Your World Tonight - Record turnout in advance voting, encampments outside cities on the rise, Filipino food in small town New Brunswick, and more

Episode Date: April 20, 2025

Canadians are voting in record numbers this weekend in advance polls across the country, with nearly two million ballots cast on Friday alone. The high turnout comes as parties begin releasing their costed platforms, and as the campaign heads into its final week.Also: Major cities like Toronto have seen a spike in the number of homeless encampments. But city officials across the country say many of them are starting to appear in more suburban areas. You'll hear what's behind the shift.And: In the coastal town of Shediac, New Brunswick - the population of immigrants from the Phillipines has grown exponentially. We'll tell you one woman's story of bringing authentic Filipino food - and another new business - to the community.Plus: The investigation into the killing of aid workers in Gaza, U.S. Supreme Court halts deportations by the Trump administration, and more.

So Canada, we've got to choose a new prime minister and it's a pretty crucial time. Even people who don't normally follow politics are trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I'm Catherine Cullen, host of The House, and I started a new weekly election show with two friends and fellow political nerds. Hello, I'm Daniel Thibault bringing you the Quebec Point de Vu. I'm Jason Microsoft and Calvary bringing the takes and stakes from the West. Together, we are House Party, a weekly elections podcast for everyone. We tackle one big burning

question every Wednesday. Find us in the House's feed wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Julianne Hazelwood. This is Your world tonight. There's a lot at risk. It was just important to come do it, get it done. I'm 72. I voted since I could. And this is probably the most crucial election for Canada, like I can remember.

As the federal election campaign enters its final week, Canadians are making their voices heard. A record number cast their ballots on the first day of advanced voting, even before two of the parties released their costed platforms this weekend. Also in the podcast, Y-Polls point to a key demographic of voters putting much of their support behind one party. And later... Safety and the search for security is the number one issue. People who are homeless are setting up more encampments in Toronto,

many of them away from the downtown core. A shift officials are seeing across the country. We're just over a week away from the federal election. Canadians are already turning out to vote in record numbers. Those who didn't may still be digesting party platforms or waiting for a key holdout. Olivia Stefanovich explains in our top story tonight. It's an exciting time. I think a lot of people are engaged and we just wanted to be part of it. On a sunny Easter morning in Ottawa, Bill and Jocelyn Dubois

strolled over to City Hall, joining millions of Canadians who are casting their ballots in the first days of advanced polls. And I didn't want to take a chance to miss on the 28th. This was just really easy and quick, walked in, walked out, all done. Even though the election is still eight days away and not all political parties have released their costed platforms, voter Chelsea Fluke isn't waiting. There's a lot on the table this time and so I think people are really trying to take into consideration and get to the polls. This is the most consequential vote of our lifetimes. Mark Carney plans to introduce 130 billion dollars in new spending, measures the Liberal leader says are necessary

to meet NATO's spending target and double the pace of home building. Now, the Conservative leader doesn't like our plan to stand up to President Trump. Doesn't have his plan. We're waiting. We're waiting. We cannot afford a fourth Liberal term. We need a change in Canada. Pierre Poliev is indeed the only federal leader who hasn't yet explained how he plans to pay for

the promises he's making. But the conservative leader does have a lot to say about those of his main opponent. Mark Carney is far more costly than Justin Trudeau. If you're worried about cuts, it's clear the only option to fight back against cuts is by voting for New Democrats. Jagmeet Singh is also pitching tens of billions of dollars in new spending to expand pharma care and health care. The NDP leader says he'll cover the costs by generating more than $94 billion through a new tax for the ultra rich. We want to ask them to contribute a bit more towards building a fairer society. That's what we believe in. I think ultimately now it's about the closing arguments.

David Coletto is the founder and CEO of Abacus Data. He says he hasn't seen much of a shift in the polls lately. He's watching to see if the liberal spending plan will change that. That might create space for the conversation to shift away from, for example, Donald Trump and how do we protect Canada from that and more to maybe some terrain that the Conservatives might favour. But with so few details from the Tories about where their cuts will come from, Coletto says the Conservatives also risk losing votes as we head into the final stretch of the campaign. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa. That final stretch means leaders aren't just trying to appeal to Canadians.

