Your World Tonight - Luring investors to Canada, Trump calls AI warnings a hoax, Sydney Sweeney ad controversy, and more

Episode Date: September 14, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney is working to attract investment to Canada — as much as $1 trillion by the end of the decade. Sounds like a win for Canadians. But not everyone is happy about the plans.And: AI leaders want more regulation from the U.S. government, saying their own technology could be an existential risk to humanity. But President Donald Trump calls their concerns a conspiracy and a hoax.Also: Backlash against a new ad campaign for a sports betting app. It features a nearly nude Sydney Sweeney, which female athletes say undermines women’s sports.Plus: Canada draws closer to the European Union, Heated Rivalry author works to save libraries in Nova Scotia, Russia attacks Ukrainian rail infrastructure, and more.

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This is a CBC podcast. What Canada is putting on the table, many people are interested in. This is not an investment summit. This is a privatization summit. Of course, we'll never compromise our national security. The trillion dollar plan. Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes hundreds of international business leaders to Toronto for the first ever Canada Investment Summit.

167 projects are being pitched, but some warn the effort could pose threats to the investment. environment, public assets and Canadian sovereignty. This is your world tonight. I'm Salima Shivji. It's Monday, September 14th, coming up on 6pm Eastern. Also on the podcast. I think this is a signal that we share the same values.

A new alliance. The European Parliament is establishing an Ottawa office on the eve of Mark Carney's trip to EU headquarters and amid hints of a new partnership. What closer ties could mean for, both sides. The world's deepest pockets are in Toronto right now. They belong to a group of foreign CEOs and investors here at the invite of Mark Carney. With a trillion dollars on the table, the Prime Minister wants the execs to bet on Canadian business. Critics say the PM's

plan is a role of the dice the country can't afford to lose. Nisha Patel has our top story. Thank you for coming all the way from Australia. Prime Minister Mark Carney welcoming the who's who of global finance to Toronto, with the goal of unlocking a trillion dollars of new investment in Canada over the next five years. The CEO of Investment Bank Macquarie Group, Shemara Wikramanaika, says she sees a lot of opportunity here. Canada, I think, is really positioned with all the natural things the world needs. Critical minerals, energy, land, water, forest. This Canada Investment Summit is part of Carney's strategy to boost the economy while battling a difficult trade war with the U.S.

It will display more than 160 major projects, ranging from AI to infrastructure, ports, to pipelines. The summit for most mining companies is really a door opener. Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel Company, is pitching a nickel mine in northern Ontario. He says the project could add billions of dollars to Canada's GDP and create a thousand jobs, and he says he hopes he can snag some global partners. So if we're serious about advancing critical markets,

minerals. We need to cast the net as wide as possible. Big investors with deep pockets will attend the summit from state-owned firms like Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, though not everyone is on board with that. Prime Minister Carney has put a sign in the shop window and half the buyers that he's invited here to Toronto are American. Kai Nagata says Canada shouldn't be giving up control of important domestic projects. He's a director at Dogwood, a BC nonprofit focused on climate justice and democratic reform, and will be part of a group protesting the summit tonight. Let's be clear. Every piece of our country that we sell off to American billionaires

brings us closer to becoming the 51st state. Of course, we'll never compromise our national security. Hearing those criticisms, industry minister Melanie Jolie says any deals would be made in the interest of Canada and its sovereignty. Still, she says, foreign investment is necessary. And we don't have enough capital to develop all our companies and also to develop all the infrastructure project we need to develop the potential of this country.

Corporate Canada is also being encouraged to step up. Just today, Bell Canada announced it plans to expand AI data center operations in Saskatchewan. The total capital investment could hit $50 billion. The province's premier, Scott Moe. As Canadians, we have a... choice. Do we build the infrastructure necessary to keep Canadian data in Canada? Or do we leave our data sovereignty in the hands of other countries? Well, in Canada and in Saskatchewan, we have made our choice.

