Your World Tonight - Vancouver car ramming, Final day of election campaign, and more

Episode Date: April 27, 2025

At least 11 people are dead and dozens more are injured after an SUV was allegedly rammed through the crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver. We have extensive coverage of the investigation now underway - and how communities in B.C. and across the country are mourning.Also: The federal election campaign is coming to a close. We have an in depth look at how campaign 2025 went -- from each of the main parties: the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois

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. Last night there was a horrible tragedy that occurred at a happy event and we're still reeling from it. Vancouver is reeling. Filipino Canadians are mourning and Canada is in shock.

Everyone trying to make sense of just how something like this could happen and why. A man allegedly driving an SUV through a crowd of people at a Filipino heritage festival killing 11, injuring dozens more. This is your World Tonight. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. You'll hear the latest on the incident in Vancouver, how the country is reacting, what we know about the suspect,

and the security measures that were in place. This is the darkest day in our city's history. It is also the last day for campaigning in the federal election. We'll tell you how the leaders are responding to the day's events and what they are watching for as this campaign comes to a close. More than a hundred Vancouver police officers are investigating last night's incident and now a man has been criminally charged. As you heard, 11 people were killed.

They're between the ages of 5 and 65 and police are still working to identify them. Court records show the 30-year-old man faces eight counts of murder. Earlier today, police said he has an extensive history of interactions with authorities. Georgie Smythe has the latest. The emergency has been dispatched. Ambulance has been dispatched. A woman documents the moments after a Vancouver Filipino street festival becomes a scene of senseless violence. So, 9-1-1 is already here.

Move to the side, move to the side. Stay back, stay back. Video shared online shows victims of all ages lying on the street after a black Audi SUV was allegedly driven into the tightly packed crowd still enjoying Lapu Lapu day. The driver is gone. The driver is gone. Some car, some Audi, black Audi, he just like stopped. Joshua Polentin saw it happen just after eight last night. He just pushed the gas all the way through the whole block right there, crashing into like everyone in his way.

It just doesn't make any sense for me. Daniela Romero, who lives nearby, remembers the sound. I hear boom, boom, boom. And I turn around and say to my mom, do you think there are gunshots? Then Romero heard children screaming. So I came out and turns out the boom I was hearing, it was the guy with the car crashing all the people

from here all the way there. The street where thousands enjoyed a vibrant street festival yesterday was today littered with debris and evidence markers as police try to piece together what happened inside the extensive crime scene. This is the darkest day in our city's history. Interim Police Chief Steve Rye is from the Vancouver Police Department. He says onlook is held on to 30-year-old Kaiji Adam Lowe from Vancouver, who has now been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.

He remains in custody. Social media video shows a large group of men boxing the accused in against a chain link fence before police arrive. The VPD doesn't believe his actions are terror-related. His motives are still not known. The person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and healthcare professionals related to mental health. Festival organizers like R.J. Aquino say they're numb. Sorry, haven't slept. Last night there was a horrible tragedy that occurred at a happy event and we're still reeling from it.

Questions around the event's security remain unanswered like how a vehicle was able to gain access to a closed street. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim repeated calls for changes to involuntary care for chronic offenders and asked the city to look into how to make events safer. I've directed a full review of our event safety measures including barriers, traffic control and safety protocols. Vancouver, a city forever changed. Georgie Smythe, CBC News, Vancouver. The impact of the incident in Vancouver is being felt right across the country. As Yasmine Raneillat tells us, it's not just triggering grief among Canadians, many are

reaching out in support. To the tune of the piano, mourners packed into a Vancouver church blocks away from where the deadly incident unfolded. Many say they are still in shock, trying to come to terms with the horrific events. Father Expedito Farinas. It was meant to be a day filled with music, sorry, dancing, food, laughter. But it turned out to be a traumatizing day to the whole community. They're leaning on their faith to help heal. Among those in attendance, BC Premier David Eby.