They're now trying to lock down their votes by hammering home the promises made so far in this campaign. The Conservatives say it's time to end government overspending, slow inflation and crackdown on crime. But there are some details that are still up in the air. JP Tasker is following the Conservative campaign for us in Surrey, BC. We will bring home the safety that Canadians used to take for granted. Leader Pierre Pauliev is promising a tough-on-crime agenda if elected elected but he's dodging questions about what he would do with the national hand

gun ban a liberal measure brought in to stop the diversion of legal firearms into the hands of bad actors the problem according to the police the problem is illegal guns coming in from the United States of America moving on to the next question when pressed by reporters. Next question. Are you going to keep in place the handgun ban or not? Sorry, thank you very much. Poliev has criticized the Liberal government's program

to buy back assault-style rifles, calling it a gun grab. Liberal leader Mark Carney raised the issue at the leaders' debate. Every single time there has been a vote in the House of Commons on gun control, Mr. Poliev has voted against it. You can't be tough on crime unless you're tough on guns. With only days left in this federal election, Poliev still hasn't released a costed platform. But he is promising to slash government spending on outside consultants by some $10 billion.

Can you imagine that you're spending over $1,000 in federal taxes just to pay for consultants. This is insane. After a swing through BC, Poliev is headed to the Toronto area, where dozens of seats are up for grabs and the election could be decided. JP Tasker, CBC News, Surrey, BC. I'm Tom Perry covering the Liberal campaign. Mark Carney spent Easter Sunday in his home riding of Nepean. At an outdoor rally before hundreds of Liberal supporters, Carney rhymed off a now familiar list of accomplishments.

Scrapping the consumer carbon levy, ditching a plan to increase the capital gains tax, and bringing Canada's premiers together in agreeing to bring down inter-provincial trade barriers. We've done a lot. This is one month. I am describing the highlights from one month. Just imagine what the Liberal Party could do with a strong mandate back in... Carney kicking off the final days of this campaign with a dig at his main rival, Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev.

His big idea is to bring back plastic straws this week. It's great. And a plea to Liberal supporters to pull out all the stops between now and election day. I need your help to send me for Nepean and a strongest team of Liberals to Ottawa to fight for Canada. Carney now travels to Atlantic Canada. He'll spend the coming week crisscrossing the country, looking to hold on to the lead his Liberals have enjoyed throughout the campaign, looking for that strong mandate he so badly wants. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa.

I'm David Thurton following the NDP campaign on Vancouver Island. No, you should definitely not put all your eggs in one basket. We've been taught this our whole life folks. We know that you don't do that. And in this election that totally applies. Jagmeet Singh is talking about Easter eggs to make a political point. About how Canadians should vote in this election. Yeah, you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

You shouldn't put all your power in one party. And we know that that's just how our country has worked best. Singh is making it clear in no uncertain terms that if he gets his way, he wants Canadians to elect another minority government. After Liberal leader Mark Carney has been suggesting he needs a majority mandate to take on Donald Trump and his trade war. It's a new strategy as Canadians vote in advance polls this long holiday weekend, especially as families meet for Easter dinner.

And when they're doing that, they're saying, wait a second, it's getting hard to buy the groceries to be able to have those special gatherings. It's more and more expensive. Singh says rising grocery prices are hitting everyday Canadians most. The NDP is promising to introduce a mandatory code of conduct for grocers and what he calls emergency price caps on grocery essentials. David Thurton, CBC News, Cowichan, Vancouver Island. Still ahead? Bringing a taste of the Philippines to New Brunswick.

The story of a newcomer who's living out a dream in her small community and watching as the appreciation for her home cuisine and the Filipino population in the province keep growing. That story coming up on Your World Tonight. Protests swept across the U.S. this weekend with tens of thousands rallying against Donald Trump and his immigration policies. The demonstrations happened even as the Supreme Court issued a rare emergency ruling, halting one deportation program for now. Katie Simpson reports from Washington.

From Washington to New York, Denver, Houston and Los Angeles, just a few of the cities where huge crowds rallied this weekend. Everyone should have due process. No one should be taken away and locked up. Demonstrators angry with the Trump administration taking aim at its deportation plans. If the court says they can be deported, then yes, the president can deport them. But without that, we have no due process, we have no rule of law, that should concern you, regardless of who it is.

