Your World Tonight - Tariff tailspin: Stock markets dive, Canada posts job losses, competing visions for the CBC, and a Canadian woman detained by U.S. border agents speaks out

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Donald Trump’s unprecedented global trade war is leading to historic losses on financial markets. Trillions of dollars have been wiped out, while new data shows the Canadian economy lost thousands of jobs last month.And: Ontario continues to struggle through the aftermath of a massive ice storm.Also: A Canadian woman detained by U.S. border agents tells her story.Plus: Battleground Quebec, candidates dropped, competing visions for the CBC and more.

When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of a deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers are finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he? I'm Sam Mullins and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncovered, available now.

This is a CBC Podcast. It is now becoming clear that tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include higher inflation and slower growth. What the head of the US Federal Reserve is saying very carefully is the tariffs announced by the White House and the counter tariffs are having a chilling effect on business owners, workers here in Canada, in the US and around the world. And so far, the global markets are very, very unhappy. Welcome to your world tonight. It's Friday, April 4th, just before 6pm Eastern time. I'm Stephanie Scanderas. Also on the

podcast. We will modernize the mandate of our public broadcaster. We will give it the resources it needs to fulfill its renewed mission. We can't go on spending money we don't have on things we don't need or our people are going to end up with even more brutal inflation. Tuning in to competing visions for the future of the CBC as the party leader's campaign in Quebec. as the party leaders campaign in Quebec.

Confusion, uncertainty, chaos. Days after Donald Trump launched his first large-scale economic attack in an unprecedented international trade war, countries are scrambling to respond to the United States crippling tariffs. Markets around the world are tanking, and whispers of a global recession are getting louder. Paul Hunter begins our coverage from Washington.

With U.S. stock markets in an apparent freefall tumbling again today in the aftermath of Donald Trump's global tariffs... The worst policy mistake in 100 years. ...countless, including Dan Ives, managing director with Wedbush Securities, stand in near disbelief. It's an economic armageddon that was unleashed by Trump. And the tariff war has begun.

Indeed, in China today, word that country has hit back at the U.S. big time with a 34 percent tariff on all American goods going into China. Meanwhile, other countries are already taking a different tack. Vietnam and Cambodia, for instance, telling the U.S. they're willing to negotiate with Trump to ease the tariffs. The giant European Union, meanwhile, considering its next steps. While back in the U.S. Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans. Word today, California is looking at going it alone with Governor Gavin Newsom speaking

out on social media. Today I've directed my administration to look at new opportunities to expand trade and to remind our trading partners around the globe that California remains a stable partner. And across the U.S., confusion now mixes with fear among shoppers. At a furniture store in Bowie, Maryland, where most of what they sell is imported, customers worry they'll soon be unable to afford any of it. And it's going to be bad for American people.

And into all of this, the U.S. Federal Reserve, which sets U.S. interest rates, itself still trying to assess the impact of Trump's tumultuous move. Here's the chair of the reserve, Jerome Powell. It is now becoming clear that tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth. The size and duration of these effects remains uncertain. Enraged by all of it, Trump's political opponents. From the floor of the U.S. Senate, senior Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. Fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, more expensive. Clothing and shoes, more expensive. Gasoline and new cars, more expensive. Electronics like iPhones and TVs, more expensive.

Donald Trump has single-handedly started a financial forest fire. Said Donald Trump on social media today, only the weak will fail. My policies, he wrote, will never change. This is a great time to get rich. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Well, how the world feels about US tariffs is certainly coming through on global markets. Let's bring in senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong for more on where the trading week ended and what people are most worried about. Peter, as we just heard, Donald Trump says it's a great time to get rich.

Is it? Donald Trump says it's a great time to get rich. Is it? The question embedded in that is whether what we're seeing today on markets is the bottom. And I don't know about that. These losses are staggering. More than $6 trillion in value has been wiped out. The S&P fell more than 9% in five days. The NASDAQ has fallen 20% from the peak.