It's hard to feel it now, but we'll come out of it stronger. You can see the community standing together here today, as we will in the days to come with the family and friends of those who were injured, those who died. On Saturday, thousands of people were attending the Lapu Lapu Day Festival, named after an indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th century. The Filipino community is one of the most resilient, dynamic, joyful, generous, loving communities in our nation. Longtime Vancouver area MP and NDP candidate Don Davies became emotional when addressing the

church crowd. It's a senseless tragedy that has taken the lives of innocent people who were gathered in celebration, in pride, in culture. The Filipino community is the third largest cultural group in BC, says Statistics Canada, with more than 170,000 people. Across the country, the Filipino community is providing support. In Edmonton, coffee shop owner Mavy Tolentino is collecting funds for the families that are affected. Today is just about providing food and space. That's all we could offer right now as a small business. But sometimes those are all the things that you need to get through the day. Le Navarro, chair of the Manitoba Filipino Street Festival,

says Vancouver's deadly incident is making him reconsider security measures for his events. So now I am thinking maybe we should rethink of what we should do for this year, whether do it inside the grounds or not down the street. As the community waits to hear more about what happened, they say they won't let the tragedy define them. Yasmine Ranea, CBC News, Vancouver. With large events planned in Vancouver and in many communities right across the country this summer, police and organizers are facing questions about the security plan for the Lapu Lapu Day block party.

Philip Lee Shannok reports on that. It is hard to make sense of something so senseless. Constable Steve Rye, serving as Vancouver's interim police chief, faced questions about how an SUV gained access to the festival grounds in the first place. I know there are questions about whether this tragedy could have been prevented. Rye said most of the festival activities were on the grounds of a high school. The road had barriers to restrict vehicle access to the site for food trucks and he

said police did conduct a risk assessment. There were no known threats to the event or to the Filipino community. We determined through consultations with the City of Vancouver and festival organizers that dedicated police officers and heavy vehicle barricades would not be deployed at the festival site. While he's confident in the risk assessment and public safety plan, still he says there will be a review. We will be working with our partners at the City of Vancouver to review all of the circumstances surrounding the planning of this event.

BCMLA Mabel Elmore represents the Vancouver Kensington riding. She's Filipino and knows the organizers. The festival is just steps from her office. Yeah, so events like this go through a comprehensive risk assessment and that was part of the process for preparing for the block party. Events that draw big crowds have been recent targets of vehicle ramming attacks. On New Year's Day, a driver plowed a pickup truck through a crowd of revelers in New Orleans' historic Bourbon Street killing 14 people and just before Christmas a car drove into

a crowded market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg killing five people and injuring more than 200. Roadways were designed for vehicles they weren't designed for festivals. Kevin Kennedy is founder of Crowd Safety Solutions. The Toronto company does safety planning and emergency response for such events. He says festival risk assessments shouldn't just be about preventing vehicular attacks. We have to be concerned also for the inadvertent driver, the driver who might be impaired or somebody who might be distracted by their phone.

And just driving down a street they normally drive down where it's clear and open. Vancouver's mayor has called for a full review of their safety protocols including what kind of barriers should be used to protect the public. Philip Leshanok, CBC News, Toronto. The Philippines ambassador to Canada, Maria Andralita Austria, calls the incident a senseless tragedy and says her teams are working with victims' families and the injured. We are very grateful for the quick action by the first responders.

The Philippine government, the Philippine embassy and the Philippine consulates all over Canada stand with you in grief. We are here to support you in any way we can. Leaders from around the world are also reacting. In a statement, King Charles says he and his wife, Camilla, are profoundly saddened by what he calls a desperate tragedy. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky calls it a sad day and says, quote, Ukrainians deeply share the pain

of Canadians, Vancouver residents, and the Canadian Filipino community, unquote. Coming right up, it's the final day of campaigning, but it's not going as planned. Leaders are reacting to the deadly event in Vancouver. But we have an in-depth look at how campaign 2025 went from each of the main parties. We'll also look at how they've approached a major national emergency,

the toxic drug crisis, and their plans to tackle it. That's coming up on Your World Tonight. The final day of the federal election campaign has understandably been overshadowed by what's happened in Vancouver. Liberal leader Mark Carney spoke in Hamilton, Ontario. Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are living every family's nightmare. And to them and to the many others who were injured,

to the Filipino-Canadian community, and to everyone in the broader lower mainland Vancouver I would like to offer my deepest condolences and my wishes for strength and compassion in this tragic time. Conservative leader Pierre Poliev made a visit to a Filipino church in Mississauga Ontario this morning to express his condolences. I want you to know that all of our country is with you today as you mourn this terrible loss. And I thank you for welcoming us into your sanctuary today. And I hope that we can pray for those who have been lost and for those who survive in mourning. All of them will have a deep hole in their hearts today.