The Trump agenda suffering a fresh blow from the U.S. Supreme Court in a rare emergency ruling that was delivered at 1 a.m. Saturday. It ordered a temporary halt to the deportation of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, just as the administration was preparing to deport a group of men they say are gang members. The plan stopped amid complaints individuals were not given legally required due process. Preparations were being made to outright defy the will of the Supreme Court and to deport these individuals without any process whatsoever. That is troubling. James Sample is a law professor at Hofstra University and he says the

Supreme Court had already ruled these individuals need adequate time to challenge their deportations. The White House says it has not violated the law and is promising to fight this latest challenge in order to continue using the controversial wartime power that speeds up the deportation of people they say are gang members. We're using the laws on the books, the statutes on the books to secure the border and remove significant public safety threats and national security threats to this country. Tom Homan serves as Trump's border czar.

He laid out the White House position in an interview taped Friday that aired Sunday before the new court ruling. He also defended the deportation of Kilmar Garcia, the Maryland father the Supreme Court ordered returned to the U.S. after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. We removed the public safety threat, a national security threat, a violent gang member for the United States. Garcia was in the US illegally,

but has never been criminally charged with gang activity and his family says the allegations are untrue. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen visited Garcia this weekend in El Salvador. And if we deny the constitutional rights of this one man, it threatens their constitutional rights of everybody in America.

The president is showing no signs of backing down and believes the American public is on his side. Writing on social media, Happy Easter to all, including the radical left lunatics fighting so hard to bring murderers, drug lords and well-known gang members back into our country. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Israel's military says it will fire a deputy commander for his role in the killing of 15 paramedics in Gaza last month. An Israeli investigation found a series of failures, including not obeying orders and not fully reporting the incident. Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances came under fire when responding to an emergency. Philip LeShannok reports. Video from a mobile phone found on the body of a medic shows that ambulances in the convoy were clearly marked

and had their emergency lights on when Israeli forces opened fire on them near Rafa in southern Gaza on March 23rd. It directly contradicts Israel's initial report that the vehicles did not slow down, had no markings, lights or emergency signals. Today, Israel Defense Forces released its findings after an inquiry into the incident. It said an operational misunderstanding and a breach of orders led to the killings of the medics. And it says the commanding officer will be reprimanded and the deputy commander dismissed for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report of the incident. But before the results of the investigation were made public, Israeli

government spokesman David Menser maintained Israeli troops believed that they were under attack. IDF soldiers opened fire from a distance at vehicles that were moving suspiciously in their direction. Among the dead were six Hamas terrorists. What were Hamas terrorists doing in ambulances? While Israel hasn't provided evidence that the six aid workers were linked to Hamas, Menser said there are documented cases of the group

using civilian infrastructure as cover. The United Nations and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have demanded a completely independent investigation. This weekend at a protest, 64-year-old Aviva John demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end the war.

Too many people innocent that were killed. We don't think there is any reason to continue this war. We don't think that revenge is the solution for what happened here. In a video addressed this weekend, Netanyahu rejected calls to halt the fighting, saying a ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm. Filoti Shannok, CBC News, Toronto. Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of violating a one-day Easter ceasefire. The ceasefire was declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to last until Sunday

night. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says there were hundreds of Russian shelling attacks and drone strikes during that time. Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out their own drone strikes. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says there is no plan to extend the ceasefire. In a social media post, Zelensky called on Russia to stop missile strikes on civilian infrastructure for the next 30 days to prove a commitment to peace.

Returning now to the election, polls show a key demographic of voters is overwhelmingly in support of one party. Women above the age of 55 make up about 15% of all Canadians. And as Nicole Williams reports, that unity doesn't just boil down to recent campaign promises. It's also about what the party historically represents. In this Ottawa dance studio for people 55 and up, women like Hazel Pompey are getting into the groove, concentrating on next steps in more ways than one. I'm overwhelmed about many elections that's going on and the many changes and the threats coming from the southern border.

The Canadian economy and our relationship with the U.S. are top of mind for women over 55 this federal election. And many like Andrea Ives believe Liberal leader Mark Carney is the man to fix it. Just because he seems calm and he's intelligent obviously but also just you know he doesn't put up with stuff. Data shows the majority of women 55 and up in this country are backing the liberals. According to Angus Reid more than 50 percent. Frances Wright is with the famous Phi Foundation in Alberta and says why likely boils down to the party's policies. I think again of the provision of free contraceptives. I think again of child care.

