Your World Tonight - Inflation up, military recruitment up, Iran/U.S. talks up in the air, and more

Episode Date: April 20, 2026

The war in the Middle East is pushing up the price of pretty much everything here in Canada. The inflation rate rose to 2.4 per cent in March — largely driven by the price of oil. One of the biggest jumps — the cost of food.And: Ottawa says the number of people who enrolled in the Canadian military surged in the last year. But the number of people who left the military also went up.Also: Uncertain — that’s the status of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The American delegation is supposed to be in Pakistan on Tuesday for the talks. Iran says it hasn’t decided yet to go.Plus: Lebanon ceasefire holding — so far, Starmer’s fate up for debate, B.C. pauses its plans to amend how the government works with Indigenous peoples, and more.

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The Big Five, available now, wherever you get your podcast. This is a CBC podcast. Well, this is definitely, you know, a big hit to household budgets. The fact that you did see this massive increase in gasoline prices ultimately takes spending power away from households. The cost of keeping the engine running is putting pressure on every level of the Canadian economy. Inflation jumped last month in part because of an unprecedented spike in the price of gas. Caused by the war in Iran that, despite repeated state,

from the United States that it's over, is still slowing the flow of oil worldwide. Welcome to your world tonight. I'm Dave Seglance. It is Monday, April 20th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast. These are significant numbers. And while that progress continues,

we know it is made possible by people, by people who choose to serve, and by those who worked every day to make that service possible. On target, or at least taking aim at one, Ottawa says thousands of Canadians have signed up to join the military in the past year, the highest recruitment numbers in decades. But the number of people leaving also climbed. Making ends meat is getting harder for Canadians,

the issue of affordability made worse by global uncertainty. March inflation figures are out, and they paint a stormy economic picture. From a significant rise in the cost of fresh vegetables to the biggest month-to-month jump of gas prices that this country has ever seen, Our senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong has more. Anyone who's even wandered by a gas station knows the eye-popping cost of a fill-up these days. Gasoline prices surged by 21.2%. The biggest monthly increase since Statistics Canada started tracking those numbers in 1949.

For ride share drivers like Atif Shukata Lee, it's hard to put into words. very critical. Very difficult. I cannot able to describe. It's very difficult to define. Part of that difficulty is that rising prices mean it's not just drivers feeling the pinch. Rising gas prices have crashed into an already weakened economy. This report was really the worst of two worlds in a way because, you know, energy prices drove the headline. That's Carl Shamada, the chief market strategist at the financial services firm Corpe. He says everyone knew, gas prices would rise. Add to that a year's long, relentless increase in food prices, and Canadians are getting squeezed. At the same time, if you strip out food and gasoline,

most other categories are either flat or down. Something Schmada says we shouldn't jump to assume is good news. What that points to is that most Canadian households are cutting back spending on the nice to have and prioritizing the need to have. Meantime, today's inflation report, hasn't even fully captured the rise in gasoline. The biggest increases came in April, so they won't show up in the data until next month. Charles Saint-Alnaud, the chief economist at Service Credit Union, says after a year of trade wars, tariffs and uncertainties,

the ability of Canadians to weather new shocks is being tested. We're seeing the Canadian economy is resilient, yes, but not necessarily strong. We've seen the labor market. This kind of not kind of on a, weak side since the beginning of the year. None of this will be surprising to Canadians who are on the front lines of a cost of living crisis. Two new reports from the Bank of Canada today found both households and businesses assumed the economy would start to improve through 2026.

The war in Iran has shattered that assumption. And now many feel like they're back to where they were, fighting a slowing economy, rising prices and steeped in uncertainty. Peter Armstrong. CBC News, Toronto. Another layer of Canada's economic woes is the ongoing trade dispute with the United States. Just days after the U.S. Commerce Secretary slammed Mark Carney's trade strategy, the Prime Minister put out a video, calling Canada's close ties with America a weakness.