We will try to fill it with the love of the entire country. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet addressed the incident while campaigning in Quebec City. Please allow me a moment to say, to address my sincere heartfelt condolences to the people of British Columbia, members of families and friends of those who died, and also to the colleagues I have which were far too close to this drama. And NDP leader Jagmeet Singh actually attended the Lapu-Lapu Festival with his parents and says he left minutes before the incident. At a campaign stop in Penticton, BC, he reflected on the festival and says now is the time for

Canadians to come together to support the Filipino community. I saw families gathered together. I saw children dancing. I saw pride in culture, in history, in community. It's heartbreaking to think that such joy could be torn apart so violently, so suddenly. To the families, to the survivors, to everyone grieving today.

We see you, we mourn with you, we stand with you. Now, some leaders chose to change their campaign schedules in light of what happened in Vancouver. Carney canceled two rallies in Western Canada, but his campaign did go ahead with other events. On this, the final day of the election campaign, we will hear from our reporters covering all four of the main party leaders, what sort of campaign it was and what matters most to each of the parties in these final hours. Tom Perry begins our election coverage.

Mark Carney is spending the final day of this campaign on the move. We're right now on board the Liberal campaign plane as the Liberal leader makes one final swing through Western Canada. Carney is making stops in Edmonton as well as Victoria and Vancouver. He started in Saskatoon, though his schedule has been in flux for much of the day. That's because of that deadly incident in Vancouver last night. The Liberal campaign cancelled two big rallies in Richmond, B.C., and Calgary, Alberta, and said Carney would be focusing on smaller events.

But at his Saskatoon stop, there was a big crowd out to meet Carney. He started off his speech by paying tribute to those who died in Vancouver. You know our hearts, I know everyone in this room, everyone across the country, myself very much included, our hearts go to the friends and the families of those affected. It's a terrible loss. After that, Carney went back to his stump speech, though he did take off some of the partisan edge. In Saskatoon, he didn't mention his main political rival, Conservative leader Pierre Poliev, though he did go after the man and the issue that had been central to his campaign, US President Donald Trump

and his threats to Canada's economy and sovereignty. He's rupturing the global economy. He's going to do lots of damage to his economy. It's going to spill over to others. But he literally, and we have to take him literally and seriously he and America they are trying to break us they're trying to break us so they they can own us now that's not going to happen they're going to have to come through Saskatoon. Carney has been drawing large crowds on this final week of the campaign and while he didn't go after Pierre-Paul Liev in Saskatoon he hasn't spared the Conservative leader the rest of the week. He's offering Canadians a fantasy of fiscal tricks and phantom growth.

The Carney campaign right now still very much in motion. The Liberal leader is scheduled to meet with BC Premier David Eby tonight when his campaign touches down in BC. After all that, Carney will fly back to Ottawa overnight for voting day on Monday. And he isn't the only leader who's been campaigning hard today. Pierre Poliev has also had a busy day. And with more on that, here's my colleague Kate McKenna. We want change! We want change!

We want change! Conservative leader Pierre Poliev has attracted giant, rowdy crowds at his rallies since the first day of the campaign. Today in Oakville they came out in thousands. It's been the privilege of my life to fight for all of you and our work is just beginning because starting tomorrow we're going to be bringing change to all of Canada. People like Steve Whitman lined up hours early. We hold our elected officials accountable through our vote and with the Liberals having nine years or ten years to make the proper changes and correct the mistakes that have been made in the past, they failed.