I think again of pharma care and other programs that help women and this idea that women are equal to men. That's compared to just over 30 percent for the conservatives. 72-year-old Teresa Peluso says for her, voting liberal means voting for a united country and moderation. At one point, conservatives were a viable option, and now they've gone right wing. Like they're polarized, they're working on division,

they're working on extremism, which is totally the wrong thing. But even with the recent threats of annexation coming from US President Donald Trump, mature women leaning liberal isn't necessarily new. Shachi Kurl is a public policy analyst at Angus Reed Institute. What we know about women over the age of 55 is they have traditionally been pretty solid liberal voters and that goes back to the the ascent of Justin Trudeau back in 2013-2014 when he took over as leader. And while some became disenchanted with Trudeau by the end of his leadership, Mark Carney has managed to renew enthusiasm. Sandra Traynor is a voter in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

I think that that Carney is the best guy to build Canada up to be its own sovereign nation. The desire for change in government is still a factor. Some of the women we spoke with said they plan to vote conservative with that end in mind. Others suggested none of the parties are worth voting for at all. Nicole Williams, CBC News, Ottawa. Housing, finding it and affording it is also a major issue in this campaign. And advocates say tight markets can trap tenants into dangerous situations. Nicola Sagan has the story of a woman in Digby County, Nova Scotia.

She fled her apartment with her young son after discovering her landlord was watching her. The nightmare started in the bath. A young single mother's privacy evaporating when she looked up, finding a tiny camera in the ceiling of her basement apartment bathroom, the lens smaller than a pinky nail. It looked like a screw, but I had a feeling that it was not a screw. I was shaking. I was in sheer utter panic. The woman whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban called

police immediately to her home in rural Digby County. She says RCMP traced the camera to her landlord's home upstairs, the receiver hidden in a floor vent in his bathroom. I still feel sick to my stomach because of it. It was the sickest feeling of my life. I don't even know a word to describe how low and violated I felt at that time. RCMP say they executed a search warrant and seized items from the landlord's home, which led them to charge him with voyeurism, a sex crime. It's an incredibly serious offense. David Fraser is a privacy lawyer with McInnes Cooper in Halifax.

He says that charge could lead to others, depending on how the camera was used. There's a concern about, okay, was it recorded? Where is that recording? Where did it go? Was it shared with anybody? Was it posted online? Is this going to be a recurring intrusion into their life? The young woman is now waiting to find out more about what was recorded.

She says she never felt safe around her old landlord, but she was trapped. I did not have anywhere else to go. There's a super bad rental crisis, as everyone knows. But I was looking ever since I moved into that place. Housing advocates say this is a sad story heard too often. This is a chronic problem, I would say, in communities across Canada. Erica Phipps is the director of Rent Safe Ontario. She studies the impact of unsafe and unhealthy housing on families.

We've heard from tenants over the years who lack other options and therefore endure often deplorable and unsafe conditions. The woman and her young son are now staying with family and couch surfing as she searches for a new place to live, hoping for a home where she can grow plants, cook meals for her family and feel safe. Nicola Sagan, CBC News, Digby County, Nova Scotia. Toronto has seen a major spike in the number of encampments set up by people who are homeless. And city officials say more are starting to appear outside the downtown core, along ravines and more suburban areas.

Ivel Musa now on why that shift is happening across the country. Mikey is guiding me to his encampment northwest of Toronto's downtown. It's situated deep inside the park near the Humber River, away from trails and tribulations, he says. I am much safer here than downtown Toronto because a lot of bad things happen to me downtown Toronto. Mikey says he lost his job as a welder during the pandemic and he lives out here because he was harassed and robbed on Toronto streets. He also says finding shelter spaces for him, his girlfriend and dog were impossible. The homeless crisis is making it harder for anybody to get in

because there's so many homeless people and so little shelters. Brian Doothright with the Weston King Neighborhood Center says he understands why some people choose to live in encampments and away from busy areas. Folks can have prior traumas from past experiences in the shelter system. So if they've ever encountered violence, anything like that in the shelter system, then they're not going to go back. We had a fireplace, operational sink, operational laundry machine. In Edmonton, police and city crews

dismantled more than 9,000 homeless encampments in 2024, including one in a wooded area south of the city that police described as one of the most elaborate they have ever seen. In my experience with the encampment team so far I haven't seen anything this extensive. Medium-sized cities and towns in Alberta like Peace River and Slave Lake are also now suddenly wrestling with an issue once confined to big cities. Safety and the search for security is the number one issue based on our data. Katarina Meyer at the University of Winnipeg is part of a team conducting a national multi-year study on how unhoused people across Canada experience street life.