So it's definitely a hard time to get rich. Okay, but Trump and his entourage will say to that, well, the US economy is still solid. Markets are just panicking. So what do you make of that? Well, look, there's some truth to that. The economy is strong. Jobs numbers came out today in the United States

and they were way better than expected. That does look back though, at a time relatively peaceful time before the tariff war had begun in earnest, but even that good news was completely overshadowed by the fears of what a trade war will do both globally and to the American economy. And amidst all this, investors still, Stephanie, believe these tariffs are going to be rolled back. They think there's going to be some kind of negotiation and that markets can then rally again.

But that implies if those negotiations don't emerge, things could get much worse. How much worse? Talk to me about the R word. Well, look, the chances of a recession are certainly rising. Uh, JP Morgan says there's like a 60% chance of a global recession.

Uh, chances of a U S recession have risen to 30% because if these tariffs are implemented and actually begin to really bite, they'll hurt consumers, they'll shrink business margins, they'll hurt the entire American economy. And what about here in Canada? Because the jobs numbers here don't make it look like we have much of a cushion. No, we don't. Canada lost 33,000 jobs last month. And remember, much like I just said about the US numbers, these losses came in before

tariffs really started to bite. One economist said that it looks like the wheels may be starting to come off the Canadian labour market. So that just doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room ahead of the impact of the trade war that we know is going to have when it hits the Canadian economy. Okay, Peter, thank you. You bet. That's senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong in Toronto.

Coming up on the podcast, just a few weeks before the election, the liberals and conservatives have had to give some of their candidates the boot. Plus people in Ontario are still dealing with the fallout of a damaging ice storm. And we hear from the Canadian who was detained crossing the border into the U.S. And what happened to her as the Canadian government issues new travel advice? I resiled to no one in terms of my understanding of the West, my connection to the West. I think such dramatic comments are unhelpful at a time when Canadians are coming together.

And that is the sense in the West as well. Liberal leader Mark Carney noted his Alberta upbringing today as he addressed the issue of Western separatism at a campaign stop in Montreal. It comes after a recent newspaper op-ed from Preston Manning. The Reform Party founder says feelings of Western alienation and independence will boil over if the Liberals are re-elected, going as far as to say that a vote for the Liberals is a vote for the breakup of Canada. Manning spoke with CBC Radio's The House in an interview that will air tomorrow.

For nine years the Liberal administration has neglected even demean the particularly the natural resource sectors which are the strengths of the of the Canadian and certainly the Western economy. If the Liberals are returned then that would be a forum for dealing then what are the options for the West which would include the secession option. Elsewhere on the federal campaign trail, Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev is focusing on the justice system, promising to create a new criminal offence for intimate partner violence. My Conservative government will ensure that criminals stay behind bars and victims stay safe.

We will lock up violent abusers longer to keep them away from children and women and we will bring home the safe communities that Canadians deserve. Speaking in Trauille-Vert-Québec, Polyev said changes to the criminal code would lead to tougher sentencing and that a conservative government would ensure jail, not bail, for people accused of domestic violence. Polyev said those who do get bail would be forced to wear an ankle bracelet. We believe that if you make a profit in Canada,

you should be able to contribute back to this country. The NDP leader was in Montreal today taking aim at offshore tax havens. Jagmeet Singh is pledging to end loopholes that make it easier for Canadian companies to register accounts in foreign countries. Singh says an NDP government would end tax agreements with tax havens like Bermuda. The party says these loopholes cost Canada tens of billions of dollars in unpaid corporate taxes each year.

You should be able to contribute to the services that allow your company to make money in the first place. So New Democrats are in it for you. We're not trying to protect the profits of billionaires. We are fighting for you and your family to have the services and the infrastructure that you need. The future of CBC and Radio Canada is also in the spotlight on the campaign trail. Liberal leader Mark Carney is pledging to boost funding and to modernize the public broadcasters mandate. Pierre Polyev has made the CBC a target for cuts and that hasn't changed.