So I'm here today to look at a different party, a different face with new ideas and that would be the Conservatives. Pauliev has been bullish on the subject of affordability and standing up for working class Canadians who have seen costs go up for essentials like food and housing. The Liberals have destroyed this country. Jimmy Amoria attended the rally in Oakville. What's not to like about Pierre Poliev?

He is for the people, he cares about his family. Poliev spent the day in Ontario, first visiting a Filipino church in Mississauga to offer his condolences following last night's events in Vancouver. After, he's holding four events with supporters, in Oakville, Pickering, Peterborough, and his own riding, Carlton. The route to forming government must run through the 905 region of Ontario for the Conservatives.

That's the Change Express. That's the Change Express. Kholiev has run his campaign, pitching himself as an agent of change. Opinion polls suggest he's united the right, and built a strong and committed base. Support for the party is as high as it's been this century. Still it may not be enough. Have you all been out to vote for change already? Are you gonna gather up your friends to vote for change?

Koliyev's rallies included a request for people to go out and vote. The campaign's next 24 hours will be all about that. Polls have tightened, but they suggest the race is still liberal leader Mark Carney's to lose. Getting supporters to the polls can make or break races and key ridings. I'm Kate McKenna with the Conservative campaign in Oakville, Ontario. Now here is my colleague David Thurton

with the New Democrats in British Columbia. And it's hard to kind of bounce between talking about, I want people to vote for us, but also so torn up about this. A difficult day for Jagmeet Singh personally and politically. The NDP leader is trying to reach voters while navigating his emotions. After a campaign stop yesterday became the scene of a horrendous loss. I just, I would remind people, ultimately, one of our messages is that people have the power. We were able to achieve certain things and we were able to make people's lives better.

Those things Singh is talking about are national dental care that covers some millions of Canadians plus a framework to bring in universal pharmacare. It's a historic expansion of Canada's Medicare system that New Democrats achieved through a governing agreement with the Justin Trudeau Liberals. Now Singh is promising to push for even more, mental health coverage, national rent control, and an emergency cap on food prices. And he is warning, federal health spending could be at risk if the Liberals win a majority. And I'm worried that if Mark Carney has all the power, there's not going to be anyone there to stop him from being in those cuts.

Singh is trying to frame a vote for his party as a backstop to unchecked Liberal power. At the same time, the NDP is forced to protect the ridings it holds in Manitoba, Alberta and BC where the party now finds itself in three-way races. Unfortunately we've had to spend a lot of time pointing out to people this is an NDP riding and the NDP is the obvious choice if you don't want the Conservatives. Richard Cannings is the former MP in the BC Interior Riding where Singh visited today. Cannings has been campaigning with the local candidate Linda Sankey. We have a lot of people who are confused about how to, you know, they're concerned about Pierre

Poliev and the Conservatives so they want to make sure that the Conservatives don't foreign government. And so suddenly they're getting messages nationally that maybe they should vote liberal. Whether it's the US trade war or now the Vancouver vehicle rampage, the NDP has faced outside events that have had an outsized impact on their campaign. Singh has said he often tries to put people above the politics. His campaign opted to cancel several events in Metro Vancouver and in a rioting in the BC interior

that is by no means a safe seat. I'm David Thurton traveling with the NDP campaign in Burnaby. Now, here's my colleague, Rafi Boujikaneen, with the Bloc Québécois. ["Envoyons la vente blanche"] A roaring welcome for Bloc Québécois. A roaring welcome for Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet in Quebec City. The party believes it can snatch a seat from the Liberals here. Four years ago, Liberal heavyweight Jean-Yves Duclos only eked out a win in the provincial

capital with 6% of the vote. And Blanchet's party has internal polling putting them in a dead heat with him this time. I am very optimistic. If there's a specific way to celebrate a specific win in a specific riding, believe me, it will be here. Blanchet spent much of his afternoon with a couple of his star candidates in block writings like Drummond

between Montreal and Quebec City. Pauling does not suggest those places are in danger for the block. The showings are more about reminding the party faithful they need to vote, but it's a different case elsewhere in Quebec. Well, I think everything is about Trump right now. Frédéric Perrard is a political commentator with the Université de Montréal. He says