Many of the encampments are highly organized and structured, where people take on different social roles, where people show mutual support and care. And this is not to romanticize these places, but it is to say that for some people they provide some added material and effective benefits. Myers says access to safe long-term housing is critical. Gordon Tanner, who leads Toronto's shelter and support services, agrees.

But in the meantime, his city is trying to get people out of tents and into shelters. And it has a 10-year plan to build 20 new ones. You know, some of the traditional shelters that we've had in the city have been very large, congregate settings. We're changing that with custom-built, smaller, purpose-built and designed shelters now. Since I spoke with Mikey, the City of Toronto dismantled his tent, but officials helped him, his girlfriend and their dog find space in a shelter. Ido Musa, CBC News, Toronto. That's the sound of pancit being fried. Rice noodles that will be paired with veggies and a pork skewer in a sticky coating.

It's a popular dish at Sarap, Melody Laundrie's Filipino-Canadian takeout. Like most Fridays at noon, it's busy. The door of the old brick building swings open every few minutes. And today is a special day. It's the grand opening of Landry's new business, an international grocery store. It's very important to me to introduce our culture. Today it's another milestone of our journey. It's a big deal because this new store with products like prawn crackers and Japanese mochi is in an Acadian heritage building in Shidiak, New Brunswick.

Nondri arrived in Shidiak in 2012 as a temporary worker at a local seafood plant. She met her husband there, he's from a nearby community, and they settled close by and have a young son. Her first step into business was a food truck called Sarep, which means delicious in Tagalog. I'm the first Filipino to introduce the food around the area because back then we don't have much Filipino around the area. This coastal town is better known for its famous lobster. There are just over 7,000 people here, most of them Acadians.

But the Filipino community has been growing. In 2021, 250 people in Shidiak listed Tagalog as their mother tongue. That's more than double what it was in 2016. Londre's food truck has become a bricks and mortar restaurant on Main Street. Filipino dishes like chicken adobo are bestsellers and newcomers are proud to see their culture reflected. She has the authentic taste of Philippine dishes. Basically it's like what I ate in the Philippines.

How are you? Good. You're good? Running back and forth between stocking shelves and frying noodles, Laudary still can't believe she's making her dream a reality. At least I can leave legacy for my son that he's proud to have found. At least once in my life, he's going to say that my mom made the name in this community

because I know this is my home. Nondri wants to give back to the people of Shadiac who have helped her. And finally... A popular tune from 1915 called Canadian Capers and later released by Doris Day. The year is a big one for Burdett Sizzler. It's when he was born. Burdett, who lives in Fort Erie, Ontario, just celebrated his 110th birthday. His son Norman says his dad has seen it all.

He's the only guy I know that has been through two pandemics, two world wars, and two solar eclipses. The world has changed a lot in that time, beyond recognition in Burdett's words. According to his family's research, no other man in Canada is this old. At his birthday party, his great-grandson Nathan asked him what he thought about that. How does it feel to be the oldest man in Canada? That's what they say. There must be somebody around some places

that's my age. I don't know how good their records are. Burdette may be dubious, but even the Canada Border Services Agency described him as the oldest man in Canada in a happy birthday post. Burdette worked there for years after enlisting in the military. When he retired, he kept active, working with adult literacy groups, calling bingo, and keeping up with the news. His daughter-in-law Margaret credits all that

with keeping him sharp. He remembers more things than all of us put together. Burdett's guiding principle is treating others the way he'd like to be treated. Everything everyone does matters, he says. He also likes to look ahead. He's already set the goal of celebrating his 115th in 2030. This has been Your World Tonight for Sunday, April 20th. I'm Julianne Hazelwood. Thanks for listening. I'm cotton caper so you'll notice me When we're together can't you see

I'm only blowin' off a talkin' biggie Showin' off a cotton caper cause it's true