployment rate is at its highest in nearly a decade, excluding the first years of the pandemic. The economy lost 66,000 jobs last month. Particularly hard hit – industries most exposed to tariffs.And: Prime Minister Mark Carney announces billions in funding he says will transform that faltering economy. He calls it the most comprehensive suite of trade measures in Canadian history. We have all the numbers you need to know. At the same time, the federal government is delaying the requirement for car makers to sell a certain amount of EVs every year. Also: A Quebec couple is among the dead in Lisbon’s funicular crash. The trip was meant to be a celebration. Plus: Canadian triumphs at the U.S. Open doubles final, Israel destroys building in Gaza City, and more.

Hey, it's Gavin from Because News. This week on the news quiz, Scott Thompson is here. I've known him for a long time. He always makes me laugh, and he always has something surprising to say about American politics, and it's never what I think he's going to say. Also, we'll talk about vicious compliance from the Ebbington School Board and double dating. Also, we've got Brandon Ash Muhammad and Jan Karwana, who are going to try to get a word in edgewise. That's all coming up on this week's Because News. Get it wherever you get your podcasts, which is presumably here. This is a CBC podcast. Coming off of a fairly big step back in July,

we were not looking for an even bigger drop in August. So it was a disappointing surprise. Canada faces its highest non-COVID jobless rate in nearly a decade. Many of the workers slashed are in sectors Donald Trump's trade war is hitting hardest. And those job impacts are being felt in the U.S. too. This is your world tonight.

I'm Stephanie Scandaris. It's Friday, September 5th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast. The government is meeting this moment with the most comprehensive suite of trade resilient measures in Canadian history. A new plan, but few concrete answers on a way Out. Amid the American tariff fight, the Prime Minister tries to bolster industries and workers

for what he believes will be a long trade standoff and a continually changing global order. Canadians have been worried about their jobs, especially with no end in sight to the U.S. trade war. And since the start of the year, they've seen job losses piling up, bit, by bit. That slow creep has now pushed Canada's unemployment rate above 7%. Anise Haydari reports. It was a disappointing surprise, yes. Doug Porter isn't usually fussed when Statistics Canada jobs data doesn't match predictions. He's chief economist at BMO in Toronto.

I have to say that coming off of a fairly big step back in July, we were not looking for an even bigger drop in August. That bigger drop, 60,000 part-time jobs and 6,000 full-time jobs in August. Unemployment up to 7.1%. That's the highest unemployment rate since 2016, if you exclude some COVID-19 years. I mean, I would characterize this as being a below-average job market softer than normal. It's not exceptionally weak. I mean, historically, look, we've had unemployment rates in the double digits before. But that wider scope may not help.

Canadians looking for work, especially in sectors closely linked to the trade war with the U.S. Transportation, warehousing, manufacturing saw job drops in the tens of thousands. The people that are calling me looking for work, especially in the trade sector, there is absolutely a lot more of a desperation to what they are asking for in terms of what it's been like in previous years. Dana-Tiberge is with Don staffing solutions in Brantford, Ontario. It's a national staffing agency where she's noticing a shift. Companies are so much slower to hire. They're being a lot pickier with what they're looking for

because they know that they will not be able to hire the numbers that they would normally be able to hire this year. Some of all this could be due to tariffs. A supplier who sells to GM in Oshawa, Ontario, is about to lay off nearly 250 workers. That's tied to a full shift being cancelled by the auto giant. Jeff Gray is the union president there. They're taking our volume and putting it in the Fort Wayne plant in the United States,

and we feel like this is a reckless premature decision by General Motors to bend a knee to Donald Trump. It really does to do with winning. Though Donald Trump's territory isn't immune to employment trouble. New data from the U.S. shows weakened job growth and a four-year unemployment high. You're talking about people losing their employment, and that's a really costly impact of what we're seeing from this trade war. Pedro Rantunes is chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada in Chelsea, Quebec. He says between businesses facing uncertainty from tariff policies and workers worried about their jobs.