Cameron McIntosh reports. I am here to talk about dying in Schitt's Creek. Citing the cultural relevance of shows like Schitt's Creek, Hockey Night in Canada, and a need for reliable news, Liberal leader Mark Carney vowing to modernize and strengthen CBC Radio Canada today. Canada's identity and institutions are under attack by foreign interference.

Promising more local news and supports for promoting Canadian culture, Carney is calling for $150 million in additional spending on CBC Radio Canada's 1.38 billion dollar budget, along with a promise to keep that funding stable, rising over time, as CBC pursues a new mandate. Our plan will safeguard a reliable Canadian public square in a sea of misinformation and disinformation. For years, Conservative leader Pierre Polyaev has insisted CBC has lost relevance, promising

to defund it. My approach won't have an impact on Radio Canada. Today he said he'd keep French services but did not mention English CBC by name as he took aim at Carney for making another spending promise. We can't go on spending money we don't have on things we don't need. The Green Party and NDP have also expressed support for CBC Radio Canada. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh speaking this morning.

So I think it's very important for us to invest significantly in a public broadcaster as a way to fight back against misinformation and disinformation. Carney's promise also includes investments in digital storytelling and a mandated role in providing information in life-threatening emergencies. Changes in funding would have to be approved by Parliament, not just the Cabinet of the day. Researchers say that aligns with what recent polls suggest most Canadians want from their public broadcaster.

Our research showed that 57% of Canadians would maintain or increase funding to the CBC. Jessica Johnson is a senior fellow at McGill's Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy. Over half of people said the CBC needs to do both news and cultural programming. Debate over the future of and need for CBC Radio Canada has gone on for years. Meanwhile, in a statement, a CBC spokesperson said, during the election campaign period, we do not have any comment on the party's positions on CBC Radio Canada.

Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Winnipeg. The Liberals have dropped an Edmonton area candidate after past controversial comments resurfaced. Several Conservative candidates have been dropped this week as well. As Madeleine Cummings tells us, the clock is ticking for parties to find replacements. With just a few days before the nomination deadline, Edmonton candidate Rod Loyola is no longer running for the Liberals and he's now running as an independent in a different riding. Loyola, a longtime Alberta NDP MLA, had recently announced he was representing the liberals

in Edmonton Gateway. But now a party spokesperson has confirmed he's not their candidate anymore. This comes after the National Post asked the liberal campaign about a 2009 video in which Loyola praised the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. These are movements for national liberation, not terrorists.

The party hasn't given reasons for their decision. But Loyola says a campaign co-chair revoked his candidacy, referencing the video. I'll be honest, it's quite unfathomable that I'm being cancelled over a video that was recorded 16 years ago. Loyola now says he condemns terrorism. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have recently parted ways with candidates. Toronto area Liberal incumbent Paul Chang withdrew his candidacy earlier

this week after suggesting people turn in a Conservative to the Chinese consulate and collect a bounty. Also this week the Conservatives dropped five candidates. Late Friday the party confirmed Simon Payet won't be a candidate in Quebec due to inappropriate conduct. Also in Quebec, Stephane Marquis, who posted about conspiracy theories on social media, announced he was out due to recent posts he made on X. John Sierosky, a political science professor at McEwen University, says numerous departures can look bad for a party, but the alternative isn't good either. Then you're, you know, allowing people who should otherwise probably not,

you know, be entitled to that high position of MP, you know, to aspire to and end up in those kinds of positions. Mark Carney and Pierre Poliev have both defended their party's vetting procedures. Carney saying in French today, En général oui. the liberal selection process is generally robust, but if there is a problem it must be fixed and has been. Speaking Thursday, Poliev said the conservatives' process is the strongest of all the parties.

That's why we have a zero tolerance for anyone who acts unacceptably. Political consultant Alan Bonner says with election day looming, campaigns are running out of time to print flyers and lawn signs. I've seen a campaign get lost because they couldn't print up lawn signs in time. So this is not good. Parties have until 2 p.m. on Monday to nominate candidates. Madeline Cummings, CBC News, Edmonton. Well, seat-rich Quebec is taking centre stage on the campaign trail today

with leaders of all five major parties there trying to woo voters in person. It's clearly a battleground. And as Rafi Boujikaneen reports, despite several missteps, the Liberals appear to hold a lead. The Quebec people constitute a nation within Canada. Liberal leader Marc Carney in Montreal this morning, making a slight tweak to how he referred to Quebec last night on Radio-Canada. It's a nation and a society distinct.

