Your World Tonight - ‘New layer of uncertainty’ for economy, teens arrested for school plots, and where should the prime minister live?

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

Central bankers in Canada and the U.S. are warning the worst economic impacts of the Middle East war are still to come. Both decided to hold interest rates steady today, amid the choppy waters of international conflict. Canada’s economy is getting hit from multiple angles — jobs are down and prices are up.And: Police have arrested two teens — one in Nova Scotia, another in Manitoba. They are accused of planning simultaneous attacks at their high schools. The tipoff came from international police.Also: Where does the Prime Minister live? Until 2015, the answer was easy — 24 Sussex, in Ottawa. But when he was elected, Justin Trudeau chose not to move in. The building had asbestos, lead, and rodents. Instead, he chose to live in Rideau Cottage — a smaller house behind the Governor General’s place. Now CBC News has obtained an internal government memo suggesting that house isn’t suitable either.Plus: The director of U.S. national intelligence grilled over what led to war with Iran, a building owner in Montreal is charged with seven counts of manslaughter for deadly fire, and more.

It's becoming pretty clear that U.S. President Donald Trump is ripping up the political playbook. And when it comes to what it all means for Canada, well, as they say, it's complicated. But our podcast, two blocks from the White House, is a way to make sense of it all. Join me, Willie Lowry and senior Washington correspondence Paul Hunter and Katie Simpson every week as we break down the headlines from Capitol Hill with a Canadian spin. Find and follow two blocks from the White House on your favorite podcast app, including YouTube. This is a CBC podcast. This is an economic shock. How big it is is going to depend a lot on how long it lasts, whether it widens, how disruptive it is.

The Iran War, the U.S. trade war, and a sputtering economy, it's all adding up to a lot of unease for the country's top banker who's trying to write a Canadian ship heading for turbulent waters. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. it is Wednesday, March 18th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. The administration, the Trump administration, was betting on leadership decapitation. That's not what we've seen. We've seen this bog down now into what I would call a war of attrition. The scrutiny in the U.S. over the Middle East conflict grows. So too does the rage in Iran over mounting casualties as the war grinds towards a fourth week. And...

They were making plans again with that student in Manitoba to make simultaneous attacks at their both schools. The chilling accusations made against two Canadian teens and how police uncovered the alleged plot. Canada's economy has been slammed by unpredictable crises that show no sign of ending soon. That volatility led Canada's central bank to keep its main lending rate unchanged today.

The CBC's Peter Armstrong is watching this story. Peter, what is the Bank of Canada telling us about the state of the economy? Well, that we're facing these kind of dueling crises, right? One is that the trade war has left the economy weaker than we thought it would be at this point. Job gains in the fall were all but wiped out by job losses in January and February. The economy contracted last quarter. So it has just kind of less capacity to weather a new storm than we had hoped it would. And that storm is caused by the war in Iran. So what is it? on the lookout for now? Yeah, the impact of the war is obviously already here. Anybody driving by a gas station has seen that, but that is just the beginning. Higher oil also means more for shipping. It means all kinds of crucial products from fertilizer to helium that usually come from the Gulf are also disrupted, and that's going to have consequences for other industries and other products and eventually more inflation.

So Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Mackleham says he's watching for how much of that disruption spreads in the days and weeks ahead? You know, the issue for us is not really the immediate increase in inflation. We know that's going to happen. It's does that start to get generalized, start to spread, start to look more persistent? That's certainly what we're going to be looking for closely. Okay, so a weakening economy, the threat of higher inflation. How big a problem is all of that for us?

A big one. To be clear, the Bank Canada still believes. that Canada will eke out some growth this year, so it won't technically slip into a recession. But for most people, the difference between 0.1% growth and 0.1% contraction is minimal. The economy feels weak, and if you layer higher prices on top of that, it's a rough road ahead. The U.S. Federal Reserve also left rates unchanged. What was the message from the U.S.? Well, that unknowns are almost all we do know.