We need the government to step up here with programs and support. So I think that'll play a really important role in how the economy performs going forward. The federal government has already announced changes to employment insurance, but details are unclear, as is the future for job seekers. Any state R8. CBC News, Calgary. Those changes to EI are among billions of dollars in new measures revealed by Mark Carney today. The Prime Minister says they are aimed at keeping Canadians afloat through the waves of U.S. tariffs. The opposition argues the plan doesn't hold water.

Colin Butler explains. So our relationship with the United States was once one of our greatest strengths, and in many cases has become a vulnerability. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the government is reshaping the economy, one that's less tied to the U.S., stronger at home and open to the world. And to these end, our new government is embarking on an ambitious plan to secure a new era of prosperity out of this age of adversity. That plan includes shielding Canadian industries on several fronts, including buy Canadian, more government spending on Canadian supplies to keep public money in Canada. Also, more flexible credit for small and mid-sized business. The business development bank raising loan caps to $5 million.

There's also agriculture, a $370 million biofuel incentive to help canola producers, clean fuel rules amended, interest-free advances, and new export support, and regional relief. $1 billion over three years, flexible aid for businesses and non-repayable grants for seafood and farming. Industry groups say with trade war casualties mounting, these measures are badly needed. The time is right. The urgency is real. Matthew Holmes is with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa. Let's prepare ourselves to retool, to invest in Canadian enterprise, to really make sure that we're building the economy.

We need the trade infrastructure. It would also give small and medium businesses a better shot at landing government contracts. By Canadian Act could mean, you know, increased opportunity. Jasmine Gannette speaks for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Many small firms will see this announcement in a very positive manner and could help smaller firms access procurement opportunities. Opposition conservatives say the measures offer plenty of help for the suits, but little for families. Let me just share my thoughts and prayers with the 66,000 Canadians who lost their jobs.

last month. Pierre Poilev says there should be less focus on the boardroom table, more focus on the kitchen table. Once again, he sides with the wealthy, liberal, corporate lobbyists rather than the hardworking Canadians. Carney promised to build faster. Now comes the test of ambition versus reality. What happens next is anyone's guess, the only certainty Canada is not out of the economic woods yet and may not be for some time. Colin Butler, CBC News, London, Ontario. Spinning its wheels in those economic woods is Canada's auto industry. Its workers are some of the hardest hit by U.S. tariffs.

Mark Carney today also offered the sector some help by putting the brakes on a sales mandate for electric vehicles. David Thurton has the details and the reaction. So if you press this button here, it shows the Tesla charging stations that are available around here. the move. Electric vehicle enthusiast, Raymond Lurie, shares his views on Ottawa's decision to backtrack on its zero-emission sales mandate. The companies have dragged their feet, so giving them more time to drag their feet, how could that possibly speed up innovation? It's just going to slow it down. Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement today is another shift

away from a Trudeau-era policy, but it comes after backlash from the auto industry. They've got enough on their plate right now. So we're taking that off. Carney, offering automakers a reprieve as they grapple with Donald Trump's tariffs, and Washington backtracks on its own policies around battery-powered vehicles. So to add flexibility to the automotive sector, we will remove the 2026 electric vehicle availability standard. By next year, 20% of all new passenger cars and SUV sold were supposed to be electric or hybrid. That's now on pause, while Ottawa reviews the mandate. It was an incremental target on the way to a 100% sales goal in 2035.

A welcome move, according to Flavier-Vopé, with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association. Every single manufacturer here committed to making an EV or a battery or a plug-in hybrid. 85% plus of the product that are made here sold to the U.S. And the Americans said, we're ending the incentives, we're ending the industrial support. Let's go back to pickup trucks and dead dinosaurs. and the factories here are geared to push product there. So we've asked for a pause. You know, you've all heard me.

In this year's first quarter, Canada's EV sales plummeted by 23% from the year before, after Ottawa removed its EV rebate. Our organization, Clean Energy, Canada, we understand that circumstances have changed since this policy was first put in place and some short-term relief for carmakers is reasonable. Joanna Kiraeas, with a clean energy. think tank is concerned the EV mandate could be in trouble. It unfortunately did not make clear whether this policy was going to be in place for good, and we think that was a mistake.