this province, like everywhere else in Canada, has been seized with the question of who can counter US President Donald Trump. Squeezing out the bloc and its sovereignist agenda from much of the campaign for even some Quebecers who normally sympathize with them. They're saying, well, we need to face Trump's threats in a way or another, so we need to have a strong majoritarian government, which doesn't mean that those people are now liberals,

but they're trying to give a chance to have a strong government, yeah. The CBC News analysis shows Blanchet spent more than 60% of his time in the last five weeks in traditional Bloc territory, upping the ante in the last week. He visited writings in Montreal's North and South shores alone more than 30 times. Get the popcorn out on Monday night, a defiant Blanchet told the media today, refusing to say he is worried about those seats. I do not share the concerns of pollsters, he says. In both of the last two federal election campaigns, he managed to win enough seats in Quebec to keep Justin Trudeau's liberals from forming a majority government.

Before Trudeau's resignation in January, he seemed to have a chance at forming the official opposition. Chute Blanchet instead bid goodbye to up to 10 of his MPs on Monday, as the polls suggest he might. Holding the balance of power in a minority parliament would be his consolation prize. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Drummondville, Quebec. Tens of thousands of Canadians have died of drug overdoses in the last decade. And how to tackle that national emergency is a big issue on the campaign trail. With just hours left before election day, voters will have to assess which plan may

work with the Liberal and Conservative parties offering very different strategies. Brady Strachan explains. We will end federal funding for opioids, defund the drug dens. At a rally in BC, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poliev outlines his plan to confront the toxic drug crisis, redirecting funds from supervised drug consumption sites to treatment programs, committing $1 billion to support addictions care. Recovery for 50,000 Canadians who need it. His plan also includes empowering judges to mandate treatment for certain offenders struggling with addiction. These proposals come as Canada grapples with a toxic drug crisis that has claimed over 50,000 lives since 2016,

prompting many voters to demand a new approach. It has to be a safe space. At this Windsor, Ontario outreach centre, director Kim Kent worries about any shift towards mandatory treatment. Forcing people into care isn't going to fix the problem, especially if they're just released back out into a situation that isn't caring. She also warns closing safe consumption sites could lead to more drug use deaths if people resort to using drugs alone.

At a rally in Coquitlam, BC this week, Liberal Party leader Mark Carney acknowledged the need for change. Because we know that the current approach isn't working. The Liberals pledged to recruit 2,000 RCMP and border agents and commit $5 million to support provinces in providing evidence-based treatment programs. The opioid crisis has resulted in 16,000 deaths in the province. Former police officer, now BCMLA Eleanor Sturco argues the Liberal plan doesn't go far enough.

We need a change, transformative change. And the only party that I see willing to step forward and make that transformative change is the federal conservatives. However, criminologist Neil Boyd suggests Canada should consider how some European countries have found success in tackling the toxic drug crisis. An approach he says we aren't hearing on the campaign trail.

So what are the best options for undertaking that kind of strategy? That's I think the question we all have to answer. Boyd says an approach that combines enforcement with harm reduction practices like supervised consumption sites might be the best way forward. Brady Strachan, CBC News, Vancouver. Returning to our top story tonight, Canadians around the country are reacting to the horrific incident at a Vancouver Filipino festival. The news leaving local community members like BCMLA, Mabel Elmore, shattered.

Our priority now in the Filipino community is providing support to those people. Those who lost their lives were injured in their families. It was a celebration. Yesterday just steps outside of my office. Just an unspeakable tragedy. The organizer of yesterday's Lapu Lapu festival, R.J. Aquino, says the Filipino community will be resilient. The community will feel this for a long time.

I want to tell them that we'll be okay. We'll feel this for a long time. I want to tell them that we'll be okay. I want to tell them that looking at the history of our people, we've encountered many tragedies and we're going to be okay. But again, it's okay to not feel okay right now. It's okay to be sad, be now. It's okay to be sad, be angry. It's okay to grieve, it's okay to feel like you don't know what to do,

and it's okay to ask for help. This has been Your World Tonight for Sunday, April 27th. I'm Stephanie Scanderres. Thank you for being with us. Good night.