Olivia Stefanovic has the latest. Well, I think the Prime Minister is saying we have to diversify our trade, which we have around the world. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, supporting Prime Minister, Mark Carney's urgent call to move Canada away from its dependence on the U.S. We have to be self-reliant on ourselves. You know, we don't need Donald Trump to tell us to speed up. I promise you, I will never sugarcoat our challenges. Carney gave an update on trade negotiations in a new government-produced video posted on YouTube.

Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses. weaknesses that we must correct. Drawing support from New Brunswick Premier, Susan Holt, who joined Ford and a few other premiers in Ottawa to talk about trade between provinces. When you have one customer that's responsible for the vast majority of your business, and in New Brunswick's case, it's 92% of our exports that go to the U.S.

That's a vulnerability. Weakness is not the way I would put it. Susan just said vulnerability might be a better word. But PEI Premier Rob Lance pushed back. We do have many allies, and the Trump era will end. And in Parliament, criticism from conservative deputy house leader Melissa Lansman. Prime-inning the same speech he's already given and Canadians are still wondering when they'll see results. Carney's video released just days after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik lashed out at Canada.

They suck. And it's trade strategy. Carney has a problem with us. He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think China's, the Chinese economy is going to buy his stuff? While U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer visits Mexico for talks, there haven't been any recent formal negotiations with Canada. And the deadline to review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, known as Kuzma, by July 1st, is fast approaching.

It doesn't mean that Canada's falling behind. Flavio Volpe is the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association. He says he's not fussed about the state of Canada's position, even though a resolution is not in sight. I think we should brace for the fact that these national security tariff levels might be long term, at least through the Trump administration. But exemptions are negotiable. Mexico's president says she hopes to sign an early deal with the U.S. on sectoral tariffs, including auto, steel, and aluminum. Something Carney says likely won't happen for Canada outside of the Kuzma Review. Olivia Estefanovich, CBC News, Ottawa.

Part of Ottawa's strategy to move Canada away from dependence on the U.S. is an increased focus on defense. Billions have been promised to raise wages, buy supplies, weapons, and to convince more Canadians to join the military. Recruitment numbers did rise in the past year, and the government says that keeps them on track to hit a target set nearly a decade ago. But as Murray Brewster explains, that's not the whole story.

Canadian armed forces have reached the highest recruitment intake in over 30 years. Defense Minister David McGinty out early this morning and full of enthusiasm, announcing that just over 7,300 Canadians had chosen to put on a military uniform last year. What a difference a year makes. Consider former defense minister Bill Blair in March 2025. Over the past three years, more people have left than have entered. That is, frankly, it's a desperate. viral for the Canadian Armed Forces, we cannot afford.

While D&D was eager to talk about enrollment success today, it was less forthcoming on the attrition rate, the number of people leaving. It climbed to 8.5% last year, despite a hefty pay increase for the military. When you balance recruitment against retention, the military only added 1,350 full-time soldiers, sailors and air crew. We know this morning that Minister McGinty came out and did some damage control. Conservative defense critic James Bazan, trying to square the timing of the minister's statement just hours before a Commons Committee study into last year's scathing Auditor General's report on military recruiting.

Ned Curick is another conservative MP. We see a report come out and it only states how many people have signed up and yet we fail, we don't have the data on why they're leaving. The military has been trying for almost a decade to reach its authorized strength of 71,500 regular and 30,000 reserve troops. Last year's Auditor General's report complained enrollment was taking too long, 270 days in some cases, leading some people to just give up and walk away.

Defense officials say they've substantially reduced the wait time to 134 days. The real limiting factor is not the processing, is the training system capacity at basic training. Lieutenant General Eric Simono is head of military personnel. He says he still needs additional training, facilities and instructors in order to meet this year's goal of enrolling even more troops. I don't have enough beds in San Egino, and simply put, to onboard more. So it's going to be challenging next year to meet our 8,200 target.