Over the past week, all of the Big Five banks have committed to deploying billions of dollars to support domestic businesses and pension funds promised to significantly bump up their investments at home by the end of the decade. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong is at the Investment Summit in Toronto. Peter, there are a lot of people in town. What are you hearing from business leaders who are here for the summit? Yeah, it's an interesting mix, right? Because you have obviously the politicians and the premiers and the ministers

and all the businesses that are here for the formal summit tomorrow. But there's also this really fascinating thing emerging where all of these businesses that aren't invited to the formal summit itself but are here for meetings on the sidelines of it. that are here. I spoke with Frank McKenna last week, the former ambassador to the U.S., the former Premier of New Brunswick chair of TD Bank, wears a lot of hats. But he was saying, he described these other meetings that are going on as like tailgate parties at the Super Bowl. You know, there's $100 trillion in investable capital flooding into Toronto and everybody wants

a piece of it. So literally every cafe you go to in Yorkville in downtown Toronto are flooded with these businesses that aren't just here for that main summit, but are also here trying to pitch their project and trying to get on the radar of whoever else is here at the same time. Now, it's hard to ignore the context that all of this is happening within, right? This is a crucial moment. The impact of new tariffs is starting to be felt. And there's talk of a possible interest rate hike on the horizon. So how does that play into how important this is for Prime Minister Mark Carney? I think it's a really good question and it's important point. But that uncertainty that looms over the Canadian economy also looms over the global investment environment.

And so all of these people that are coming here to look at all of these projects and all of these categories, right? It's 167 projects, eight broad categories ranging from tens of billions of dollars down to millions of dollars. The two throughlines to them are that they're either about maximizing what Canada's good at, resources, minerals, electricity, energy, stuff like that, or they're about expanding the ability to get those resources to market. And that's what's interesting to all of those investment firms that are here. You know, this summit can help make that happen. And Canada is trying to diversify what it's doing so it's not as reliant on the U.S.

And the key is that I think a lot of these investors are looking to diversify as well. Right. And the prime minister's office is stressing that this is a long-term goal for investment. It's not a quick fix here. Yeah. And I think that's a really important point as well. We're not going to know on Wednesday morning that this was indeed a success or not. So what we'll have to do is look for what signs that things are moving. Are we getting actual investments?

Well, the first step would be an office opening in Canada or an MOU towards that. And those are the things to watch for not an immediate investment of trillions of dollars. It's really just the steps towards that. And that's what we'll be watching in the days and weeks ahead. All right. The CBC's Peter Armstrong. Thanks so much for this. You bet. Once he's done trying to drum up business for Canada, Mark Carney is heading overseas to drum up support from Europe.

The Prime Minister says he wants to build a closer bond with the EU. But there are questions tonight about what those ties could include and what it means for Canada. Tom Perry explains. As Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday evening, the questions from reporters were less about Canadian. in cinema and more about foreign policy. Specifically, the Prime Minister's desire to tighten ties with the European Union. Look, we're not looking to become a member of the European Union.

What we are looking and we'll begin discussions for unique alliance with the European Union between Canada and the European Union. What that unique alliance would look like is still undetermined. But a report in the Wall Street Journal that Canada is seeking associate membership in the EU has roused Carney's critics. Opposition leader Pierre Palliev posted on social media that Canada would never become the 51st American state nor the 28th member of the EU.

Adam Chambers, the Conservative Party's industry critic, says Carney needs to explain what any new relationship with Europe will mean for Canadians. We want to find out what is actually being proposed and then, of course, you know, are we going to be giving up any level of sovereignty or control to an entity or a bureaucracy that is thousands of kilometers away. I mean, these are the fundamental questions that we would have. A senior federal official says Canada is not seeking EU membership in any capacity,

including associate member. The government argues stronger ties with Europe will increase Canada's sovereignty, not weaken it, as the country looks to diversify away from the U.S. in the midst of a trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. Polster David Colletto of Abacus Data says a majority of Canadians see the value in that. Canadians are after what's happened with the United States looking for another partner. They're looking for someone else. And in our own research, we find 56% of Canadians say that Canada has more in common with the EU than it does with the United States. The Prime Minister will travel to Strasbourg, France this week, to speak to the European Parliament.

