Your World Tonight - New U.S. tariffs on Canada, inflation down, FIFA fights, and more

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump today announced new tariffs on Canadian goods. These came as a surprise to Canadian officials. U.S officials maintain these tariffs — in a number of sectors such as auto and dairy — are to address outstanding irritants in the U.S. Canada trade relationship.And: Inflation in Canada is down. It’s thanks, in large part, to lower gas prices. But as the war between the U.S and Iran ramps up again, it could reverse the trend.Also: “Offensive.” “Charmless.” “Petulant” — just a few of the words being used to describe the behaviour of Argentina’s national men’s soccer team during (and after) the World Cup. But will they get a red card, or be allowed to carry on?Plus: Fires spread in B.C., Trump threatens exponential retaliation for military deaths, gastric parasite, and more.

Hi, Steve Patterson here, host of the debaters, and while I love a funny fight, there's one thing that's not up for debate. The Stratford Festival is world-class theater right here in Canada. Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare, musicals, or classics like Death of a Salesman or Waiting for Godot, there's no better time to experience Canadian talent and no better place to see it than the Stratford Festival. So get your tickets now at Stratfordfestable.ca and experience world-class performance the whole family can enjoy. You know, we even taped the debaters there once, so I guess we're world-class next. This is a CBC podcast. Canada has very strong positions, what's in the interests of Canada, which we will pursue with the United States.

That goal even more challenging now. The U.S. President hits Canada with a major new tariff offensive, duties of up to 50 percent on a wide range of goods. And Washington says the existing free trade deal won't protect Canadian companies. I'm Salima Shivji. This is your role tonight. It is Monday, July 20th, also on the podcast. I knew there was a big fire, but I just didn't think it was going to, you know, we were going to be alerted so quickly. Intensifying wildfires and evacuation alerts across multiple provinces. Southern British Columbia sees major growth in its fires over the weekend.

In Ontario, rain has offered some relief, but severe thunderstorms are in the forecast. The Trump administration has announced new tariffs on Canadian products. An extra 50% will apply to certain goods across multiple industries, including automobiles, dairy, and alcohol. Parliamentary reporter Olivia Stefanovic is following this story for us. Olivia, walk us through what we know so far. Well, Salima, the president has signed three new proclamations against Canada. Donald Trump is imposing an additional 50% tariff on a wide range of Canadian products from wine, cement, and even hockey sticks. And unlike the other tariffs that the president imposed, these new additional 50% tariffs apply to goods even if they are covered by the Canada-U.S. Mexico agreement known as Kuzma.

Now, senior Trump administration officials said in a briefing late this afternoon that the president is taking this new trade action, specifically because of Canada's retaliation against the U.S. on alcohol, autos, and dairy. Trump is using an untested legal provision to impose these new tariffs on Canada. He's using Section 338 of the Tariff Act. And that's the section that allows him to impose tariffs to offset the burden or disadvantage from a foreign country's discrimination against the U.S. The new tariffs are set to take effect 30 days from now. And while they cover a long list of products, they do not apply to energy, potash, fish, or critical minerals. Okay, let's talk a little bit more about the time. of all of this. Why is Washington imposing these new tariffs now? Well, Trump administration officials

say this is all about leveling the playing field with Canada. They say only two countries retaliated against the U.S. at the outset of Trump's trade policy, China and Canada. And they say Canada needs to be held accountable for what they call continued discrimination. As examples, they cited that all but two Canadian provinces have a booze ban in place, but no similar restrictions. But no similar restrictions on other countries. And they're taking similar issues with certain tariffs and quotas on American autos and cheese. Officials also say that these new tariffs are not being imposed because of wildfires from Canada, but they noted that options are being shared with Trump on that. And Olivia, we've now got reaction from Ottawa. Yes, in a statement tonight, the Prime Minister says that

this is just the latest in a series of unilateral U.S. trade actions violating Kuzma. Mark He says that Ottawa has already made a series of comprehensive proposals to resolve the dispute with the U.S. and to modernize Kuzma. And he adds that Canada is ready to intensify those discussions in the coming weeks. The opposition conservatives, meanwhile, say Canadians are not a punching bag. And we're also hearing from premiers condemning these latest tariff threats, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford who posted to X that if these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar. And here is BC Premier David Eby.