You know, Susan, often we come in here and we talk about how central bankers can speak in these vague central banker terms, But listen to how Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke today. The thing I really want to emphasize is that nobody knows. You know, the economics effect could be bigger. They could be smaller. They could be much smaller or much bigger. We just don't know. So people are writing down something that seems to make sense of them but have no conviction.

So it's honest. It's a little unsettling, though, just how little we know about how this war may evolve and what that will mean for the economies of the world. Thank you, Peter. You bet. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong here in Toronto. Iran is vowing further retaliation against Israel after strikes killed another Iranian security official. Today, it was the intelligence minister.

Israel also hit a massive offshore Iranian gas field as Tehran threatens to target more energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Sasha Petrissik has more. Protests fill the streets of Tehran as Iranians burn U.S. and Israeli flags and mourn almost 1,500 killed since this war began, according to Iranian health officials. The latest assassination, Iran's intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, eliminated overnight, says Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz. Everyone is a target, he says. Still, U.S. intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard told a congressional committee Iran's government

is not on the verge of falling. The ICSS is the regime in Iran, appears. to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities. Another surprise for the U.S. administration, says Rose Kalanik from the think tank defense priorities. After U.S. President Donald Trump admitted he didn't expect Iran to strike back as it has. The Trump administration was betting on leadership decapitation, causing Iran to collapse militarily. That's not what we've seen. We've seen this bog down now into what I would call a war of attrition.

Indeed, Iranian missiles continue to target Israel, killing two people near Tel Aviv. Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Lebanon, targeting Iranian proxy Hezbollah, but leaving at least 111 children dead since March 2nd, say Lebanese officials. But in a twist, Israeli attacks also. took aim at one of Iran's major natural gas fields, the huge parse deposit, seen burning in the Persian Gulf. Until now, the U.S. and Israel have largely spared Iran's oil and gas fields and refineries, trying to avoid further increases in world prices. Those hit 108 U.S. dollars a barrel after today's parse attack. Iran promised quick retaliation against energy infrastructure in nearby Gulf countries

hosting U.S. forces. Missiles hit an industrial area in Qatar, drones targeting an energy facility were intercepted over Saudi Arabia. As for the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil and gas waterway, it remains largely closed and may not return to normal, even. when this conflict ends, says Iranian foreign minister Abbasarachi, through a translator. In my view, we need to design new arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz and the way ships pass through it in the future. After the war, suggesting energy supply will remain a key Iranian weapon. Sasha Petrissik, CBC News, Toronto. The top U.S. intelligence officer face questions today about the justification for the war.

Senators repeatedly asked Tulsi Gabbard if President Trump was told Iran was an imminent threat and warned how it might respond to an attack. Two questions at the heart of the debate over whether the war was necessary and well planned. Katie Nicholson reports. Welcome to the Senate's annual worldwide threat assessment hearing. The briefing may have been about threats throughout the world, but most of the questions zeroed in on one region. Were you asked to brief on whether Iran would close the straight of her moves? I'm not going to comment on what the president did or didn't ask me on any topic.

With Democratic senators like Mark Kelly pushing the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and other agency heads on Iran. We're having a hard time finding out not only if you briefed the president on something, but even if the White House asked if they could be briefed, on something or if analysis was produced. Senator Mark Warner pressed gabbard on why the U.S. President claimed in the last few days to be shocked Iran retaliated against its neighbors. What about the comments the president made that thought that he was surprised again, reports that Iran struck the adjacent Gulf states?

I'm not aware of those remarks. While Senator John Ossoff honed in on one of the Trump administration's key justifications for the attack on Iran. Was it the assessment of the intelligence community that there was a, quote, imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime? Yes or no? Senator, the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president. False. This is the worldwide threat searing where you present to Congress, national intelligence, timely objective and independent of political considerations. It is not the intelligence community's responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat. That is up to the president based on a volume of the president. It is precisely your responsibility.

