Your World Tonight - Wildfires across Canada, air quality worsens, Trump elections speech, and more

Episode Date: July 16, 2026

Fast-moving wildfires are destroying communities, and forcing thousands from their homes. The people of Collins First Nation say they fled ahead of the flames with just the clothes on their backs.And: Environment Canada is urging people in many parts of Ontario to cancel any outdoor activities, as air quality readings spark alarm.Also: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation. He’s suggested it will be about election integrity — “and a few other things”. Trump has frequently made unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election — which he lost — was “rigged”.Plus: Meta expands safeguards for its AI tools, human testing for ebola vaccine, U.S. lawmakers complain about Canadian forest management, and more.

With the help of Google AI, CropMind is giving farmers early and accurate insights on crop health, helping them protect their harvests and increase yields. Innovation is Canada's story. Let's tell it together. Find out more at G.co slash Canadian Innovation. This is a CBC podcast. Here's a common goal.

And as their leader, they're looking to me to lead them. Fast-moving wildfires threatened an Ontario First Nation as people had to run for their lives. Their chief trying to comfort the evacuees after the flames destroyed their community. Many in the region have had to be evacuated while leaders complain about response times by the province and the federal government. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Salima Shivji. It's Thursday, July 16th, coming up on 6 p.m. Easter. Also on the podcast. There is no good way to build major projects without First Nations partnership.

and leadership. A federal sales pitch. Ministers make the case for major infrastructure projects at the last day of the gathering of the Assembly of First Nations. It's getting a mixed response from indigenous leaders, some of whom are making pitches of their own to Ottawa. Evacquees from remote towns in northwest Ontario have been arriving in Thunder Bay.

They've been sharing their stories of survival and escape. Dozens of out-of-control wildfires have been rapidly spreading in that part of the province. And many people have left behind homes. They're not sure they'll be able to return to. Shea and Desjardin is in Thunder Bay with the latest. A hotel boardroom packed with donations, boxes of diapers, bags of food, backpacks, shoes, toys. Evacuies in Thunder Bay wander through, looking for what they need.

For some, it's tough to know where to start. I left everything other than my kids and my pets and a couple pairs clothes. Gina Dupuy evacuated from White Sand First Nations earlier this week as one of the ferocious wildfires tearing through Northern Ontario beeline for their community. Devin Wannock-Kamek is the incident commander. Chief and counsel are deeply disappointed by the delays in the initial provincial response to the wildfire threat. While firefighters and emergency personnel have worked tirelessly on the ground, the response from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources did not reflect the urgency of the situation. He says 26 members have gone back to try and protect their community on their own.

Others are staying in hotel rooms. It's very emotional. I want to go back home and help. Oh, my heart's just pumping. More than half a dozen communities are evacuated. Many of them are First Nations. Today, in Ottawa, the Assembly of First Nations chiefs voted for the federal government to take immediate action. It was overwhelming to see the support from the Assembly.

Chief Helen Pavola of Collins First Nation says despite her community being wiped out by the fires, everyone is doing their best to be strong. Here's come and go. And as their leader, they're looking to me to lead them. So it's not that I don't cry. I do it all the time now. But, you know, they're here and I need to be strong for them. They are my strength. And, you know, they are taking time to mourn. We are taking time to sit and talk. and cried together. With nearly 200 wildfires burning in Ontario, others are told to be prepared for the worst. But in Thunder Bay... The reality is the inn is full.

There's not a single hotel room to be found. City manager John Collins says larger spaces like arenas are available if the province requests it. But so far, he says no official ask has been made. Ontario's Premier is requesting help from the federal government, though. Prime Minister Mark Carney. Will stand ready.

and will be providing additional assistance as needed. But what that might look like isn't clear and offers little comfort to families waiting to find out what their new future could look like. She and Desjaldane, CBC News, Thunder Bay. The smoke from those fires has been pouring southward. And air quality in southern Ontario has been among the worst in the world for a second day now.