At this point, I just feel sorry for Americans. You know, if you're picking fights with Canadians, then you don't have a friend in the world. You know, we're still friends with Americans, but right now it's just hard to feel anything but sorry for the United States and to hope that they turn a corner. Now, Eby was asked if he plans to put American booze back on the shelves, and he says unequivocally, no.

This is expected to be a me. major topic on the agenda at the premier's meeting starting tomorrow in Charlottetown. OK, CBC parliamentary reporter Olivia Stefanovic, thanks so much for this. You're welcome. So no U.S. trade retaliation so far for the cross-border haze from Canadian wildfires. But there has still been plenty of political tension over that pollution. Rafi Bougi Bougi Kaniyanan has the details. Sounds like you're feeling frustrated.

Well, I'm never frustrated with the American people. It's become a habit for Ontario. Premier Doug Ford to take to U.S. airwaves and have a say on the latest economic threat from U.S. President Donald Trump. This time, though, he's not talking trade war on CNN, but rather the lack of cooperation on fighting wildfires. I just find it very frustrating that President Trump wouldn't say, here, we have assets, we'll bring him up. Trump watched the World Cup final in the same booth as Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday. Later he told journalists he had words with Carney. I told them, I mean, you've got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air.

Even repeating threats of more tariffs over smoke blowing over the border. So I've never remembered this happening. Over the last four or five years you saw it starting to take place, I've never remembered it happening. There are records of this happening over longer stretches of time. Wildfire smoke blowing from British Columbia to Washington State in 2018, or from Manitoba to Central U.S. dates in 2015. We trade fire effects across the border every year. Robert Gray is a wildland fire ecologist based in British Columbia.

He says there is often the reverse effect, too. Fires burning in the U.S. having an impact here. There's lots of fires on the West Coast now in Washington, Oregon, Utah, and eventually we will be experiencing American smoke. And so it's going to drift up the West Coast. The U.S. anger over the issue, though, is not dissipating. An Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno today suggesting legislation that would not only impose financial sanctions on Canada,

but also expel the entire Canadian diplomatic corps from the U.S., something the states have not even done to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. All this, if wildfire smoke from here, does not stop drifting into American airspace. I had a series of conversations with the President of the United States over the weekend on wildfires, made very clear both the scale of the issue, the scale of the force that Canada is blessed with, eight times the size of Texas. Carney is saying he's not looking for any kind of confrontation. We're grateful for American, South African, Mexican firefighters.

The Canadian Embassy in the U.S., meanwhile, is also highlighting how much the two countries support each other on wild firefighting efforts. However, the emergency management minister's office says there are no firefighters from here deployed in the states right now and only 18 from there who are helping in Quebec. Rafi Buccan, Yon CBC News, Ottawa. Hundreds of wildfires are still burning across Canada, a bulk of those in the southern half of BC. After an intense weekend, officials are warning of more hot, dry weather coming up ahead and

some tough days. Georgie Smyth is in Vancouver to follow those developments tonight. Georgie, let's start with the most immediate danger in the southeastern part of your province. Yeah, let's start in BC's Kootenai region, where an out-of-control wildfire has residents of the city of Kimberley, northwest of Cranbrook on evacuation alert. The BC Wildfire Service says the fire started in mountainous terrain, likely by lightning, and it's been unsafe for fire crews to access it directly. Strong winds, steep slopes, and the makeup for the forest, which is a mix of spruce and balsam, which are both really flammable trees, led to significant fire growth over the weekend. Heather Derbyshire is one of about 9,000 people who live there. Like a lot of people in this region,

