Your World Tonight - Tariffs coming, Trump targets Zelenskyy, who owns Antarctica, and more

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

The U.S. president says he will impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting tomorrow. Canada is trying to prepare. Ottawa says there are countermeasures ready and waiting, depending on what Donald Trump actually does. That uncertainty is causing stress for businesses waiting to see what happens. We have a story from Windsor, Ontario – home to major auto assembly plants. Full tariffs could mean mass layoffs by the end of the week. Workers there say they are anxious about what comes next.And: Picking up the pieces of the Trump-Zelenskyy relationship. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is leaning on Europe, which is trying to form “a coalition of the willing” to protect his country.Also: Who owns Antarctica? The short answer: no one. But the long-term answer could get more complicated, as countries eye fishing and mineral access to the continent. Does it need more protection?Plus: Ontario changes screen protocol for cervical cancer, Trudeau meets King Charles and more.

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. No room left for Mexico or for Canada. No, the tariffs, you know, they're all set. They go into effect tomorrow.

A tariff time bomb ready to shock the North American economy. With a midnight deadline, Donald Trump saying there's no room left to negotiate and Canada is ready to retaliate dollar for dollar. She'll start feeling some pain. You'll start seeing layoffs. You'll start seeing disruptions in the overall supply chain. With time running out, Canadian workers and businesses are now counting down the hours before they could be counting up the

losses, thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Monday, March 3rd coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern also on the podcast. Our defense, our security, our intelligence are completely intertwined. Looking for a path to security in Ukraine that may not go through Washington. After his disastrous meeting at the White House, Volodymyr Zelensky is promised more support

from the UK and Europe. After months of uncertainty and delays, Donald Trump made it clear. U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods will take effect tomorrow. The looming threat now dangerously close to reality, along with potentially devastating impacts on bottom lines and livelihoods across the country. We have extensive coverage for you, including Ottawa's planned retaliation and how workers in two critical sectors are preparing.

But we begin tonight in Washington. Katie Simpson has our top story. This is a very big day for a lot of reasons. U.S. President Donald Trump confirming the worst case scenario for Canada and Mexico. At an event celebrating a new investment in U.S. semiconductor production, he announced he'll make good on his tariff threat. Very importantly, tomorrow tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico and that'll start.

So they're gonna have to have a tariff. Trump offered multiple reasons for his decision. First, saying he wants auto sector jobs to leave Canada and Mexico with new plants to be built in the U.S. He then returned to his original reasoning, blaming his biggest trading partners for allowing Fentanyl to enter the U.S., declaring he's not open to negotiating. No room left for Mexico or for Canada. The tariffs, you know, they're all set.

They go into effect tomorrow. He also vowed to push ahead with an additional 10 percent tariff on China, meaning its exports will be hit at a 20 percent rate. Stocks dropped immediately following Trump's declaration, as did the Canadian dollar. The day had started with some hope that perhaps Trump would impose a lower tariff rate on Canada and Mexico. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appearing on U.S. cable news to say the president's mind was not fully made up.

He's got to decide how he wants to play. And that's the key to the president's advisors. We are around telling him all the details but then he's going to decide this afternoon and tomorrow we're going to put out those tariffs. Lutnick delivered his usual lines about how neither Canada nor Mexico are meeting the president's standards in stopping fentanyl. Less than 1% of the drug is seized along the northern border though Lutnick's talking points go largely unchallenged by American journalists. All of it has the feeling of an existential Groundhog Day,

another deadline, mixed messages from Washington, and a sense of dread. This is the new normal. So I don't see the president wavering on any of this because he knows in order to get to a world in which America is strong and prosperous. Trade adviser Peter Navarro warning that Trump will aggressively pursue his America first agenda. If Trump doesn't change his mind before midnight, there will be devastating consequences in both Canada and the U.S. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Making sure that pain is felt in the U.S. economy is what Canada's response is aiming

for. The federal government is promising dollar-for-dollar retaliation, with some provinces making plans of their own. Evan Dyer is in Ottawa with that part of the story. I don't want to say that the meetings in Washington are not useful. Immigration Minister Mark Miller says Canadian officials will continue pushing their message right up to the deadline tonight. Even though I come out of some of these meetings with some ambivalence, not knowing whether they've been useful or useless. Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed the same frustration.

We don't know what's coming tomorrow. I'm not even sure if President Trump knows what's coming tomorrow. Ford says he's ready to pull out all the stops to oppose the Trump tariffs. If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything, including cut off their energy, with a smile on my face. Ford went on NBC's Meet the Press to warn Americans he's ready to cut off the supply of electricity and critical raw materials. I will stop shipments going into the US for nickel. It will shut down manufacturing because 50% of the nickel you use is coming out of Ontario.