People have been told to stay indoors, but that smoky air is even finding its way inside many buildings. Philip Lee Schanak has that story. It's surprising. I grew up in a place like India, and it's a different kind of air quality issue there. Navi Pranav wears a mask outdoors and says he's used to air quality issues

related to pollution, but not like this. You get a heat wave here, and then suddenly you get smoke in the air. And while he's heard the warnings from health officials urging people to stay inside and close their windows, it doesn't seem to help. I can smell it inside. my apartment. So that's

a bit excessive, I think. People at risk are advised to avoid going outdoors, seniors, pregnant people, young children and those with existing health conditions. But indoor air quality can also be impacted by wildfire smoke. There were stuff that were coughing. Brenda Evans is

the executive director at Sprout's daycare in Toronto. She says she made the tough call to cancel the program today when staff reported air quality issues indoors. We immediately noted that the air quality in the daycare was quite poor, and it was very strong, the smoke smell.

You know, smoke doesn't really stop at that front door. Stephanie Hatzafilililithis is a researcher at Women's College Hospital and an assistant professor at the Dalla Atlanta School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions is really that people are safe if they go inside. But smoke is entering our homes, is entering our apartment buildings, our communities, whether that be through doors or windows or different ventilation systems, indoor air quality has become just as important versus the outdoor air quality during these kind of

smoke events. She says elderly people are at the highest risk, as their lungs and cardiovascular systems are less resilient, and a lot of older Canadians are already managing different conditions, respiratory diseases, asthma, heart disease, or diabetes. She says heaphylters are designed to capture extremely small airborne particles often found in wildfire smoke. Those in N95 masks from COVID-19 times have had a resurgence in popularity, as many retailers say they're selling out. The people who suffer most are those who are usually with diffuse resources and those with the greatest health vulnerabilities.

She says as wildfire smoke is no longer a rare event, communities need to invest in filtration systems and indoor air monitoring to protect those most vulnerable. Philip Lishanak, CBC News, Toronto. If smoke doesn't stop at the front door, it also doesn't stop at the border. Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois are reporting some of the worst air quality in the world thanks to Ontario's fires. And several U.S. Republican lawmakers are accusing Canada of not doing enough to prevent them.

The CBC's Washington correspondent Mike Crawley has more on that. Mike, these members of Congress took their complaints straight to the Prime Minister. Yes, Alima, it's four members. members of the U.S. House, all of them Republicans from Michigan, writing to Mark Carney with some pretty tough language. They say Canada has repeatedly failed to do the forest management necessary to reduce the risk of these smoky wildfires. And in their letter, they write that Americans are breathing the consequences of this failure right now. Okay, but is there any basis for their claim that Canada is failing to manage these wildfires properly? Well, look, there is genuine debate within the forestry community about

how best to prevent this kind of poor air quality from becoming a reality every summer, doing things like controlled burns and thinning the forests in places where there's high likelihood of fires. But there's something that these Republicans don't acknowledge in their letter, that provinces are actually doing those kinds of measures, and that the amount of forests that's at risk across Canada is just so vast that total prevention, it's impossible. So it's fair to say that there is a bit of politics at play here. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Just listen to what one of the Michigan Republicans said in a video posted online.

This is Congresswoman Lisa McLean who says she's been in touch with the White House about this issue. Last year when this happened, we actually sent some of our firefighters and foresters to Canada to try and mitigate the situation up there since they aren't really doing much. And you can hear the politics in the tone of the letter. These Republicans accuse provincial leaders, without naming them, of having dismissed American citizens' health concerns and of offering excuses instead of results. And they even warn Kearney in the letter that the U.S. will consider acting on its own. Basically, they'll threat to send U.S. forest workers across the border to do prevention work themselves. It's relevant to mention that these four are all running for.

