Your World Tonight - Quebec braces for potential change as voters go to the polls

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

People in Quebec are casting their votes to determine who will lead the next government.Also: Canadians born abroad face years of waiting to receive their citizenship certificates after a recent change in legislation.And: The most comprehensive study yet confirms Black mothers face a much higher risk of complications before and after birth, pointing to systemic racism.Plus: Violent student protests in France enter another week, the boys are not all right, and does Russia have an outbreak of the plague?

Phelan Johnson here, and I host a podcast about the legal cases that changed Canada. It's called See You in Court. And we've been working on a story about residential school survivor, Willie Blackwater. At just 13, Willie held a knife to his rapist's throat. It was the first time he stood up to his abusers at residential school, but it wasn't the last. And it leads Willie on a year's long quest told the church and government to account. The story of Willie's fight for justice is in your feed. this week, wherever you get your podcasts.

This is a CBC podcast. I think it's important to vote. Otherwise, it's hard to complain about things if you didn't have your say. Quebecers are casting their votes in a crowded race for who will lead their province. Many voters appear to have an appetite for change. The economy and the cost of living are top of mind,

but the outcome could also breathe new life into the independence debate. This is your world tonight. I'm Salima Shivjee. It's Monday, October 5th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the program. How could this have happened? Who is accountable for this? And what are more of the details? Just some of the unknowns after the death of a lab worker in Russia. It isn't confirmed how she died, but what is known is that her lab handles the plague that has global health authorities on high alert, despite denials from Russia.

Voters in Quebec have just hours left to cast their ballots and choose their next government. And with five parties and multiple issues in the mix, including a referendum on separation, the battle for Quebecers' support is fierce. Alexander Silberman is at a polling station in Troie Rivier. So, Alexander, this is an incredibly crowded race. Walk us through the priorities the parties campaigned on and the top issues for some voters. Well, Salima, there's a pretty steady flow of voters outside this polling place here in Tro Riviar. And Quebecers appear to be just as divided on their top issues as they are on the parties that they're supporting.

A common theme is that many voters have a strong desire for change. Here's what some voters in Montreal told us over the weekend about their priorities. Health care and taxes. Probably pricing of things. and inter-country relations. And Ferrandum is not the main issue, actually. We know that in the economy, everything we have with the neighbors,

and so one, it's the principal problems for me, as far as I'm concerned, and my family. Amid all those different issues and priorities, the Partsique Quebecois appears to be the frontrunner as the main option for change. The Coalition Avenuese-C-C-A-Q has formed government for the last eight years, but the party became deeply unpopular,

over failed investments, healthcare reforms and controversial spending, and CAQ leader Christian Frischette struggled to distance herself from former Premier Francois de Gaulle. Tonight, after previously holding 79 seats, they're fighting for survival, hoping to hold on to any seats they can. The PQ under Leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamandandandau is promising fiscal reform and a third referendum on independence. The Liberals under Charmillault could retain official opposition status, but remain extremely unpopular among Francophones. Then you have two smaller parties that are also in the mix and getting traction, the conservatives in and around Quebec City,

and left-leaning Quebec-Sadididar in a handful of urban ridings. Okay, now with the race so divided this time around, what could this mean for the path to a majority government? So there's going to be a lot of three-way battles in many ridings tonight, and the votes are expected to be pretty fragmented regionally. That could make the path to 64 seats, threshold for a majority challenging for the Partsiqueque. Even if they do win enough seats for a majority government, it's likely most Quebecers will cast their ballots for another party. And the vote

share for a majority government could be a historic low. Now the PQ is promising to hold a referendum on independence. What could the outcome of today's vote mean for those plans? So with a majority or a minority, the PQ is promising either way to hold this third referendum on independence. If they win a minority, it could be an obstacle for them. The liberals are strongly federalist. The CAQ and conservatives are also opposed, leaving sovereignist Quebec Salidar as the only potential partner on sovereignty. Okay, the CBC's Alexander Silberman in Tuareville for us tonight.