When he also called it a distinct society, now seen as an outdated term. It's the latest in what his opponents call a series of gaffes related to this province, including mistaking which mass shooting one of his candidates survived, referring to Concordia University instead of École Polytechnique, and bailing on a TVR French language debate. Despite it all, the Liberals are still well ahead in the polls in Quebec. With 78 seats up for grabs, it is a major campaign target that leaders of all the major parties visited today. The Bloc Québécois brushing off that Liberal lead.

You know what? In 2019 and in 2021, the Bloc Québécois completed the campaign much higher than it had started it. Leader Yves-François Blanchet saying it is hardly the first time he's had to come back from behind. We prevented the liberals from having a majority government. But Sébastien Dallaire, with the Léger Marketing polling firm, warns Blanchet is facing a challenge he has not before. The presence of Donald Trump, especially what we could call the Trump eclipse right now.

He says the US president's tariff and sovereignty threats have taken the wind out of the bloc's sails, prevented it from capitalizing on Carney's errors. It also speaks to the importance of the moment, what the key issues are or the key issue is, which is how to deal with Donald Trump. So that has allowed Mark Carney to maybe stick handle around some of those controversies so far. The Bloc faces another challenge too. It's nearly tied for support with conservatives in Quebec under Pierre Paulyev, according to the CBC poll tracker. Great to be here. Thank you. Paulyev out in Trois-Rivières this afternoon,

writing the Conservatives narrowly lost four years ago has this message to Quebec voters worried about standing up to the U.S. Do you want a fourth liberal term of costs and crime up and the economy down under America's thumb, or do you want a new conservative government that will bring down the cost of living for a change? This as the NDP tries to hold on to its single seed in La Belle Provence and the Greens co-leader fights to even secure his in Montreal illustrating how much in Quebec like everywhere else what happens south of the border is impacting this campaign. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Toronto.

It's been nearly a week since a powerful ice storm battered Ontario. The biggest and most powerful storm to hit the province in decades. One question still lingers for thousands of people. When's the power coming back on? Lisa Shingnau with the answer. I want to apologize to the people that I have not been able to get back to that weighs on me more than anything. Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Orillia Ontario after an ice storm caused nearly a million

customers to lose power he said crews are doing their best. They're going around the clock you know I wish we had a little button we could switch on. Last weekend in central and eastern Ontario, freezing rain fell for several days. Some areas got up to 25 millimeters. Oh my god! It encased trees in ice, damaged power lines. While most have their power back, on Friday, almost a week later tens of thousands were still waiting including Elaine Muzovetsky and her partner who say Ford's visit to their area is of little comfort. We're not being taken care of by our government and I feel like

I'm living like little house on the prairie. We have a bucket outside our door to flush the toilet. Jim and Anne McKean have a generator but that still means prioritizing what they use. It's lucky we don't have smell a vision. No showers, six days, okay. No cooking. We'd like to get back to normal. The storm lasted longer than expected so the damage is compounded making it tough for crews for several reasons says Hydro One spokesperson Tiziana

Bachega-Rosa. It's severe not simple like one fix at each location there's multiples they are traversing challenging terrain where crews are now you know using off-road vehicles and equipment. About 4,000 Hydro One staff are in the field alongside crews from Quebec and New Brunswick. While residents like Marc Mayo say they recognize the difficulty of the task, they're tired of waiting. It's been frustrating like we're ready for it to come back on now. Like we understand like power can go out for a couple days at a time, but for

five days, this is getting a little long. I can't even go to work. Through all this, Orillia Mayor Don MacIsaac says he's heartened to see neighbours helping each other. People are leaning on each other and helping us. It's just wonderful. It's a privilege to see. But like for me, I don't take any credit for it because it'd be like a rooster claiming credit for Don. I mean, it's like it's just working around me and it's wonderful to see. Hadra One says the majority of customers will have electricity restored by the end of the weekend, but those in remote areas will likely have to wait longer.