election or re-election this November, and that's likely why the letter is so strongly worded. They're directing this message at voters. Let me read you this last bit. American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction. Sovereignty comes with responsibility and the responsibility to prevent a foreseeable disaster from crossing into another country's airspace has not been met. Strong words there. Now, a reporter asked the Prime Minister about this letter today, how did he formulate his response? Yeah, well, Mark Carney didn't address the letter's accusations directly, but he made two points. Speaking in French, he said climate change is everyone's responsibility, truly everyone's, including the United States. And he contrasted how

Canada is investing in clean energy while the U.S. is largely blocking it, especially wind power, which is something that Donald Trump opposes pretty vigorously. The CBC's Mike Crawley in Washington. Thanks for this. You're welcome. Coming right up, U.S. President Donald Trump makes a prime time address to Americans. Plus, the Assembly of First Nations wraps up meetings in Ottawa, with federal ministers fielding questions about the government's major projects agenda. And later, we'll have this story. I'm Ashley Burke in London where scientists are racing to test an Ebola vaccine on humans to stop the spread.

It has expanded faster than any previous outbreak. I'll have the latest on the outbreak's rising numbers in the Democratic-Republican. of Congo and a sign of hope that Uganda could become Ebola-free. That's later on your world tonight. Tonight, Donald Trump returns to primetime with his first televised address since April. The U.S. President is expected to revisit one of his favorite topics, election integrity. Katie Nicholson looks at what's being teased and the political timing behind it. Because that election was rigged and stolen.

Even after sweeping back into the Oval Office with Republican majorities in both, chambers, U.S. President Donald Trump has never been able to let go of the past. Go to 2020. Look at the facts that are coming out. Rigged crooked elections. Specifically, his continued insistence he won the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. I won that election by so much. In the years since that election, numerous conspiracy theories of foreign interference, including bamboo ballots, votes flipped through Italian satellites, and Venezuelan tampering with voting machines have been repeatedly disproven, and in some cases resulted in multi-million dollar lawsuits.

And more than 50 court cases alleging impropriety were dismissed. Yet tonight, Trump is expected to take his suspicions of election interference to prime time. The president will be making a very important announcement with respect to the integrity of our elections. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt teased new revelations. In the findings that he is going to reveal in this speech with a little bit of honesty and a little bit of integrity because it does, it will shock you if you have an honest eye listening to the president tonight and everything he is saying will be backed by by facts and by evidence that will be provided this evening.

We have seen so many examples of this president's craziness when it comes to the 2020 election. Democrats like Senator Dick Durbin say they've seen this show before. He's fixated in his mind that he's never lost an election and we're going to hear more of that craziness tonight. there are fears Trump's singular focus on the past may hinder Republican prospects in the midterms. Look, we can't re-prosecute that campaign. Senator Tom Tillis isn't seeking re-election, but he is worried for his party as the midterms, which are expected to hinge on issues like affordability loom.

Anytime you're looking back, you're not looking ahead, and I'm looking ahead to these elections, and the president should as well. This address also comes as Trump continues to pressure Congress to pass a contentious voting reform act that would require forms of voter ID, critics say, would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. It remains to be seen whether tonight's speech will help or hinder those efforts. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. Federal ministers were on the defensive today on the last day of the Assembly of First Nations

annual general meeting as they tried to reassure First Nation leaders concerned about major infrastructure projects. The AFN has formally rejected the Federal Federal Government. federal governments proposed changes to fast-track some projects. And as Olivia Stefanovic reports, many First Nations leaders remain skeptical. In the face of economic uncertainty, Canada is focused on what we can control. And it compels us to work together. Intergovernmental affairs minister, Dominic LeBlanc, attempting to sell the Assembly of First Nations

on Prime Minister Mark Carney's major projects agenda. We will uphold the rights of indigenous people. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, also pitching generational economic benefits. I see the opportunities coming through the pipeline of projects for more things like LNG Canada 2, with an opportunity for a billion dollars of equity to be in the hands of First Nations.