Carney is expected to emphasize his government's commitment to closer cooperation with Europe in ways that will make Canada stronger, more resilient, and more sovereign. The European Parliament, meanwhile, has announced it will open a new office in Canada's capital to help with that project. Europe as well, trying to navigate a new global order and a U.S. administration increasingly turning away from its allies. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, the White House challenges cautious AI insiders. Donald Trump alleges a sick conspiracy by industry leaders who are calling for tighter controls. Plus, heating up the effort to save some Nova Scotia libraries. Best-selling author Rachel Reid headlines of fundraiser with fans coming from as far as Europe.

And later, we'll have this story. A controversial ad, featuring a scantily clad Sidney-Sweeney selling sports gambling. now under fire by top female athletes who say it sends a harmful message. We want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like. I'm Alexander Silverman in Montreal, later on Your World Tonight, the growing backlash over a viral sports gambling ad. Whether you think artificial intelligence is the way of the future or the way our future ends, there's no debate it's all racing forward much faster than expected.

Even AI leaders themselves are calling for more government regulation to address the risks. But U.S. President Donald Trump is calling their concerns a sick conspiracy and a hoax. Katie Simpson reports. Congress should not leave town until something is done decisively. There are new urgent calls for the U.S. federal government to step in and slow down the development of artificial intelligence. House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, is demanding. sending both parties cancel their planned legislative break to work on a new regulatory framework. To protect the safety and the well-being of the American people in the face of growing concerns.

Those concerns coming from a whistleblower who warned AI could kill all humanity, and industry leaders, including Dario Amodei of Anthropic, who is calling for government oversight. It's a warning sign that we need to slow down. Sam Altman of Open AI is adding his voice too, posting on social media that he would welcome regulation and that companies shouldn't wait for legislation to act. This new push is being met with skepticism by Vice President J.D. Vance. I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a

Trojan horse. And President Donald Trump is going even further. In a series of posts on social media, that he rejected calls for regulation, calling AI concerns a hoax, adding, don't kill the golden goose, a possible nod to the success of the stock markets, which have thrived through tariff uncertainty on the back of strong performances by AI companies. The only thing that's needed, Trump says, is a strong and smart, high IQ president. I've said it from the beginning. Whoever wins AI, and we're leading by a lot. Whoever wins AI wins. Trump is framing AI development as a race between the U.S. and China.

The issue is expected to be discussed when President Xi Jinping visits the White House next week. It doesn't matter who builds the AI if the AI does not stay on a leash. Nate Sores, a former Google developer, says this is a moment for cooperation, not competition, given the high stakes. Over the past couple of months, there have been real instances of AI's breaking out of containment, doing things that they were not. instructed to do, showing evidence of goals that the humans did not try to put into the AIs. Tech leaders are expected to make their plea to the president and his team in person. They too will be invited to the White House for a separate summit to be confirmed in the days ahead. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington.

Statistics Canada says 98.4% of Canadians took part in this year's census. That's more than the last count in 2021 and matches the rate of participation 10 years. years ago. But as for what the new population data reveals, the first release of that won't be until February. European officials are denouncing a Russian drone strike on a train station in Ukraine. It happened over the weekend right near the border with Poland. There were no casualties, but it was a close call for some foreign diplomats. Lisa Sching explains why some say that close call was intended to send a message. Passengers run away from an explosion that destroyed a train in the far west of Ukraine. I don't think that any of us on the train actually were aware of it at the time, right? While the Sunday morning drone strike did not kill anyone,

former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other high-level diplomats, including former CIA director David Petraeus, were returning from a security conference in Kiev. And shortly before, passed through that very, station. Ukrainian railways says they may have been the targets. In an interview with UK-based GB News, Johnson blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is a guy who is absolutely on the back foot.