Keith Brooks with environmental offense is also disappointed. To be honest, we don't have a clear indication of the extent to which this government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, remains committed to fighting climate change. Along with carbon pricing, this is the second federal climate policy Carney has weakened. a time when automakers are under immense pressure from Donald Trump's tariffs, but also as the rest of the world, especially China, is ditching combustion vehicles for new high-tech electric ones. David Thurton, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, it was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, the heartbreaking fate of

a Quebec couple killed in the Lisbon tram crash. And Vancouver is cracking down on fireplace submissions, we've got details on the city's plan. Later, we'll have this story. It's out! And they've done it! Canadian tennis fans are cheering loudly. Ottawa's Gapby Debrowski and her playing partner have won the women's doubles championship at the U.S. Open. It's Debrowski's fourth grand slam title of her career, but her road to this victory has been tough. We've got her story coming up. We now know a couple from Quebec is among the casualties in a tragic tram crash in Lisbon. They were on a celebratory holiday when a finicular car flew off the rails and crashed into a building.

At least 16 people are dead, many more injured. CBC's Chris Brown is in Lisbon. The full international scope of the tram car crash is coming into focus. as a memorial of flowers at the site of the accident involving the Gloria Lyft grows. And Portuguese authorities confirm the dead includes 11 foreigners. Among them, André Bergerand and Bladine Doe of Quebec. He was on vacation in Portugal for his 70th birthday. Eric Bergeron is Andre's brother.

My brother was a happy man. They were a happy couple. He just retired. He was just starting to enjoy, have fun. The couple were prominent archaeologists who worked together at the Quebec Conservation Center in Quebec City. Wednesday was to be the last day of their Portuguese holiday. And when news of the crash broke, Eric Bergeron says he feared the worst.

I continued to text him, text his wife. Are you there? Are you there? Are you okay? Delivered. So, okay, the phone is on. They don't respond. Something is wrong. Their daughter contacted the B&B where they were residing, and they were supposed to fly out. And they said, well, they didn't come back to pick up their luggage. came the call from global affairs with the terrible news. So I'm not processing it yet, emotionally speaking, but I've been up and down crying and not crying.

So my two nieces are shattered, of course. Imagine you lose your two parents in one shot. The early working theory is that the cable that guided the two funicular rail cars up the steep cobblestone street snapped. Those who were killed or hurt were on the tram that was descending when it flew off the rails at high speed

and hit a building. Bergeron says he met with investigators Friday, but they wouldn't reveal much about the cause of the crash. They don't want to disclose too much. It's still ongoing. It's early days. I think that investigation will last months. In a release, Quebec's culture ministry called the couple

pillars of the restoration community and that Andre Bergeron was considered a pioneer in his field. The couple's daughters are also now in Lisbon as the family waits for authorities to complete their investigation. so that their bodies can be brought back to Canada. Chris Brown, CBC News, Lisbon. Israel has today bombed a high-rise apartment building in Gaza City, saying the tower was used by Hamas for its operations.

And as Israel's military prepares to take control of the city, Hamas released a new video of two Israeli hostages held for nearly two years. Sasha Petrissik reports from Jerusalem. Palestinian's new Gaza City was a target for Israeli missiles this morning. They were warned by a phone call to one of its tallest buildings. One volley fired at the apartment tower, damaging several floors, followed by another Israeli airstrike, bringing it down altogether. Huge clouds of dust.

Anguish cries, as people. ran for their lives. Everyone was scared, says Nevin al-Naji. There is no safe place now. They brought the tower down, says Abu Mohamed al-Gazali, but over my dead body, I'm not leaving Gaza. Many of Gaza City's million residents feel the same way, though they've been ordered to get out.