Thanks. Thank you. A new law adopted last year opened the door for Canadian citizenship to anyone who can prove direct descent from a Canadian ancestor. The change in the rules has triggered. a flood of applications from people seeking citizenship, resulting in a backlog that's already prevented some Canadians born abroad from coming home for months. And as Elizabeth Thompson reports at the current processing rate, some might have to wait years.

It's been very frustrating. When Pascal Sood and his wife were preparing for the birth of their first child, the choice seemed simple. His wife would give birth in her home country of Jamaica, close to family. Soud would spend three months with them in Jamaica, then the three of them would fly to Montreal. It hasn't turned out that way. Months later, the Canadian government has still not issued the citizenship certificate they need to bring their daughter, Sophean, to Canada.

Soud had to return to work in Montreal. Sophie Ann and his wife remain in Jamaica. I was lucky to be there for three months. I saw her for the first three months, but I've been missing every step ever since. And it's been very difficult to be apart from. He's not alone. The federal government is struggling to deal with a flood of applications for citizenship certificates. Many result from changes late last year that allow anyone who can prove Canadian ancestry

to be a Canadian citizen. It has resulted in thousands of applications, particularly from Americans. It has also resulted in people like Sud being caught in a backlog. Currently, 136,000 applications are waiting to be processed. Those who apply now may have to wait nearly three years. Sood wonders why there's no separate process for those already living in Canada. The people who are applying, they're not people who are living in Canada, and a lot of them, they're not even planning to live in Canada. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Remple-Garner says the government ignored warnings Bill C-3 would lead to a lot more applications.

There are a lot of people who have a reasonable expectation for, a very reasonable expectation for timely service delivery in the documentation that the federal government has a duty to provide to them. Complicating things further, a new Alberta law requires proof of citizenship when people renew driver's licenses or health cards. The immigration minister's office says they're working on it. They're hiring and training more staff. That won't help Robert Woodrich. The Windsor Ontario native living in Switzerland has been waiting nearly 600 days for certificates for his children. He plans to bring his daughter Michelle to Canada to visit her grandfather later this week.

These children are Canadian, they were Canadian, the day they were born. I just need these certificates to get the passport so they can go to Canada, where are their citizens. The backlog means it could take many more months to process their applications. So for now, his Canadian daughter will have to use a Swiss passport to visit her family in Canada. Elizabeth Thompson's CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, another day of violent school protests in France with hundreds injured, including a student who lost his hand from a police stun grenade. Plus, new research adds more evidence of systemic racism in maternal care for black Canadians.

And later, we'll have this story. Experts and government officials are tackling a problem that's been called taboo. Boys, men, and their deteriorating mental health. The numbers tell a bleak picture. But unlike Europe, Australia and the UK, Canada has never had a specific strategy for men's mental health. It was almost stigmatized and a bit taboo to talk about men's mental health. People who did were at reputational risk. I'm Omar DeBaggy Pacheco in Ottawa.

Coming up on your world tonight, why experts say a made-in-Canada approach to young men's mental health is long past due. High school students in France are calling for a major mobilization tomorrow after another chaotic day of clashes between police and protesters. For days, they've been pushing for widespread education reforms in demonstrations that have turned increasingly violent. Dozens of schools have been vandalized, thousands have been arrested,

and as Crystal Gumansing reports, some students have been left seriously injured. French police in riot gear rush young protesters in the northern town of Lille. Across the country, similar scenes played out, often precipitated by young people hurling items at officers. The violent clashes happening on the sidelines of student, led demonstrations over the quality of education.

They're afraid of us, and that's why they're shutting schools. They think it will stop us. It won't, says this student in Paris. More than 400 high schools were preemptively shut before classes Monday morning. Others were blocked by students. The demonstrations started last month in the Capitol but have since spread. Students are angry over run-down buildings and poor conditions inside, too. Classes are overcrowded. There aren't enough teachers, says this student in Bordeaux. In some cases, students say staff are missing and not being replaced, resulting in weeks' worth of missed lessons.

Then there are the reports of rats and cockroach infestations, as well as ceilings collapsing from water leaks. Peaceful acts of disobedience have, however, turned ugly. Today, in Lance, a 15-year-old lost his hand and part of his arm during a confrontation with police. It's unclear if the teen picked up a police-fired stun grenade meant to disperse crowds or if it exploded near him. And in Paris, the parents of a youth identified only as Eden shared his traumatic injuries. The 14-year-old is said to have been hit directly in the face by a tear gas grenade, shattering his jaw and teeth. This should never happen, says his mom, we're talking about children. The French Human Rights League accused the police of being heavy-handed.