Lisa Sheng, CBC News, Toronto. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you 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. The Government of Canada is issuing new travel advice for the U.S. tonight, warning Canadians to expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including searching electronic devices. The update comes after reports of a series of detentions at the U.S. border, including a Canadian woman last month.

Jasmine Mooney was detained while trying to apply for a work visa to enter the states from Mexico. Yvette Brand has more on what happened next. This man just comes out and he goes, Jasmine can you come with me? And I go with him and next you know they take my things, they take my luggage, they took my phone. That was the beginning of an 11-day ordeal in detention for Jasmine Mooney. First she was walked into a cement cell dubbed an icebox. I mean there was girls laying on the ground with this aluminum blanket

over their body like a dead body it looked like there was a bunch of dead bodies in there. To understand how she ended up there you have to go back about a year. Mooney, a 35 year old-old former actress who had launched bars and restaurants in BC, was working in California marketing health products. Last spring, US border officials denied her application for a work visa at a BC border crossing. She says the agent told her she was missing letterhead and sent her away. That red flag, that denial really avalanched into a lot of problems down the line for me. On the advice of her lawyer, she went to Mexico to get a visa and it was approved.

Last November she ran into trouble again heading back to California for the second time her visa was revoked. So in March, she tried to do what she'd done before and flew down to Mexico. The worst that I thought that could happen is I would get denied again and people are like why did you go to that border? To be honest I was comfortable with that border. Len Saunders is her immigration lawyer. I advised her not to do it because it was right after the new administration and I started seeing these cases pop up. Mooney's story went viral after she and her friend were able to get her plea out to the media.

Now her tale serves as a warning, one of the recent examples of how U.S. border agents are handling non-citizens applying for visas. What's unusual about these cases, in my mind, there's really no immigration violation. You have Jasmine the Canadian who is detained on the southern border because they said she didn't have a proper work permit. That's what she was applying for. Mooney was deported and banned from the US for five years. She wants to go back and plans to appeal.

For now she says she'll keep recounting what she saw inside detention centers. That place breaks you into a million pieces. It is so disgusting what goes on in there. She's telling not just her story but that of hundreds of other women she met in icy cells from all over the world. One from India was held there for eight months. They're telling their stories and they're just trying to make a better life for their children. Giving up everything for their children. And they're put through this.

There has to be a better system and that's why. They told Mooney perhaps she went through this for a reason. Yvette Brand, CBC News, Vancouver. Finally, 1444 Argyle Avenue on the beach in West Vancouver has finally been sold. That's significant because the buyer is the city and it completes a decades old project to make a huge waterfront park.

Terry and Joanne Fruer bought the house in 1978. When we were first married we went looking for a place. We had two little boys and we settled here. This was, Joanne figured out this was the ideal place to raise little kids and the boys were little beach urchins. They just took off all day on the beach. It's great. They paid about a hundred and eighty thousand dollars for the home. It's a fairly small house but right on the beach with an amazing view,

a Japanese garden and mature trees. They loved it and they stayed even as more and more people on either side began moving away. Today it looks a bit out of place, surrounded by green grass and sand. Frewer says they got a call from the mayor a couple of years ago saying their house was the last piece of the puzzle. The way they've developed this park has been so beautiful. It's really to my and Joanne's taste it's very natural, you know, seagrassel and you know nothing, nothing contrived and very accessible to the to the beaches and so to be part of that we're actually quite proud to. If we have

to leave and the house is gone at least it's going to be you know a beautiful extension of what we've already been enjoying all this time. And the price tag takes a bit of the sting away. The city is paying them seven million dollars. Still the fruers say it'll be hard to say goodbye, although they admit it'll be nice to have neighbors again. This has been your World Tonight for April 4th, 2025. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Thank you for listening. [♪ music playing [♪ music playing

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