He's losing record numbers of men on the front, and he's resorting to terroristic attacks. European leaders condemned the attack, especially as the strike happened two kilometers from Poland, a NATO member. This is an escalation, says Polish foreign minister Radasov Sikorsky. It's a major challenge for the potential future victims of Russian aggression. EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas. It is clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine, from going to Ukraine to show support.

German defense, Minister Boris Pistorius says the aim was to give people in Germany and Europe the impression the war in Ukraine is moving closer to them. Indeed, Russia has focused on targeting Ukraine's gas stations, trains and border crossings with Western allies in recent weeks. Over the weekend, another drone strike hit a railway station in Lutsk, also near the Polish border. And in a separate attack Sunday, a truck was hit less than a kilometer from the border crossing. where Johnson and others passed through. NATO Secretary General, Mark Ruta.

We have all the response options. And also here, the most important one, of course, is making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight. Meanwhile, in a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump, announced Ukraine and Russia agreed not to hit each other's energy targets. After telling reporters,

Kiev has to, quote, stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. In response, Ukrainian president, Philotemir Zelensky said Ukraine is not convinced Russia is willing to abide by any agreement. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, however, welcomed Trump's comments and vowed to continue military operations throughout Ukraine. Lisa Scheng, CBC News, Toronto. A meeting between Iran and Persian Gulf states about the Strait of Hormuz has now been called off. The aim was for Iran and Arab states to discuss negotiations to reopen Hormuz.

It has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February. Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia. They say they fire dozens of missiles and drones at a Saudi airbase. Houthis have also seized islands in the Red Sea that could help them tighten their chokehold on Saudi oil exports. American costume and fashion designer Bob Mackie has died. Mackie was known for his show-stopping outfits, often. often adorned with sequins and rhinestones. They were worn by some of the world's biggest Hollywood stars, including Cher, Diana Ross, and

Madonna. He got his start working for the Carol Burnett Show and went on to have a decades-long career designing costumes for Broadway, film, and television, and concerts. In 2022, Mackey told Q's Tom Power that his love of movie magic inspired him during his childhood. I mean, it was during the war when I kind of realized I'm living through this right now. And it just wasn't very, very beautiful. But then you went to the movies, and it was all this amazing technicolor and singing and dancing and Gene Kelly. And I just saw movies that I said, I think I could do that.

And then people would ask me, what do you want to be when you grow up, Bobby? And I'd say, well, I want to be a costume designer on Broadway, which is a lot to say when you're 10 years old. His designs earned him nine Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and three Oscar nominations. Bob Mackie was 87. A new ad campaign for a sports betting app has prompted a viral backlash from female athletes around the world.

The ad features a nearly nude Sidney-Sweeney and the athletes are angry, saying it over-sexualizes and undermines women's sports. Alexander Silberman has that story. Think you know sports? Prove it. It's a provocative ad campaign, scantily-clad American actor Sidney-Sweeney, covering herself with basketball,

footballs and hockey pads, promoting a sports gambling app. No big is. Just sports. The ad went viral on social media, racking up tens of millions of views, but also sparked swift backlash from female athletes for sexualizing women in sports. We want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like. Australian surfer Felicity Palmitier,

one of many athletes to criticize the campaign. She posted a response video, showing her surfing, running, and lifting weights. Incredibly disappointing, like how far you can put women's sports backwards in the space of a 40-second commercial. Olympic figure skater Madeline Skisas is training. She also posted a response video with the same message, Hey Sidney, this is what women in sport look like.

The insinuation being that women's only role in sport is to be a sex object. I mean, that's a little frustrating. Skiza says the discussion it sparked is a reminder. Much work needs to be done to make sport more inclusive for women and girls. It's an opportunity to shine light, I think, on an issue that's bigger than just one ad, right? Sweeney, who is an equity holder in Noving, also faced backlash last year for another ad for a different company. In the video for American Eagle, she makes a play on words about jeans, the clothing item, and the genetic material.