Amnesty International is calling on French authorities to de-escalate tensions. 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to France's education minister, Eduardo Jafre, more than 70 teachers and staff injured, and more than 5,000 people have been arrested so far. The vast majority, minds are. With a national day of school protests set for tomorrow, Jafray expressed fear over what he called the spiral of violence and the uncertainty of where it ends.

Crystal Gamansing, CBC News, London. The World Health Organization says it is working with Russian health authorities following the death of a lab worker at a Siberian anti-epidemic facility. speculation is mounting she may have died from the plague, something Russian officials deny, but at least one local hospital has been closed and dozens of people are now under quarantine. Michelle Gassoub reports. I don't think we're necessarily at the stage where there's a global risk and there's lots of unknowns. Speculation and concern after a young woman who worked in a Russian lab that handles the plague

died of an unknown illness last week. Malik Gabani is a clinical professional. Professor in bacterial vaccinology at Imperial College London. He's been watching the case from abroad. There was reports that there may have been a potential laboratory exposure and shortly afterwards developed a severe pneumonia and unfortunately passed away. The lab has been identified as the Urquitzk Anti-Plag Institute of Siberia. The inpatient facility where the worker was treated has been temporarily closed. People who are in contact with the worker are now quarantined. I think we don't know for sure that that's what's going on here,

but I think it's an appropriate level of caution and will be an evolving story over the course of the next few days. Few official details have come from Russian health authorities who said there's no evidence her death was caused by pathogens she worked with. The World Health Organization says it's in contact with local health officials and that more testing is reportedly underway. The WHO says, based on available information, the risk to the public is low. Still, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio's office, is following the case.

Something like that gets out. It could quickly spread. So we're watching and monitoring it closely. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist based in Saskatoon, says that's not necessarily true. And that while the plague can spread person to person, it's nowhere near as transmissible as COVID-19. I mean, I think that there's a couple things to worry about, but it's not what it seems like on the surface. Rasmussen says the bacteria that causes the plague can be found in animals around the world, including in Canada. Canadian's risk of exposure, which remains extremely low, comes primarily from contact with gophers or prairie dogs. The way to reduce your exposure risk for everybody who's worried about it is not to worry about a lab-acquired infection that happened at a research institute in Russia. It's to make sure you're being cautious,

especially if you're digging around. There's no vaccine to protect against the plague, but it is treatable by antibiotics if they're administered soon after exposure. Rasmussen's primary concern now is the lack of information coming out of Russia. To me, the biggest question is, at this institute, how could this have happened? Who is accountable for this and what are more of the details?

There really isn't a lot of transparency. Questions about how a healthy person could have died so suddenly raising worries half a world away. Michelle Kasub, CBC News, Vancouver. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a snap election after days of protests over the country's housing crisis. Sanchez's socialist workers' party is currently trailing in the polls. His coalition is one of the last left-leaning governments in Europe as far-right parties make gains across the continent. The election will be held on November 29th. Ottawa launched Build Canada homes more than a year ago

to tackle the housing crisis across the country. Initially, the new Crown Corporation committed to supporting the construction of 9,000 new affordable units, but only about 2,000 of those are currently being built. As Philippe de Montigny reports, as the need for housing escalates, so too does the pressure to scale up construction. Federal housing minister Gregor Robertson is walking through new apartments being built in Edmonton. Some of the tens of thousands of affordable units build Canada homes is aiming to deliver in the coming years.

It will be a mix of subsidized and market-priced housing, something long overdue, according to the minister. We've had probably 40 years of not investing enough in affordable housing at a federal level. The leadership was not there. We're changing that now. In the late 80s and early 90s, the Canadian government, under both conservatives and liberals, tried to rein in spending and effectively stopped funding and building new affordable housing.