While the numbers released today represent a modest about-face from the so-called death spiral, the military does have a long way to go. To operate some of the new equipment the federal government has ordered, submarines, destroyers, and fighters, the military will have to recruit thousands over and above the target they've not been able to reach. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, conflicting messages about the conflict in the Middle East. A ceasefire in the war between Iran and the United States is about to expire with peace

talks about to resume, or maybe not. Also, Israel says it has drawn a so-called yellow line in southern Lebanon, warning locals that trying to get to villages on the other side is too dangerous. And later we'll have this story. It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events. Britain's Prime Minister under pressure and facing calls to resign. Kier Starrmer insists that he didn't know that Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, failed security vetting

before he became the UK's ambassador to the US. Many MPs say that's not good enough. This goes beyond propriety and ethics. This is a matter of national security. I'm Breyer-Stuart in London where experts say it will be difficult for Starmor and his government to shake this scandal. That's coming up on your world tonight. The war in Iran is either on the verge of an extended truce or a return to the battlefield. U.S. President Donald Trump's 10-day ceasefire expires Wednesday evening.

He says if it passes with no deal, then bombs will drop. The president has a team going to Pakistan for talks. Problem is, the U.S. may be alone at the table. Katie Simpson explains why. An American Air Force plane used for military transports lands just outside of Islamabad, another sign of the heightened security and final preparations for an anticipated meeting. The White House says Vice President J.D. Vance will lead an American delegation for another round of peace talks in Pakistan. Plans to travel even as Iran publicly remains non-committal.

As of now, said a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, we have no plan for the next round of negotiations. Face-to-face peace talks broke down more than a week ago. With Iran blaming the U.S. for making unrealistic demands, Vance blamed Iran for refusing to give up its nuclear ambitions. We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. If Iran does not show up for more talks, President Donald, Trump suggested he'll shrug it off, telling PBS news Iran is supposed to be there, but if not, he said, that's fine too. Time is running out for an agreement to be reached before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday. Trump has given contradictory answers about whether he would extend that deadline.

Most recently, he said bombs would start going off if there's no deal by then. Iran has accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire after the American Navy attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged ship on Sunday. Vacate your engineer. Vacate your engineer. We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire. The U.S. says the ship violated the American blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has called it a maritime armed robbery. On Iranian state TV, the Revolutionary Guard warned its military is.

ready for a confrontation with American forces and in the streets of Tehran. Hundreds rallied behind the regime at yet another pro-government demonstration. With the fate of peace talks unclear, President Donald Trump is lashing out on social media, with multiple posts, some of them lengthy, covering a wide range of topics. Over the course of today alone, he wrote, he is personally winning the war by a lot. He disparaged journalists claiming the anti-America fake news media is rooting for Iran. He said polls suggesting Americans disapprove of the war are rigged just like the 2020 election, repeating false claims the presidential vote was stolen from him.

He called Democrats weak and pathetic traitors and that his deal with Iran will be better than the one signed by President Barack Obama. Trump's messaging throughout this war has been erratic, particularly in difficult. moments. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. The ceasefire in Lebanon is holding, but an Israeli plan to root out Hezbollah fighters is creating new uncertainty about that conflict. Our Chris Brown is in southern Lebanon and has more. One of the landmarks on the skyline of the city of Nabatia in South Lebanon is the ruined Crusades-era Beaufort Castle. It's a strategic high point that Israel says is under its control. Our driver has to start.

stop just before we reach it. This is about as far south as we can get, the village of Khafar, Teb-Neat. You can't see it from the ground, but on the map, Israel has drawn a yellow line, just a few kilometers from here, to designate all of the territory it now occupies in Lebanon. Over the weekend, Israel's military released a map showing about 50 communities behind that yellow line, which is roughly 15 kilometers in from Israel's border. It's the now de facto area of occupation. An Arabic language spokesperson declared the towns off limits to Lebanese.