The message led some viewers to interpret eugenicist undertones. Sherry Brandish is a sports marketing professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. She says sports betting companies have to compete in an increasingly cluttered market. I think it's created a discussion, a frustration in the marketplace, but I don't know that this is the kind of any press is good press type of story for the women's sport marketplace. Brandish says even though the ad is getting a lot of attention, it's still unclear how the campaign will ultimately land with consumers who are predominantly men. But over time, if it doesn't translate into sustained consumers and sales, direct revenue,

then it hasn't been successful. Sweeney's publicists did not respond to interview requests from CBC News, but Novig's founder defended the campaign in an interview with the website Front Office Sports. Calling the advertisement a very simple and playful idea, Sweeney helped create. The company says it's planning to keep featuring her in future ad campaigns. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Montreal. Steamy sex scenes are all a part of the smash-hit hockey TV series heated rivalry. Now the Nova Scotia author behind the books that inspired that show is tackling something else.

Libraries slated for closure. She participated in a fundraising event in the province this weekend, and as Kayla Hounsel explains, that's on top of a very generous gift. Author, Rachel Reed, received the kind of welcome, often reserved for, well, hockey stars. Reed was at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia this weekend as part of a fundraising event to try to save five libraries in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. I just saw an opportunity to help, and I just wanted to do it, because, you know, I think that's what people should do. when they're blessed.

Reid has enjoyed tremendous success as a New York Times best-selling author. She's very good of hockey. The best probably. Her game changer series about gay hockey players now a wildly popular TV show called Heated Rivalry. We will be seeing each other a lot.

In August, Reid donated $300,000 to the libraries, which have been under financial strain and facing closure. This weekend's event brought in another 70,000. drawing hundreds of people. Zuzana Sokalova came all the way from Poland.

Poland, the situation is a bit worse. Like the queer people aren't really protected. So seeing like happy stories really makes me hope for a better future. For her, the author is the main attraction, but she says she's also happy to help local libraries in Reed's home province. In July, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was met with protesters while also speaking at Acadia, it began peacefully but later turned violent

with people demonstrating against a whole host of issues. The Premier was swarmed, his car windshield smashed. Houston's progressive conservative government is confronting a $1.2 billion deficit. The government has said it is grateful for Reid's help but will not allocate additional funding. Julia Merritt, CEO of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, says provincial funding has not kept up with increasing expenses.

We need sustainable funding, which includes annual increases for inflation and other standard increases to costs. Reid says she spent a lot of time at her library growing up and would not have become an author without it. I think my message to all politicians is that libraries are an essential service. They're like the foundation of all of our communities. They're honestly like the backbone of democratic society. Merritt says Reid's help will buy more time. But the libraries will still close if they don't receive more funding by next summer. Kayla Hounsel, CBC News, Halifax.

And finally, it was the world's tallest totem pole, recognized as such by the Guinness Book of World Records. But now it lies flat in the community of Alert Bay, just north of Vancouver Island, a victim of time and decay. The simple or sad reality was that at some point, it was going to fall or portions of it were going to fall and potentially injure somebody or injure things, you know, or that was something that we couldn't let that happen.

That's Dan Svanvik, hereditary chief and elected chief counselor of the Nombie's First Nation. He oversaw the dismantling of the Cedar Pole last week. It went up in 1973, and for band members, it symbolized unity and a new autonomy. Just two decades after Ottawa ended the ban on the celebratory potlash ceremonies, that had deep meaning for the local people. This pole was so much more than the tallest pole in the world. You know, it was a beacon, you know, for our people, coming out of a pretty dark time in history, you know.

And I don't know if resurgence is the right word, well, we're certainly coming out into the open with ceremony and that more, and this is who we are. This is how we govern ourselves. This is how we celebrate. So this was a time when that was all, coming back, coming back into the forefront of things. William Wazden Jr. is another Namge's hereditary chief.

He says many people were emotional watching the totem pole being dismantled, but he sees it another way. That cedar totem pole, it's had its day. It came to an end where it was ready to fall. Our ancestors challenging us now. Are you going to ride on our coattails or will you be as great as we were by doing the things you need to do to uplift your people? This has been your world tonight for Monday, September 14th.

I'm Salima Shivji. Thanks so much for being with us. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.