she's gone through the experience of being on standby, ready to leave at a moment's notice from wildfires before. But she told my colleague on the ground, it's still really shocking to be in this situation again. I just thought, oh, I guess it's come to that already. I didn't expect it actually to come so soon because I've been following the BC wildfire map, so I knew there was a big fire,

but just didn't think it was going to, you know, we were going to be allergic so quickly. Let's just keep going west to the Fraser Valley Canyon, an area that is no stranger to devastating wildfires. The town of Lytton, which burned down in 2021, is just up the road from two other out-of-control fires burning either side of this really dry, narrow canyon that the Trans-Canada Highway also passes through. And in Vancouver today, there is just a hint of smoke in the sky. as these fire pollutants make their way to the coast. Right. Now, there's another big area of concern, of course, that's been in Ontario. After days of frantic evacuations, what's the latest there now? Yeah, so some rain has dampened fire activity there over the weekend,

and severe thunderstorms are expected to hit parts of southwestern Ontario today, where many are hoping that accompanying high winds won't lead to much more fire growth. There are still many fires burning out of control, of course, mostly in the province's northwest near Thunder Bay. That led to expanded evacuation orders for communities north of Thunder Bay today. And in other parts of the province, a weather break is really giving people a chance to reflect on how difficult this week has been, especially for people who have been forced to evacuate and in some cases see their homes, cabins or entire communities destroyed. And I'll just add that Prime Minister Mark Carney reflected on the country's wildfire season so far,

saying yesterday that it's one of the most intense seasons in Canadian history, and Salima were not even through July. Georgie Smyth reporting from Vancouver. Thanks for this. You're welcome. Marine land has begun relocating its whales to the United States. Six belugas are on their way to aquarium south of the border. The now closed Niagara Falls tourist attraction has been trying to find a place for 30 belugas and four dolphins. Ottawa recently endorsed the plan to send them to four marine parks in the U.S. and one.

in Spain. Coming right up, the U.S. announces the death of another American service member as it launches more strikes on Iran, and Iran has not let up on their attacks of Gulf nations. Plus, an investigation into the source of a serious gastrointestinal illness south of the border is still underway, after a false positive test, which had identified the culprit last week. And later we'll have this story. While the soccer world celebrates Spain's World Cup victory, much of the time. is focused on losing side Argentina's poor sportsmanship. And what are we talking about after the game? We're not talking about how well Spain played.

We're talking about how Argentina carried themselves. I'm Jamie Strassion in Toronto, the story of big winners and sore losers coming up on your world tonight. As the U.S. Iran war escalates, Donald Trump is threatening retaliation on Iran. after at least three U.S. service members were killed over the weekend. The two sides have traded daily strikes for more than a week now. Sasha Petrissik has the latest developments, including how a separate Middle East conflict could further choke the world's oil supply. One jet after another takes off from U.S. carriers near the Persian Gulf

on bombing runs targeting Iran. Hitting military targets, says Washington, but also destroying civilian infrastructure, bridges, according to video on Iranian TV. Iran has responded with attacks of its own. Missiles launched at U.S. military facilities today and over the weekend, as well as civilian infrastructure. Drones targeting bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan. Jordan is where at least two U.S. soldiers were killed by Iranian attacks on Friday and Saturday. Another was killed in Iraq.

They are the first such American casualties since a ceasefire was announced last month. And President Donald Trump vows in a social media post that Iran will pay many times over for every U.S. soldier it kills. With strikes that stopped short of an all-out war, both sides seem to be pushing the limits of a poorly defined ceasefire agreement. Eric Loeb teaches international affairs at Florida International University. And it would appear that even if the escalation is rising as we speak, it is still being somewhat contained. And both sides seem hesitant for economic and political reasons to return to an all-out war. Iran insists negotiations continue, saying it has received a new, unspecified proposal. while condemning what it calls U.S. intimidation and coercion.