The IDF says the forced evacuation is necessary so it can destroy Hezbollah infrastructure. Lebanon will go through the same scenario as Gaza, said Hanyi Kobesi, a Lebanese MP for a Shia party that's allied with Hezbollah. Israel is still musterra.

still inflicting destruction and destroying civilian homes in the south. Exactly how much demolishing the IDF has already done is unclear. Another Lebanese MP today said 39 communities have suffered deliberate extensive damage. Just outside the security zone, as Israel calls it, people in the town of Jeb Shit are cleaning up. The mayor here says Israel's scorched earth strategy won't work. The Israeli army appears to act on the idea that if it turns homes into rubble, they kill the life rooted in that area, said Hussein Fahas. No matter how much they destroy the South, people will rebuild it better than it was before, he says. Israel's military occupied a lot of this same part of southern Lebanon for 18 years until 2000.

How long the IDF stays this time will be at the heart of talks between Lebanon's government and Israel, which are set for a second round in Washington on Thursday. Lebanon insists discussions about peace cannot move forward until Israel pulls out, while the Netanyahu government says Hezbollah is still too dangerous, and it has to finish the job. Most residents, though, wonder if Israel ever leaves, will anything be left to come back to? Chris Brown, CBC News in Nebitea, South Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is investigating the conduct of a soldier, who was photographed taking an axe to a life-sized statue of Jesus on a crucifix. The IDF confirmed the photo, taken in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he condemns the incident in the strongest terms. Netanyahu says Israel values tolerance and respect for all faiths. You know, there's no one in this country that has scrutinized more than I am. I'm willing to take that. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford says he is the subject of a double standard.

His office announced Friday that it was buying a private plane for him to use. But just two days later, after backlash from the opposition and some Ontario residents, Ford announced it will be resold. He says other premiers and federal government ministers have planes, but he understands the concerns of all the people who contacted him. I'll always be frugal. I'll always respect the taxpayers' money. and I'll always listen and never be too shy.

Like a lot of politicians, they dig their heels in. I think I've proven over and over and over again. If I hear from the people, they don't like it. I change my mind. Ford says his office is working with Bombardier to sell the plane for the same price they paid, $28.9 million. In BC, the government has been going back and forth on how it plans to work with First Nations.

existing law requires consent from indigenous people on everything from land rights to resources. But after losing two court cases, the province said it wanted to make changes to that arrangement. Well, now, Premier David E.B. says those plans are on pause. Caroline Bargut reports. Don't leave them out. Don't make decisions without them. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse says, when the BC government makes decisions on the rights of indigenous people, they should be at the table. We need all of us to be united, and that means working together and working through these tough issues.

In recent months, the BC government has floated the idea of amending a law governing the rights of indigenous peoples, specifically limiting the role of the judiciary in interpreting those rights, instead asserting legislative control over that process. This has been, if I can speak frankly, probably the most challenging issue I've worked on in government. Now Premier David Eby says those amendments will go ahead, but it will take a year to determine what the changes will look like. He announced a new consultation plan that will involve First Nations leaders, industry groups, financial institutions, local government and nonprofits. The government and First Nations Leadership Council are committed to working together with all First Nations leaders on a path forward to discuss and consider the government's stated legal concerns while upholding the title and rights and human rights of First Nations. In 2019, the BC government unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People's Act,

also known as DRIPA. It's based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms First Nations rights to land, resources, and self-government. Woodhouse says the proposed amendment set back the relationship between BC government officials and First nation's leaders. You're going to have to, you know, continue to talk and, you know, trying to repair the relationship after this. It's disheartening. Woodhouse is in New York today with Canada's Governor General Mary Simon at the UN's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Simon told the group Canada is committed to upholding Indigenous rights.

By committing to the declaration, countries like Canada made a promise that life for indigenous people, peoples would improve. And in many ways in Canada, it is improving. The BC government's proposed amendments were made after a B.C. government's proposed amendments were made after a BC Court of Appeal found the province's system of granting mineral rights was inconsistent with DRIPA and after the Cowichin tribes' decision, where the BC Supreme Court awarded Aboriginal Title over a swath of property held by the federal government, the city of Richmond and private landowners. That decision sparked confusion about how Aboriginal title intersects with private property rights.