I've ordered our bureaucrats to cut off tens of billions of dollars of contracts that we have with the US. I'm going after absolutely everything. Ford says his province will also bring in legislation to create clearer country of origin labeling so consumers can avoid US products. Job one is to fight, fight, fight and not to give up. Liberal leadership contender Christia Freeland has staked out the most defiant position against the Trump administration. She also said Canada

should use its most powerful tools in any trade war. You need our potash, you need our uranium, you need our oil and gas and electricity and if you put tariffs on our exports to you, the only impact is going to be higher prices at the checkout counter in the grocery store, higher prices when Americans fill their cars up with gas, and Americans are going to lose their jobs, American businesses are going to go broke. This is an existential threat to us. Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie says Canada's done what it can to avoid confrontation.

We are ready should the US decide to launch the trade war. Jolie says $155 billion worth of counter tariffs are ready to go with the first tranche of $30 billion at midnight tonight. Evan Dyer, CBC News, Ottawa. Well it's a bit like living on a fault line during an earthquake. Canadian border communities are uniquely exposed and vulnerable in this tariff fight. Windsor, Ontario is a hub for the auto industry and the cross-border produce trade. Nisha Patel is there with reaction.

A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of concern. Richard Lee is standing in front of thousands of rows of plants in a greenhouse just outside Windsor, Ontario. He represents Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, which export 85 percent of their peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes to the U.S. This is a live plant. Once it's planted, it's growing. For us to shut the lights off and wait and pause until something happens,

there's really no backup plan at this time. Lee says because their product perishes so easily, it's tough to find an alternative market to the U.S. And growers here say tariffs will hit them hard, slamming a sector that's worth $1.6 billion a year. She'll start feeling some pain. You'll start seeing layoffs, you'll start seeing disruptions in the overall supply chain. The uncertainty itself has already done damage says international trade lawyer Mark Warner and Canadian businesses are facing tough decisions. You've got to figure out is there a business model that works for me that I can sell other

places in the world or sell within Canada or do I have to get within the security of the United States border. Every sector from agriculture to pharmaceuticals packaged goods to lumber is on edge. Some companies are trying to pivot to markets like Europe and Asia as experts warn tariffs could be around for a long time. I don't think Trump will ever fully remove the threat of tariffs from his arsenal. And that strategy could completely upend auto manufacturing, which is Canada's second biggest

export to the US. As Donald Trump has repeatedly said, he wants companies to build their cars in the United States. Aside from blanket tariffs, he's also threatened a separate tax on steel and aluminum imports as well as auto sector tariffs. It's a death knell for this entire industry. Derek Gungle says it's tense right now at the auto assembly plant where he works in Windsor. It's unreal like I mean we never know what

we're going to be expecting one day to the next. Auto workers like him may be the first to feel the brunt of US tariffs. Factories could grind to a halt in about a week. From parts manufacturers to tool, dye, and mold makers, more than 100,000 jobs are at risk. It's an emotional rollercoaster. Jason Mercier, who's worked at the same plant for 25 years, says the past few weeks have caused a lot of mental anguish.

There's nobody really going around telling us, oh, everything's going to be OK. Nobody's telling us that. He says if the plant were to shut down, the ripple effects would be felt throughout the city. It's devastating. You know, where are people are going to work? Where are they going to go?

For now, all he can do is hope for the best and plan for the worst. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. Coming up on the podcast, Europe's plans to support Ukraine as tension between President Zelensky and Trump simmers. Prime Minister Trudeau has a private meeting with King Charles amid calls for the monarch to publicly support Canada's sovereignty, plus Antarctica under political pressure.

There is reaction today to a new European proposal to end the war in Ukraine. A so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would look to protect the country but would still require US support, once a given but now in question following last week's explosive confrontation in the Oval Office. Katie Nicholson has more from Washington. Days after the diplomatic rupture that put a deal between the US and Ukraine on ice, a hint all is not lost. I think everybody has to get into a room, so to speak, and we have to make a deal.

And the deal can be made very fast. Even so, US President Donald Trump's long-standing tensions with Ukraine's leader still bubbling to the surface. Now, maybe somebody doesn't want to make a deal. And if somebody doesn't want to make a deal, I somebody doesn't want to make a deal I think that person won't be around very long." For his part Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky signaled a willingness to work together, saying Ukraine, Europe and America can ensure decades of stability, but to achieve this, they must be constructive. Friday's blowout in the Oval Office between Trump,

Vice President J.D. Vance and Zelensky gave a new sense of urgency to weekend meetings in London between Ukraine and its allies, and left many in Europe questioning whether they could rely on the U.S. The U.S. and the U.K. have the closest of relationships. And one, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed today to MPs, remained critical. Our defence, our security, our intelligence are completely intertwined. Ukraine's allies, frantic to both repair Friday's diplomatic damage and help Ukraine get a new peace deal on the table.