The promise is making, a day after the AFN adopted a resolution, rejecting the federal government's proposed changes to project approvals if they sidestep consultation and weaken environmental protections. It is 2026 and the days of the Crown running roughshod over our rights on title are over. Shannon Thomas is the hereditary chief of Leaksin First Nation on Vancouver Island. She says communities are facing increasing pressure to say yes to projects that are already in motion without being part of the consultation process beforehand.

We cannot be the afterthought. We cannot be the one where you come with buckets of money. When we say we want economic prosperity, we do, but not at the expense of future generations. Others at the Assembly say they liked what the federal ministers had to say. It's positive, but it's been said before. Ted Cusance is a member of the Keseecoe's First Nation in Saskatchewan. He says it comes down to a lack of trial. I'm going 74 years old, and we've been promised to world, and a lot of things haven't come through. The AFN National Chief says there are issues with Carney's major projects office.

The federal government can't use them as a crutch to not talk to the First Nations directly when it comes to major projects. Cindy Woodhouse-Nipanak says if the government's will is there, it should prioritize building new infrastructure in First Nations. where there is a shortage of more than 150,000 homes across the country. If there's anything in the national interest or a major project, that should be the number one project. The next big test in the relationship between First Nations and government will come at the end of October, when First Nations leaders sit down with the premiers and the Prime Minister for a historic First Nations First Ministers meeting. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa.

plans to upgrade Canada's largest port have been referred to Canada's major projects office for possible fast-tracking. The Port of Vancouver Gateway Strategy includes a major terminal expansion that would increase the port's container capacity by 50%. Federal Transport Minister Stephen McKinnon calls the planned upgrades a transformational strategy that would diversify trade and contribute billions to the Canadian economy. The port of Vancouver truly is Canada. as port. But aging infrastructure, rail bottlenecks, and limited industrial land are constraining future growth. To compete in a changing global economy, we need to invest now. So this gateway has

the capacity and reliability Canadian exporters depend on. McKinnon says plans for environmental protection are also included in the project, and any fast-tracking approval is subject to more consultation between the major project's office and local indigenous communities. The Canadian Transportation Agency has approved a project that will let trains bypass the town of Lackmegensik in Quebec. The existing track passes through the town where in 2013, a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. The disaster killed 47 people and destroyed much of the town center. The rail bypass project will build 12.5 kilometers of new track that will reroute trains to the east of Lackmegensik. Ebola is spreading at a record pace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and calls are growing for international support. In the UK, scientists have joined the fight, testing a vaccine targeting the exact strain behind this outbreak. Ashley Burke has more. It's now the third largest Ebola outbreak on record. A stark update from the World Health Organization, two months into the outbreak. In the past months, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak. Director General Dr. Tedros Adanam Gabriasis says the virus is spreading through the Democratic Republic of the Congo, outrunning teams trying to contain it.

So far, 20073 cases have been reported with 796 deaths. The organization's executive director, Dr. Chiquay Iquizu, says right now the majority of deaths are people who didn't get medical help. And passed away in the community without approaching care at all and would only be diagnosed because we take swab. just before they're buried. The WHO says testing is up, detection times are down and treatment centers are growing. But the intensifying armed conflict is cutting off access to those who need help

and hurting efforts to do contact tracing because so many people are displaced in camps or on the move. Really quickly, it's reached three provinces and then now we are five provinces. Frederick Mendozao-Lay is on the ground at the epicenter of the outbreak. It's spreading quite fast because people are moving really. He's with Doctors Without Borders.

It's providing emergency aid and urgently calling for a bigger medical response. It's heartbreaking to do not manage to go faster than we can, but we're trying to do our best. In the UK, scientists at Oxford University are racing to test a vaccine based on the same technology as its COVID shot. It's a type of vaccine technology we've been working with for over decades. Alex Sampson is one of the vaccine researchers. We've got a lot of experience at adapting that very quickly. Their Ebola vaccine for this strain is the first in the world to enter human trials. Dr. Katrina Pollock is the trial's chief investigator.