At the time, Kevin Fetig worked on monetary policy at the Bank of Canada. It's hard to fill that gap in a hurry. So we're on the right track, but it's going to be more than anything in question of time and effort and financing to get there. Build Canada homes. Launched by the Carnegie Gunning, government last year, built Canada homes officially became a Crown Corporation in July.

It committed to supporting the construction of 19,000 new units, but only about 2,000 are currently being built. Dave Wilkes is the CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association. I think we can always go faster. I like to say I work for an industry that measures patience in terms of seconds. A large portion of the past year has been spent clearing bureaucratic hurdles, securing land transfers and signing intergovernmental deals. The new housing agency primarily focuses on what's called non-market housing, where rents are typically linked to income rather than market rates. But it is also partnering with developers to build affordable homes for the middle class.

Even in the market-priced segment, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says roughly 417 to 469,000 units need to be built every single. every year for the next decade to bring back pre-pandemic affordability. Over the past few years, housing starts have hovered around 250,000 units annually. That means we still need to keep doubling the pace of current housing starts. CMHC's chief economist, Matthew LaBerge, says bridging that supply gap is possible by streamlining regulation and building more modular factory-built housing. And we need all the spectrum of building to go on.

So we need non-market. We need affordable market and we need market units across the board. An approach, Minister Robertson, is embracing. We're doing everything we can to modernize the industry and make sure that we can build faster and more affordably. Philippe de Montsingy, CBC News, Toronto. The U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether cities can sue oil companies for the effects of climate change.

Boulder, Colorado sued Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy in state court, arguing the companies misled the public about the risk. risks of fossil fuels. The companies then appealed that lawsuit to the Supreme Court, saying it should be under federal jurisdiction. Kevin Russell is the lawyer representing Boulder. The city wants the companies to pay for past and future costs, including infrastructure repairs, environmental damage, and harms to public health. The defendants in this action are simply being asked to be partially responsible for their portion of the costs, their conduct, including a decades long campaign to deceive the public about the effects of their products on the climate,

that otherwise the citizens and taxpayers of Boulder and Boulder County will have to bear themselves. The case could have far-reaching implications in lawsuits where local governments try to hold companies accountable for alleged harms. The most extensive research in Canada yet has confirmed what some advocates have long suspected. Black Canadians are facing widespread disparity in receiving maternal care. DeShana Reid explains what the study found and how it's once again prompting calls to eliminate systemic racism in the health care system. I was sent home from the ER and not believed.

After an ultrasound, Cheyenne Scarlett was told to head straight to the hospital. Her scan showed an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life-threatening condition. But a doctor sent her home. The next day, she had internal bleeding and needed emergency surgery. It's really something that has created a lot of health care anxiety in myself, right? And I never know how I'm going to be treated when I walk into a new clinic. Scarlett co-founded the Black Birth Project to advocate for better reproductive health outcomes for Black Canadians. I think we have felt this call to take care of our own because no one else is going to do it.

Now, new research published in the Canadian Medical Association, Journal is showing just how large those inequalities are. Researchers analyzed national hospital data from one and a half million births over a decade linking it to census data. They found that black people were twice as likely to experience severe life-threatening conditions compared to white people. They looked at complications like preeclampsia, which causes dangerously high blood pressure, hemorrhage and sepsis. Dr. Cindy Maxwell at Women's College Hospital is one of the study co-authors. We now have, for the first time, a really important data set. Even after accounting for factors such as income levels, immigration status, and underlying health conditions,

she says rates were consistently higher for black people. But it really points to racism. So it is the structures, the system, the exclusion, the access to care, the dismissal of symptoms, the non-recognition perhaps of symptoms, the need for more education in our health system. Janelle Ambrose Dash is a lawyer and chair of the Black Maternal Health Collective Canada. First of all, I hate that my story is reflected in that study. She too started advocating after her own traumatic experience with preeclampsia, resulting in the loss of her baby.