France has floated the idea of a month-long pause in the war to test Russia's commitment to the process. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barreau telling a national radio show, a truce will attest to the good faith of Vladimir Putin. I think a one-month ceasefire does have some problems. Bronwyn Maddox is with Chatham House, a London-based international think tank. The Ukrainians are the first to point this out and say, look, what we don't want is to give Russia a month off to regroup, to get its drones together, to get more soldiers ready for the front line.

At the same time, European leaders rattled by the potential upending of America's role in the post-World War II order, now looking to increase their own security. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set to introduce a Rearmed Europe plan tomorrow. We need a massive surge in defense without any question. We want lasting peace, but lasting peace can only be built on strength. And strength begins with strengthening ourselves. The price tag for Europe to guard itself against possible Russian aggression is steep. One preliminary estimate suggests a $380 billion hike in defense spending. Something, oddly enough, likely to please the White House and improve relations with the U.S.

Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Toronto. Before Prime Minister Trudeau returned home from that meeting with European leaders, he went to see King Charles, likely Trudeau's last visit as Canada's Prime Minister. As Briar Stewart reports, the discussion was dominated by another world leader. I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty. That was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking yesterday ahead of his visit with King Charles at the Royal Family's Sandringham estate. For weeks US President Donald Trump has been talking

about Canada becoming the 51st state, raising the ire of Canadians and prompting political reaction across the country. But there's been no statement coming from the very top, Canada's head of state King Charles. And even after Trudeau's visit, Canadians shouldn't expect the King to tell Trump to keep his hands off Canada because the British monarchy doesn't usually wade into political matters publicly. They don't issue directives or respond to pronouncements from other governments. It's much more about sort of calming things down. Robert Hardman is an author and royal expert with the Daily Mail.

He says while the King takes advice from prime ministers in the Commonwealth, none of them would want to drag the monarch into political waters. Instead, it's more about soft power. It's much more nuanced. It's much more in the margins. I mean, yes, we all know the monarchy is above politics. But, you know, they can make a difference in different ways. Such as an in-person visit to Canada to show support. David Schneiderman is a law professor at the University of Toronto. He says he would be surprised if Trudeau asked the King to

speak out. Rather, the people who should be speaking out against Donald Trump's taunts about the 51st state are people like Keir Starmer. I think you're trying to find a divide between us that doesn't exist with... The UK Prime Minister brushed aside a question about Canadian sovereignty during a joint press conference with Trump last week at the White House, saying the US and the UK are the closest of nations. So can I present a letter from the King? Thank you very much. That same day Starmor gave Trump an invite from the King for a state visit.

Hosting world leaders is part of the British monarchy's role. But in central London some Brits like Roy Coleman say they should keep it brief. Maybe the King doesn't have to host him for too long. It can be like a cup of tea and a cake and then off you go play around a golf. Ian Rabbage says if there is a visit there should be a response. I'd love to see the British public out there expressing their displeasure at this man. Even if they believe it was inevitable for the palace to extend a cordial invite to Trump. Briar Stewart, CBC News, London.

The United Nations is calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed back into Gaza and for the release of all remaining hostages. The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas ended over the weekend. There's still no agreement on a second phase, including the release of all hostages and a permanent end to the war. Israel offered to extend the first phase for 30 days but Hamas is refusing. Yesterday Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza. UN spokesperson Stefan Dujaric says the decision is alarming.

The ceasefire has provided the opportunity to distribute food, to distribute water, as well as shelter assistance and medical aid, allowing nearly everyone in Gaza to receive a food parcel. Our humanitarian partners tell us that following the closure of the crossings into Gaza yesterday, flour and vegetable prices increased more than 100 fold. UNICEF warns that the stoppage of aid deliveries into Gaza will quickly lead to devastating consequences for children and families who are struggling to survive. Arab leaders are in Egypt for an emergency summit on what should happen in Gaza after the war.

Ontario is changing how it screens for cervical cancer. The new method tests for HPV, the human papilloma virus, experts say it's a more accurate method than the PAP test, but will still involve what can be an uncomfortable visit to a doctor. Mike Crawley explains. So it's a more accurate test to predict who is going to be at risk. Dr. Vivian Brown teaches at the University of Toronto's Department of Family and Community Medicine. Screening for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer, has an accuracy rate of about 90 percent, much

higher than the PAP test. Brown praises Ontario for making the switch. A Pap test picks up an abnormality once it's already there. HPV screening is picking up human papilloma virus before it has a chance to do any harm to the cervix. The incidence of cervical cancer in Canada dropped dramatically from the 1970s until the early 2000s, mainly thanks to widespread use of the PAP test. But more recently, the proportion of women getting screened has declined, and the incidence of cervical cancer has started to rise among women who became adults before the HPV vaccine became widely available. Experts believe both trends can be reversed by making the screening easier, including allowing women

to collect their test sample themselves at home. Dr. Amanda Selk is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. Unfortunately, right now, Ontario is just doing HPV testing that's provider-collected, meaning it feels exactly the same as a PAP test. And I've yet to meet someone who thinks that's a really comfortable test. Prince Edward Island was the first province to switch to HPV screening in 2023. Quebec and British Columbia followed suit last year.