No, you're evading a question because to provide a candid response to the committee would contradict a statement from the White House. One intelligence official who was decidedly candidly candid resigned yesterday. Joe Kent, a Trump appointee, posted his resignation letter on social media, and publicly stated he didn't believe Iran posed an imminent threat. It's been a blow to the White House. Now, I know Joe Kent a little bit. I like Joe Kent. Vice President J.D. Vance on the road in Auburn Hills, Michigan, had to address the departure.

If you are on the team and you can't help implement the decisions of his administration, then it's a good thing for you to resign. Kent may have resigned, but he's not going quietly. He's expected to share more of his views tonight with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, which is sure to further rankle the White House. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. Coming up, the troubling details behind the arrests of two Canadian teens accused of plotting school attacks in separate provinces.

Plus, a house divided. Why problems with the Prime Minister's current home may force Mark Carney to fix up the crumbling 24 Sussex, a CBC News exclusive. Later, we'll have this. It's been four years since Russia bombed the Marriople Theater. And on the anniversary of that deadly attack, A new play written by a Canadian is premiering in Ukraine's capital.

It's called The Ghosts of Marriopol. I really appreciate that I can speak from the stage of my pain, a pain for all people who are suffering from the war. I'm Breyer-Steward in London. Coming up on Your World Tonight, a new production that delves into the difficult decisions made by those who chose to flee after Russia's occupation. and those who stayed.

The owner of a heritage building in Montreal is facing manslaughter charges three years after a fire that killed seven people. The charges are unusual. He's not accused of starting the fire, but of failing to maintain the building and protect the people inside. Sarah Levitt brings us reaction from families

still coping with the loss of their loved ones. Safar Mahmoud lost his daughter, Dania Safar, three years ago. The 32-year-old was studying in Toronto when she and a friend decided to visit Montreal. In the early hours of the morning, a fire broke out in the Heritage Building where they were staying, killing them and five others. Nine were also injured while escaping the flames.

Now, three years later, the owner of the building, Emil Ben-a-Moor, has been charged with seven counts of manslaughter and eight counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He is not accused of setting the fire, says David Shane of the Montreal police. It's really related to the state of the building and the management of the building, having an impact on the spread and the deaths and wounded. Immediately after the fire, serious questions were raised about the building

by those who had escaped and previous tenants. They described rooms without windows or windows that couldn't be opened, possible non-functioning smoke detectors and past fire safety violations. Many of the people in the building when the fire broke out were staying in illegal Airbnbs. So far, Mahmoud says he has mixed feelings about the changes. It was happy to see at least something has happened. The wheel of justice has started moving.

But he says the criminal investigation into who started the fire appears to have led nowhere. Police say accelerants found on the scene meant the fire was set deliberately. I don't think not that it's something of reparator. Louis-Philippe Lacroix says his family won't ever recover from that day. His 18-year-old daughter, Charlie Lacroix, had called 911 when the fire broke out, saying there was no window to escape through. But he says it does bring the family a sense of justice with the hopes that Ben-a-Mor's arrest will lead to improved oversight of buildings

in Montreal. After a brief court appearance via video conference, Ben-a-mour was released under conditions. His lawyer, Alexander Bergervain, simply stopping to say Ben Amour was surprised to be arrested three years on. Montreal police say the criminal investigation is ongoing, but the charges against Ben Amour mark an important step forward. We never gave up and we pursued the case until the end. And we will continue to pursue this case until the end to bring justice to the victims and to find all the answers and give them all the answers. Sarah Levitt's CBC News, Montreal. Police in Nova Scotia and Manitoba have arrested two teenagers in a chilling plot. They say the teens were talking online, planning simultaneous attacks on their high schools.

Police say they found detailed notes and imitation weapons. Karen Poles reports. Surprised, small town, you don't really think of things like this happening. Cole Leelonged and other students at Rivers Collegiate say they're very very. rumors in this small Manitoba town for days. The principal talked to us the other day and there was like eight different rumors going on. So, RCP confirms they were alerted by Interpol and the FBI on Friday about an online conversation between two young men, a 15-year-old from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, and a 14-year-old from Rivers, Manitoba. Danny McPhee is Bridgewater's deputy police chief.