Their behavior has to change in order for hours to change. As for the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio also says he supports diplomacy. We've tried multiple times with Iran, and we'll continue to try. If that door opens, we'll be happy to see it open. But a dangerous new challenge opened today as well. A blockade announced by Houthi militants, Iranian-backed proxy, fighters in Yemen threatening to attack Saudi ships entering the Red Sea, tankers mostly trying to avoid Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis have been fighting Saudi forces in Yemen for years. Iran and the Houthis trying to really take advantage of their perception that they have the upper hand. Thomas Juno is a mid-east expert at the University of Ottawa. While Iran's actions have severely hit the world's oil supply, this could choke off another 7%. And they are trying to rearrange the rules of the game in the Persian Gulf, but also in Yemen, in the Red Sea, to their advantage. But it could also bring Iran much closer to all-out war with the U.S.

once again. Sasha Petrosic, CBC News, Toronto. Economists are keeping an eye on the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran. According to a new report from Statistics Canada, lower gas prices pulled the inflation rate down in June. But as tensions ramp up, the reprieve at the pumps might be short-lived. Aina Siddu has that story. I was kind of happy that it was going down a bit in the last few weeks. A bit of a break for drivers at the pump offered some relief on gas prices last month, but it's still tough on the wallet.

So we're trying to drive around less, but it's not always that easy. Lower gas prices helped cool Canada's inflation rate to 2.8% down from 3.2% in May, according to Statistics Canada. Charles Saint Arnault, Chief Economist at Service Credit Union, says this was just below expectations. We knew with the decline in gasoline prices in June, then we would have lower inflation. It came slightly weaker than we're expecting. The latest numbers reflect factors, including the war between the U.S. and Iran. A ceasefire and diplomatic talks helped ease prices leading to a 10% drop in gas prices month over month. But what's not reflected in these June numbers is how tensions in the past a week or so have risen and fuel costs

along with them. The problem is that with oil prices, increasing again, and gasoline prices and also diesel prices remaining elevated, the question is how long before we might start to see some of those higher costs being transferred to consumers. At the same time, Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have also put pressure on supply. Joe Kalnan, with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute says the biggest concern is still the uncertainty around the conflict in the Middle East. As long as we have the Strader Hermuz closed down, prices have to come higher because you need that demand destruction. Effectively, you need the world to reduce its consumption of these fuels around the same amount that we've lost supply. When gas prices were taken out of the equation,

Statskan says inflation remained unchanged from May to June. At the grocery store, prices for fresh fruit also eased, but staples like bread and chicken continue to climb. Saint Arnault says customers are likely making substitutions. Beef prices have been extremely high and increasing quite rapidly over the past year, and I think what's happening is that a lot of households are changing their consumer consumption habits and increasing demand for chicken. This kind of data likely reinforced the Bank of Canada's decision to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2.25.

But the central bank will be keeping an eye on whether higher fuel costs spill over into broader inflation. Ina Sedu, CBC News, Calgary. There has been confusing information coming out from authorities in the U.S. About the likely source of an outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasite. After days of linking the outbreak to lettuce from Taylor Farms, food and drug administration officials then cast doubt on the major produce supplier as the source. But later, federal health officials said they do remain focused on the company. As Lauren Pelley reports, the food scare and the mixed messaging come amid budget cuts to food safety monitoring in the U.S.

With thousands of Americans sick from an intestinal parasite, authorities are still probing what caused a multi-state outbreak of cyclosporiasis. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has zeroed in on iceberg lettuce shipped from. a Mexico branch of produce giant Taylor Farms. Over the weekend, the FDA announced it found evidence of the parasite on the company's shredded lettuce, then said that result was a false positive. Today, FDA officials clarified there is still overwhelming epidemiological data supporting a large voluntary recall by Taylor Farms. It's a large outbreak that's surprising that it's gotten this large without finding a

source, but at the same time, cyclospore is one of the more difficult pathogens to track. For Ronholm is a Canada research chair in agricultural microbiology. She agreed news of a false positive doesn't rule out Taylor Farms as the possible source. For some outbreaks, we never do link it to a food source. We never do get a positive result for a food source. The outbreak just kinds of ends and we assume it lived out its shelf life. Ronholm says cyclospora is tougher to confirm than many other food-borne illnesses. Because unlike a bacterial infection, scientists can't simply replicate a small sample