Only BC makes at-home collection widely available. It's a really great test, and it's been going very, very well. Dr. Renee Hall is medical director of Willow Reproductive Health Centre in Vancouver. The ability to do a test in your own home and just mail it in, just improves access so much for so many people.

Hall says the self-collected test is no less accurate than when it's done by a doctor or a nurse and helps reach people who might be reluctant to come to a clinic. Sometimes people have concerns around having speculum exams in general. There may be history of trauma, there may be a mistrust of the medical system, or there may be difficulty with access in very small communities.

Ontario is starting a pilot project for at-home sample collection in just 10 clinics. Dr. Dustin Kostescu leads the province's cervical screening program. I appreciate the enthusiasm towards a self-collected option and I do think we'll get there but we just need more time to understand the data. About 1,600 Canadian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Mike Crowley, CBC News, Toronto. The Vatican says the Pope was put on mechanical ventilation again today after two respiratory attacks. Pope Francis has been in hospital for two weeks.

He has pneumonia in both lungs and has had some evidence of renal failure. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. Even through ages of war, exploration and colonial expansion, it has stood alone as a continent without any countries. But now the international cooperation that has governed Antarctica for decades is under stress.

Senior International Climate Correspondent Susan Ormiston has that story from onboard a Canadian expedition to the continent. Under a brilliant blue sky surrounded by glacier white ice, a Brazilian Navy research ship and Canada's HMCS Margaret Brook glided into Admiralty Bay, a naval pass in a continent that no country owns. Military engagement is banned here unless in support of scientific research, part of an international treaty forged during the Cold War. The Antarctic Treaty, first and foremost, is an arms control treaty.

Preserving Antarctica for science and peace. But the treaty is being severely tested, says Klaus Dodds, an expert in Antarctica at Royal Holloway University of London. The Antarctic Treaty is under considerable stress and strain, probably entering the worst period it's ever experienced. Decisions have to be agreed to by 29 voting members, and with Russia's war in Ukraine and China's ambitions, agreement is breaking down.

As the relationship with Russia has deteriorated so badly, and then throw into the mix China becoming a more assertive polar actor, it's becoming really hard to find consensus. On Sunday, a delegation of the Navy and Canadian scientists went ashore on King George Island, welcomed by pruning penguins. Hi, I'm Terry Shearer. I'm the captain of the Margaret Brook that you've seen operate here the last 24 hours.

Their visit to Brazil's scientific research station, part of Canada's science diplomacy in Antarctica. Canada signed on to the treaty in 1988, but it wants to join the inner circle of voting members. The last three or four years Canada's claim to be a consultative party has been blocked first and foremost by Russia. Russia wants its ally Belarus to be a voting member and if not it refuses Canada according to Dodds.

One more example of strained relations says Evan Bloom, formerly a senior official at the US State Department. There's also a question about whether demilitarization will hold. Last year Russia and China vetoed more marine protected areas here and stalled on fishing quotas says Linda Goldsworthy at the University of Tasmania. China has made it very clear, as is their right, that they wish to be more influential within the Antarctic Treaty system. Back on King George Island, a Brazilian scientist,

Monica Pecci, warns Antarctica needs protection. Our word is praised nowadays. There are two words to define Antarctica. It's peace and science. And I think that with peace and science we can live in a better way. Susan Ormiston, CBC News in Admiralty Bay, Antarctica. Finally, from a stark landscape here on Earth to another that's hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

Three contact sensors trip. Power's nominal vehicle is charging. IMU reports lunar gravity and it is stable. All cons, you pensioner on ops. Y'all suck the landing, we're on the move. Woo! The sound of mission control when earlier today the Blue Ghost Lander touched down on the moon. It is a robotic spacecraft built by the Texas-based aerospace startup Firefly. This is only the second

time a privately built spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon. Jason Kim is CEO of Firefly. Well, if you look at everybody in that mission control room and everybody at our company, you don't have to always be a rocket scientist, although we have some great ones at the company. We have people from all walks of life, people that started off with music careers

or seamstress or welders. So we hope that the Fireflies today inspired a whole generation. The moon is getting busier. Another U.S. lander is scheduled to touch down on Thursday. And a Japanese spacecraft is also en route. It's part of an effort to boost commercial exploration ahead of NASA sending astronauts back to the moon later this decade.

Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Monday, March 3rd. I'm Susan Bonner. Have a good evening.