Premier Eby has pointed to both court cases as evidence that DRIPA has had unintended consequences. He's still committed to amending DRIPA, but over a longer period of time, and while consulting with First Nations leaders. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver. Mexican authorities say a man shot and killed a Canadian woman and injured several others at the Teotawakan pyramids. The pyramids are a popular tourist and archaeological site outside Mexico City. Four of the injured were hit by gunfire, two others hurt in falls.

The Mexican government says the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot. The British Prime Minister is fighting for his job, embroiled in a scandal that won't go away. Kier Starmar was pelted with more questions today over his controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson to a top post, a man who once described the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as his best pal. Briar Stewart has more from London. Many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible. The jeers from opposition MPs echoed to the House of Commons at Westminster, as Keir Starmour repeatedly tried to quell calls for his resignation. Britain's Prime Minister told the House that neither he nor his cabinet ministers knew that

Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting but was given clearance by the Foreign Office anyway. It beggars believe that throughout... Starrmer insists he only found out last week. Officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system in government. That is not how the vast majority of people in this country expect politics, government or accountability to work. The top civil servant at the Foreign Office was fired over the scandal.

Long before the latest revelations, Starrmer faced criticism over picking Mandelson, a political insider and trade expert, to be the UK's ambassador to the U.S. Mandelson was close friends with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and remained so even after Epstein was released from jail for trying to solicit prostitution from a minor. Mandelson was fired in September

after the Epstein files revealed the extent of their friendship. Before Mandelson was appointed, there were also reportedly concerns about his links to China and Russia. This is a matter of national security. Kemi Badenok is the leader of the opposition. With every explanation, the government story has become murkier and more contradictory.

Starrmer also faced questions from those in his own party and others who said he should have done more to make sure there were no red flags. As Prime Minister, his role as a political leader is to ask difficult questions, is to take responsibility. Hong Murphy is a senior lecturer in British politics at Queen Mary University of London. He says Starmor's popularity has plummeted

and his government has alienated voters on the left and on the right, which doesn't bode well for a wave of local elections scheduled for next month. The elections based on polling are looking not quite apocalyptic, but certainly approaching that for the Labour Party. If that happens, then I think it's very likely there will be a challenge to Stama. But if there is a move to push Starmour out, he says it's not at all clear, just who is next in line for the job. Breyer-Stewart, CBC News. London. And finally, in a classroom in Oshawa, Ontario, there is a Dungeons and Dragons Club with a difference.

I'm going to smite these guys to the abyss. All the players are neurodivergent, invited as part of an experimental game run through Trent University. Jonathan Smith is a researcher and came up with the idea for the club. We have youth that are autistic, social anxiety, ADHD. It's different because for niriduridivirgent youth, typically right now, what's available for them is social skills training. So it starts on the premise that they need some sort of skills to be taught, whereas we're just saying maybe they just need space where they can come in and be themselves. Players are allowed to fidget, walk around, they can argue, but they have to work together. Mateo Narvez is one of the players.

I've always had a big imagination, but I think the program has allowed me to express. what I've been thinking and imagining. I've been able to become more of myself in a way I didn't know. It's cool to find that out. His mother calls the club a lifesaver for her family. Dungeons and dragons has long been known as a game where kids can find their people. Elliot Schroeder says playing with other kids like him has been transformative. I got bullied a lot and I still do kind of, but this group's really helped me with opening up to people. But it kind of challenged my view that I'm just like a weird little kid, and I'd have a hard time making friends, but this group's helped.

Smith says study after study shows that neurodivergent kids are more bullied and socially isolated, and he wasn't planning on running a study when he started the club, but the kids responded so well that they began collecting data, and they reported higher levels of happiness and autonomy. He's even received money from the city of Oshua to expand the club in the fall. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Monday, April 20th. I'm Dave Seglins. Have a good night.

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