of the parasite to prove it's hiding on a piece of produce. Cyclospora can only replicate and produce more of itself in a human body. So you can't amplify it in a lab to detect it the way we would free coli or salmonella. So you have to rely on molecular techniques that are technically challenging to detect that one or two pieces of cyclospora on a piece of lettuce. Testing challenges aren't the only roadblock. Others warn sweeping cuts to U.S. research and public health programs paved the way for such a massive outbreak, one that's been ongoing since early May.

And this is only going to continue to get worse. American scientist Angela Rasmussen works in Saskatoon, but has been watching the outbreak unfold south of the border. She pins the blame on last year's cuts to FoodNet, a federal program that monitors for foodborne illness. There were eight diseases originally tracked by FoodNet, and now only two of them are reportable to FoodNet, and cyclospora is no longer one of the ones that's reportable.

Rasmussen said the ongoing outbreak should raise alarms. But what happens when we have avian flu start to spread across the country? What happens when we have something that is a lot more serious? While there are no signs of cyclosporiasis outbreaks in Canada, officials here are warning travelers to take precautions, including washing and cooking produce if you're staying in any states with an outbreak. Lauren Pell, CPC News, Toronto. Britain's new Prime Minister is vowing the biggest changes in his country in decades.

Andy Burnham is calling it a circuit breaker moment. And on day one in his new role, he said a plan is coming. But for now, details are rather scant. Breyer Stewart reports from London. As Andy Burnham walked up to the iconic black door of 10 Downing Street, he was greeted by cheers. The Labor Party appointed him as the new leader, seeing Burnham as their best option and hoping he can stay in power longer than many of his predecessors. Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability.

Over the past decade, the UK has had seven different prime ministers. My work is done. Kirstarmer was pressured into going after his popularity plummeted. But Burnham is seen as more charismatic. He was well-like during his nine years as. mayor of Manchester, but now he will be steering an entire country of 70 million, including many residents, who are unsure of just what his vision is. I think there's quite a bit of still uncertainty.

We don't know what he's bringing on board. I don't really know him very well, so I'll be interested to learn more about his policies and what he's got planned. I think he does need to hold an election. You know, we do need prime ministers who have a mandate. The surging right-wing populist reform party is calling for one too, but a general election could be still three years away. And Burnham is bowing to get down to business.

He visited a homeless shelter Monday morning and made changes to cabinet in the afternoon. He said among his first priorities will be the cost of living crisis. So I think that overall economic picture is probably the biggest challenge that Andy Burnham faces and he faces it with some of the same inherited constraints that the Kirstama government has. And by that, Olivia Sullivan means high levels of debt and underfunded public services. She's a British political expert at London-based Chatham House. She says international issues were a big part of Starmor's time and office, everything from the war in Ukraine to trying to manage relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Government was always very cautious not to provoke or respond to everything Trump said about the UK. because Burnham has a slightly more from the hip style, maybe he'll be a little bit more vocal on that front. One of Burnham's first calls today was with Trump, and he invited him to visit Manchester. Several other world leaders congratulated Burnham, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said he looked forward to the UK and Canada,

developing even stronger ties. Breyer-Stewart, CBC News, London. In New Delhi, Police fire tear gas and use batons against protesters attempting to march towards India's parliament. Supporters of the cockroach Janta party came out in the thousands, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country's education minister. The youth-led movement is demanding more be done to fix persistent issues of high youth unemployment in India and institutional corruption. It was sparked back in May after a medical entrance exam was leaked. That forced millions to retake the exam and reportedly led to at least a dozen students committing suicide.