Israel says the tower was being used by Hamas for, cameras and infrastructure. The building's managers deny it. This attack is among an escalating series of airstrikes, soldiers, and tanks descending on Gaza City, as Israel's defense minister warns on social media that the gates of hell are about to open. Why? Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shashani. There are many Hamas terrorists in Gaza City. Now using it as an operational center and as a point for regrouping. Some of them have stayed in Gaza City from the beginning of the war. The next step, he says, is a major operation to invade the city entirely, aimed at finishing off Hamas for good. Still, there are risks for Israel, too. Some 20 living hostages could also be killed. As a reminder,

Hamas released a video featuring two of them today. Boadal is shown saying, me and eight of my fellow hostages will die here. The pale, thin, 24-year-old was videotaped riding in a car around Gaza City. 700 days, I can hardly believe we are still here without him. In Tel Aviv, hostage families gathered to mark 700 days since this war started with a violent Hamas attack on Israel. But their anger is now directed at their own government. for not negotiating an end to the fighting to bring remaining hostages home.

This military operation won't get us closer to victory, says former hostage Doron Steinbretcher. It will only endanger those still being held. The pressure is mounting on the government through continuing protests, on Hamas through an imminent military attack, one much bigger than today. Sascha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem. More than 1,500 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in central BC.

It's part of a large number of evacuation orders issued by the Caribou Regional District and the Alga Chow First Nation. There are more than a dozen wildfires out of control in the area. BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Mikhail Elseille says conditions remain hot and dry and fires will likely get worse over the weekend. There's some hints that we might see return to cooler temperatures, which will help on the firefighting front, but we're going to need a significant amount of rain to make an impact

with just how high the drought is on these incidents. The amount of drought has dried the fuels out to a critical level. where the fires are burning incredibly aggressively. Because of those wildfires, Environment Canada has expanded a special air quality statement across most of BC. People are being advised to limit their time outdoors. The smoke is adding particles to the air that can be dangerous. Those health risks are one reason changes are coming for fireplace owners in Metro Vancouver. The region is putting in new rules to help clear the air of at least some wood smoke.

Georgie Smyth has more on the plan and the reaction it's getting. We talked about their wood product. Here's their electric product. Chris Dixon knows fireplaces. I think there's just something innate in us that just loves burning wood. And people actually come in and apologize that they want to burn wood. His Vancouver shop sells gas, electric and the traditional wood burning kind. But unlike older open hearth fireplaces, the modern options in his store burn more efficiently and less dirty.

Instead of the heat just going or the smoke just going straight up, it's going to get burnt again. It means the smoke that comes out the chimney is much cleaner, but not all fireplaces can do that. And that's a problem for Vancouver's air quality, says people like Julie Saxton, who works to improve it for the regional district of Metro Vancouver. Lower emissions are important to try and reduce the fine particulate matter that can affect anybody, but particularly seniors, infants, and people who have pre-existing medical conditions. Saxton says wood smoke from residential burning is the largest source of fine particulate matter emissions

which can get into people's lungs and blood and are known by the World Health Organization to cause cancer. Saxton says there are as many as 100,000 woodburning devices in the region so officials are bringing in new rules. So for people who have fireplaces or wood stoes that they're actually using, they have to register before they use that device. The regulations come into effect mid-September. Registration is free, and there are some exceptions to lighting a wood-burning fireplace

for low-income earners and in the case of an emergency situation. Regulations for wood-burning stoves and fireplaces vary from city to city across the country. In 2018, Montreal brought in rules similar to Vancouver. There was some initial pushback, but since then officials say the city has seen significant reductions in smog levels. but there's still scrutiny from the industry. I think people see it as a bit of red tape and a bit more regulation that they don't necessarily want out there. Mike McNeese from the Hearth Barbecue and Patio Association of Canada

says Vancouver's rules would do better to focus less on a registry and more on helping people make better fireplace choices. Put incentives in place or increase the incentives in place and it would frankly have a much better effect. Dixon says there's a lot of choice, out there for those with an ability to upgrade and better alternatives for people sticking with wood. So keeping cozy and clean when the weather changes is still an option.