They were making plans again with that student in Manitoba to make. Um, to make simultaneous attacks at their both schools. Those plans were not imminent. We were lucky to get ahead of it. Police arrested the Bridgewater teen on Tuesday. Officers searched to residence and discovered handwritten plans, a map of the school, which has 900 students, and imitation weapons, including an imitation pipe bomb and assault rifle, as well, clothing with hate symbols and what were referred to as concerning comments. The teen has been charged with uttering threats and conspiracy to commit murder and will be in court again next Monday. Locals, like Annette Oikl, say they're shocked.

Whatever the threat was, it really has people very concerned. Those are the things you hear about in large cities, in the states. You don't hear about it in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. In Manitoba, local RCMP arrested a 14-year-old on Monday, on the school bus, says Corporal Melanie Roussel. We wish we could have arrested him at his reasons, but that didn't have. happened. So arresting him on the school bus was the safest and quickest way to put him in custody.

The teen's cell phone and electronic devices were seized during a search of two other properties, police also seized two firearms owned by a relative. I feel like a lot of us are still kind of processing it. Renee Favron has a son in Rivers Elementary School. It was shocking, especially having a child who takes a school bus as well. I'm very grateful that the situation was resolved, obviously, before anything could happen. She says the news is hard to hear, especially so soon after a mass shooting in Tumblr Ridge, BC, that left nine dead and dozens more injured. And it's kind of heartbreaking to, like, think of the fact that, you know, a young adult

felt so strongly about whatever they were feeling or dealing with. Police say even before Tumblr Ridge, school threats were taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, but that tragedy, adding urgency to tips like this. Karen Paul's, CBC News, Rivers, Manitoba. The Prime Minister's unofficial home is unfit for the leader of Canada. That's according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News. Mark Carney lives in a place called Rito Cottage. Years after the official residence, 24 Sussex Drive, was declared uninhabitable.

Ashley Burke has the details. For more than a decade, Canadian Prime Ministers have called Rito Cottage Home. The two-story brick house sits on the grounds of Rito Hall, but CBC News obtained an internal memo calling the home inadequate for a prime minister's needs. P.Y Burdwa is the former deputy R.C&P Commissioner. It was set to be temporary solution, and now it's creating major security issues. Canada's top public servant received the government. memo in the summer. It says Rito Cottage doesn't have enough functional space and is

increasing the security risk in the area because it's close to the Governor General's home and surrounding residential neighborhood. It needs to be a setback distance from roads. There's also need to be a security parameter dedicated to our prime minister. CBC News obtained the memo through an access to information request. Its release comes as a decision looms over the fate of the Prime Minister's official residence. A source says the government wants to make a decision about what to do with 24 Sussex Drive in the coming months. There is an urgency. Somebody needs to make a decision. Catherine Spencer Ross is the president of Heritage Ottawa and she wants 24 Sussex saved. The official residence is currently uninhabitable and was gutted in recent years to

strip out mold, asbestos and dead rodents. I think it's a little embarrassing for Canada frankly, that we don't have an official residence for our prime minister. Former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps says successive prime ministers haven't wanted to spend the money over the years to renovate it. In one of his final acts in power, Justin Trudeau set a January deadline for the government to create an advisory panel made up of former prime ministers to recommend solutions. The government won't say if that panel set up, but the RCMP says it has provided security recommendations. Senior Deputy Commissioner Brian Larkin. Whether it's through

ballards, clearly, you know, closed circuit television and cameras and surveillance systems, counter-endrome mechanisms, all those pieces are advice that we would provide. CBC News reported a year ago the government was considering three options, renovating 24 Sussex, upgrading Rito Cottage, or a new building elsewhere. CBC requested a comment from the Prime Minister's office, The Privy Council Office responded, saying work is ongoing and no final decisions have been made. Ashley Burke, CBC News, Ottawa. 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. It's been four years since Russia bombed the once vibrant Ukrainian city. of Mariupil into submission. Many Ukrainians fled the death and destruction, refusing to live under Russian occupations. But others chose to stay.