The movement's leaders have now met with India's health minister on behalf of the government to discuss the protesters' demands. FIFA has launched an investigation after heated scenes that took place just after Spain's World Cup final victory over Argentina. Spain claimed their second World Cup title last night with a one-nil extra time win in New Jersey. But the post-match celebrations were marred by confrontations. As Jamie Strachan reports, it's not the first time Argentina's team members have come under scrutiny during the tournament. Well done, the Spain, Argentina were an absolute disgrace. In the wake of Spain's 1-0 victory over Argentina, much of the global media's attention instead focused on the losing team's tactics, both during and after the game.

On his talk sports show, former England player Gabby Agban Lahore, savage the Argentinian side. Shame that Messi's probably last World Cup game was a game where his team didn't try and play football. Disgraceful tactics that have worked all through the World Cup, they're bully teams, and last night they tried to bully Spain and it didn't work. It's what transpired after the game that continues to linger nearly 24 hours later. During Spanish celebrations, Argentina's Leandro Paredes charged into Spain's Eric Garcia, grabbing his neck and pushing him to the ground,

A number of other Argentinian players were also involved in scuffles. Some also turned their back as Spain lifted the trophy. They showed no respect. Former Arsenal striker Martin Keone also on talk sport called the behavior disgraceful. I actually thought the Spanish players showed a great deal of restraint, and they didn't make that the story. They're the winners of the World Cup, and they rightly deserve that. They didn't want to get pulled into some fight. For Argentina, who came into this tournament as defending champion,

it's been a World Cup full of controversy. Earlier after beating England, Argentinian players waived a banner in support of their country's territorial claim to the Falkland Islands and overseas UK territory. Britain's Education Secretary Bridget Philipson was indignant. To see that banner coming out was just completely unacceptable. And the players knew what they were doing.

It's completely unacceptable. Former Canadian national team player Mark Anthony Kay says sometimes emotions spill over in the biggest moments. These guys are so heated, especially at the end of the game, like again, I wasn't surprised. But says it's unfortunate it all played out on the sports biggest stage. It just doesn't look great because at the end of the day, it's the World Cup final. You want it to be the best match of the last four years, right? And what are we talking about after the game?

We're not talking about how well Spain played. We're talking about how Argentina carried themselves. FIFA has launched a day. disciplinary investigation into Argentina's behavior. Regardless, for many, the damage can't be undone. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. It'll be like willows, shrubs, fireweed, yaros, like there's different types. Just some of the 1.7 million seedlings that will be on offer this season

from a new orchard run by the Blueberry River First Nations in northeastern British Columbia. They're all native plants that will be sold to companies to help restore land either ravaged by wildfire or used for oil and gas. Chief Sherry Dominic says she's seen her community change drastically since she was little. The amount of well sites, roads, logging that happened, it decimated our territory. And, you know, it's saddened to sea.

But, you know, and then thinking, well, how am I going to continue on with our traditional ways of life. And then this is actually just one of the things that we can do. Grandmother's greenhouse takes up about 50 hectares of agricultural land. The native plant orchard is funded through the Forest Nation as one of the restoration projects that followed a 2021 BC Supreme Court decision. That ruling found the province had violated blueberry rivers treaty eight rights by allowing so much gas, forestry, and mineral development that there wasn't enough land.

and left to practice those rights. Vegetative ecologist Nanette Richards owns the company that was contracted to build up the technology and teach staff at the orchard. We want to make sure, one, that they're culturally important. Two, we want to make sure that they're first responders. So these are plants that do really well after disturbance. Three, we want to make sure that they're ecologically suitable so that we have a range of native plants to meet all conditions,

like wet, dry, shady, sunny. The court ruling found that less than 14% of forests in the region remain intact. Chief Dominic says she hopes this project will help change that, and she's thinking about her eight-month-old granddaughter's future. I would like her be able to, you know, still be able to practice one of our treaty rights, which is picking berries and, you know, for medicinal plants as well do, to be able to have that opportunity to do that. Thanks so much for being with us.

This has been your world tonight for Monday, July 20th. I'm Salima Shici. Have a good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.