Georgie Smyth, CBC News, Vancouver. The man RCMP, say, stabbed eight people on Hollow Water First Nation in Saskatchewan yesterday, was out on bail for assault. Court records also show Tyrone Samard was barred from seeing his sister who he killed in the attack. Samar died in a collision with an RCMP SUV. Four of the victims are still in hospital. Three have been released.

Police still haven't said what motivated the attack. 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. Following a year of lows, Canada's Gabby Dabrowski is on a major high right now. The 33-year-old today won the U.S. Open Women's Doubles Championship. As Jamie Strachan explains, the tennis title spotlights a stunning comeback for

Debrowski that included injury and life-threatening illness. And with that's out. And they've done it. And with that, another grand slam title for Ottawa's Gabriella Debrowski. Alongside her partner, Aaron Routleft, the duo knocked off the top-seated pair to capture the U.S. Open Women's Doubles Championship. What a wild ride. It's been absolutely crazy. We've been through so much together.

I feel extremely grateful to be standing here as a champion alongside you today. it means the world. So thank you for sticking by me. Thank you for the support. And, yeah, we rock on. It's the second U.S. Open win for Dobrowski and Routliff. Debrowski has also won two grand slams and mixed doubles. To everyone here who came to watch women's doubles, we enjoyed every second playing in front of you. It's made it an incredible atmosphere today and we'll never forget it. So big cheers to you. Thank you. The 33-year-old never had much success in singles but has the perfect mentality. and skill set for doubles, says former Canadian tour player Patricia He-Boulet, who has worked with Browsky in the past.

She has such good hands. Just covers the court really well. And her communications is really good. And that's a key thing in doubles, isn't it? Communications and just keeping up that energy. As He-Boulet points out, doubles tennis is a completely different game, requiring a unique blend of strategy and shot making. You've got to be quick, obviously.

And you're going to have to have a lot of courage. You know, because being at the net, the poaching, when to poach, you know, when to stay still. This wind caps a difficult year for Debrowski. In late 2024, she revealed she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing two separate surgeries during a three-month break from the sport. Earlier this year, she told CBC how the experience changed her perspective, making her appreciate every opportunity to be on the court. I was good with how my career had gone, and any more time that I got on the tennis court was sort of a bonus.

And so I started to just enjoy all the moments of training. I started to enjoy the moments where I was competing. It's been a special few weeks for Canadian tennis. Victoria Mbocco's emotional win at the Canadian Open in Toronto last month. Felix Jose Alassim's run to the U.S. Open semifinal. And now this. New York, let's hear it for your 2025 U.S. Open Women's Doubles champions. Gabriella Dobrowski and Aaron Routliffe.

Jamie Strachan, CBC News, Toronto. Finally tonight. It's become a very fierce competition. It's dirty politics. It's dirty politics. It's a very hot race, a lot of contenders. Candidates are waging a political cat fight in Somerville, Massachusetts. It all began when a.

neighbor spotted local feline Barry on the community bike path and reported her as a stray. So owner, Mallory Bessett, put up a poster declaring Barry the bike path's mayor. We wanted to make sure that people knew that she had owners and that she was well taking care of and loved and that she wasn't just a random cat roaming around. And we wanted other people in the community to come out and make signs for their pets. And soon the fur was flying. Some cat owners demanded an election and professionally produced campaign signs popped up on the trail. The calm meownist party and the cat-alist party are represented.

Barry is promising to make cats outdoors again. Some key challengers are Minerva the Crime and Orange Cat. I'm a little partial to Barry because he has held a town hall in our garden. Barry became Mayor Somerville without an election. and I thought that was baloney. Orange cat stands for fair and free elections. Minerva the cat, what is her stake on crime? Is she for crime? Is she against it?

It's all in good fun, of course, and the election is being followed by millions on social media. We'll know soon who's been able to claw their way to victory. Online voting wraps up this evening. This has been your world tonight for Friday, September 5th. Thank you for being with us. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC.ca slash podcasts.