And I am grateful to have survived to be able to tell my story, but to also advocate for the many women and children who didn't. She says the new research is validating, but there needs to be accountability. This is a failure of our system, and if this system is failing one of us, it's failing all of us. Researchers say there needs to be race-based data collected to better protect the health of everyone,

and interventions co-developed with black communities. Toshana Reid, CBC News, Toronto. Canada's Transportation Safety Board will now lead the investigation into an accident involving an Ontario-based air ambulance. The plane was flying from Bermuda to Boston. It lost contact with air traffic control and went down off the coast of Massachusetts early Saturday morning. Six people were on board, including four Canadian crew members and two Bermudian nationals. Search teams located a debris field in the water, but no sign of the passengers.

The search has since been called off and all six are presumed dead. Young men and boys in Canada are struggling with their. mental health at higher rates than ever. Researchers say it's a sensitive subject that's been taboo for too long. Now, the federal government says it's working on a national strategy. Omar Dabagi Pacheco has that story. On the basketball court, Nick Chomsky was a star, 15, smiling, sociable, but he hadn't felt good in years.

I started getting the first symptoms of depression in middle school, grade 6, grade 7. I just knew that I kind of felt sad all the time, but maybe this was just like part of growing up. He's 21 now, but back then he didn't know what was happening. He didn't share that with family or friends. In my grade 11 year, I fell into a more kind of major depressive episode. I definitely started having suicidal thoughts. Earlier this year, the federal government reported on a wide range of data that shows Chomsky is not alone. It suggests the mental health of young men has deteriorated since 2012.

In the decade that followed, they noticed mood disorder. generalized anxiety and gambling addictions on the rise. Not shocking to Nick. You just kind of feel like, oh, yeah, that's kind of how everyone grew up. And knowing the statistics on mental health now, that is how a lot of people grow up, which is the scary part, right? The situation for young men has become so serious that earlier this year, the federal government announced its first ever

men and boys' health and well-being strategy. Federal health minister Marjorie Michelle says it's an issue riddled with taboo and eclipsed by the struggles women continue to face. People have had the perception that it was not quite politically correct to raise those problems. I'm doing this because I'm looking at the numbers. A number of things. And I said, there's a problem. How can we support?

Rob Whitley is a psychiatry professor at McGill University with an expertise in men's health. There has been, in my opinion, an evolution and a significant change in the last few years. Whitley and others say a change they'd like to see in the new government strategy, more male role models, including teachers, coaches and mentors. I've said many times that there is not a crisis of masculinity, there is a crisis of mentorship. Nick Chomsky agrees. His coach and parents led him to the help he needed. Now he shares his story with other young men and says the new federal strategy brings him hope. It's going to require a lot of bravery. It's going to require a lot of change.

But I think it's absolutely necessary and I think it absolutely can be done. The federal government plans on releasing its men and boys' health and women. well-being strategy in the upcoming months. Omar Dabaggy Pacheco, CBC News, Ottawa. And finally, The sounds of celebration as a new park officially opens in southwest Montreal. It isn't your average green space.

Yun Guajato Dordo Park includes an in-ground fire pit for cultural practices and facilitates moose hide tanning, the practice of taking the skin from the animal and slowly turning it into leather. There's many ways to tan a hide. That's one of the things I've learned. There's different approaches and a lot of different cultures

have different ways as well. We take off the flesh, we take off the hair, we manipulate it, we bring it through the braining solution, and we smoke it. That's Amanda Lickers of the Buckskin Babes. The Indigenous-led collective spearheaded the park project

which aims to pass down traditional land-based knowledge to younger generations. Generally, the day-to-day, it'll be an open park, space that people can walk through or come and have a picnic lunch, you know, it's going to be kind of just like any other neighborhood park. But then when we're here activating it with cultural activities, you can expect the smell of the fire. And then maybe we'll have our, you know,

we'll have our hides up leaning and we'll be scraping away, you know, and making sure nothing goes to waste. The park sits where trains used to pass. Reclaiming the space, fellow buckskin member Brooke Rice says, is significant. I think it's powerful. It's setting a precedent for other organizations to partner with First Nations, Inuit, Métis communities, because it's our land, you know. We are the original stewards of this land. Why not have us be in these spaces and having a fire and connecting to our ways? And Rice sees this as just the beginning for the park.

So I see a lot of healing, a lot of gathering, a lot of high tanning, maybe even a sweat lodge, you know? Like, I think the options are endless. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Monday, October 5th. I'm Salima Shivji. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.