Those complex decisions, which often divided families and friends, are the subject of a play written by a Canadian. It premiered this week in the capital Kiev. Breyer Stewart has the story. Outside of a theater in central Kiev, an act of remembrance, The word children is scrolled on a sidewalk in large chalk letters. The same thing was written outside of the Marriople Theater

when it was bombed by Russia. Hundreds were sheltering there at the time. On the fourth anniversary of that attack, a new play called The Ghosts of Maripal made its debut in Kiev. It's a very intimate, powerful, raw piece of theater. Christopher Morris is the Canadian playwright and director behind the production. He told CBC News he was inspired by the complex,

often conflicting, emotions of those who fled Russian occupation and those who remained. This play is a very psychological play where we go deep inside with these two characters' minds. We sit with them and feel with them as they grapple with a choice that they both made. The production centers around two actresses in Mariopo. After the Russians captured the city, one decided to flee to Western Ukraine,

while the other decided to stay on and perform in a Russian stage production. Actress Sofia Vesalewa can relate to the fractured relationships caused by the invasion. She's from the city of Zaporizia, which Russia is fighting to control. Her grandparents live to the east in occupied Bergenz. I really appreciate that I can speak from the state. my pain, a pain for all people who are suffering from the war. Four years on, Russia has consolidated its hold on Marriopol and built a new theatre on the ruins of the original,

where it will mount plays. Vasileva considers it an act of desecration. They're just dancing on the bones. I don't know. It's so... I'm just speechless. In Kiev, watching the production of the ghosts of Mariople, Canada's ambassador to Ukraine, Natalka Simuk. She says despite the war enveloping the Middle East,

she believes Ukraine very much remains on the radar and says art can help with that. Plays, movies, books, the more we see these expressions of what's happening, the more it remains in everyone's thoughts. The director of the production plans on bringing an English language version to Canada next year, where he hopes it will resonate and keep the ongoing struggle in Ukraine in the spotlight. Breyer Stewart, CBC News, London.

We leave you tonight with a very different production hit in Canada and why one of this century's most successful female musicians is a bit salty with Steeltown. That's Cardi B, the Bodie-B, the Bodak Yellow Rouse. is on her Little Miss Drama Tour, packing arenas across North America, except one. Every city for the Little Miss Drama Tour is practically sold out. If it's not 100% sold out, it's like 98%, 99%, like everything, except for one city, which is Hamilton, Ontario. Cardi dropped that online post about Hamilton last weekend. It's not clear how many tickets are available, but maps on the seller's website show,

there are still a lot of seats left. Y'all better go buy them tickets. Y'all not breaking my perfectly sold-out street. I'm not playing with y'all Benadians. Steeltown fans were quick to clap back. A few asked why she's in Hamilton a day after playing Toronto, which is just down the road.

Others wondered why she's there on a Tuesday. Most pointed to ticket prices, some as high as $900. Steel City has always had our little chip on our shoulder and whatnot. Leon Eclipse Robinson knows his city. The artist and rap historian says, like most of Canada these days, cost of living is a big concern in Hamilton. But he says it's pretty clear Cardi was only kidding.

Cardi B is a character in herself. She's great personality. I think it was really lighthearted, like, yo, don't flop me. Don't be the only city that makes me not have, you know, puts a blemish on my sold-out records and whatnot. Robinson says, advertising for Cardi's show has been limited, but thinks her shoutout might do the trick.

He might be right. TD Coliseum, the concert venue, hit social media late yesterday with a post, heavily promoting the upcoming show. Thank you for joining us on Your World Tonight for Wednesday, March 18th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.

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