We will be looking for rare risks that have been seen with other similar vaccines like the Oxford Asterozenica, COVID vaccine. Those researchers are also preparing for potential clinical studies in Uganda next. That country has now discharged its last Ebola patient from hospital, and if there are no new cases, can officially declare itself Ebola-free in 42 days. Ashley Burke, CBC News, London. Ukrainians rallied across the country today in support of the country's former defense minister. Mikhailo Fedorov was dismissed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a government reshuffle. In his six months on the job, he pushed for the use of drones and to moderate,

the Ukrainian army. He also repeatedly clashed with Ukraine's top military general, saying his initiatives were being blocked. The United Kingdom is asking FIFA to investigate Argentina's team for violating a ban on political statements. Argentina beat England in a semi-final match yesterday. After the game, Argentine players held up a banner that said the Malvinas are Argentine. It's a reference to the Falkland Islands, a British territory not far from Argentina's shores. The two countries fought a 10-week war over the islands in 1982. Parents in Canada, the U.S., UK, and Australia can now be alerted if their teens discuss suicide or self-harm with the meta-AI chatbot, the artificial intelligence assistant built into social media apps.

The new tool flags concerning chats triggering a manual human review before parents are informed. It's a welcome step towards tech accountability. But as Nisha Patel reports, critics say it doesn't go far enough. We simply can't trust this technology. Sarah Austin's 15-year-old son doesn't use social media. It's not easy since that's how most of his friends communicate. But she says the apps and their access to AI chatbots just aren't safe. There have been documented cases of AI chatbots counseling young people to use guns and other instruments

to harm themselves and harm others. Tech Giant Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is now taking steps. It will notify parents using Instagram supervision tools if their teen is discussing suicide or self-harm with the chatbot meta-AI. Austin, who founded the charity Children First Canada, says it's not enough.

We need technology companies to be developing safer products, but we also need regulation that really holds them to a higher standard. Technology analyst Karmie Levy says the innovation is a step in the right direction, but says no technology is ever perfect. It's entirely possible, for example, that the AI bots will miss problematic exchanges and simply won't flag things when they should. And he says savvy youth can easily find workarounds if they object to surveillance of their online activities. If they don't want their parents to know what they're talking about online, we can expect them to perhaps create fake accounts or use other forms of digital subterfuge. Meta and other companies are facing growing scrutiny about how their technology interacts,

with young people. Social media lawyer, Manit Zemel, says currently Canada has no regulations to address these risks associated with AI chatbots. Until we have those laws, it's a wild wild west, right? There really is not much that can be done. The platforms don't have an incentive to do anything beyond the minimum. The federal government has introduced the Safe Social Media Act, which seeks to restrict accounts for children under 16. But there's a long way to go before it becomes law. 17-year-old Hannah Grover is cautious about these new meta features. But my worry is actually that teens will start feeling like they don't have actually like a safe space to turn to. She'd like to see a greater focus on offline resources.

On how we can make things like teen helplines or the kids help phone be more easily accessible to teens rather than them seeing AI as another resource. The debate is one that isn't going away. anytime soon, and with the technology changing so quickly, experts say effective solutions may be a moving target. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Finally, as crews fight fast-spreading wildfires across the country, some municipal firefighters close to the affected areas are on alert to protect homes and other buildings.

Across Canada, there are 125,000 municipal firefighters. The Canadian Association of Fire Chief says about 12% of those firefighters are women. But it's a very different story at the volunteer fire department in a small Yukon community where women make up more than half of its members. I noticed it the day it happened. I've been watching us creep closer and closer to that. That's Jillian Rourke, who is the training officer at Teslin Volunteer Fire Department.

She says the team hit the milestone early this year, with women now making up five of its nine-member crew. Torque credits a big part of that to the Ember Fire Academy, where she also serves as deputy chief. The annual training program is run by Yukon's government, focusing on women and non-binary people. They got to go and be inspired and see, like, is this what I want to do and get that drive to come to the department? Veronica Huggard joined the department after attending the academy last summer while she was also pregnant. She now balances firefighting with motherhood. For someone who's very driven, it was challenging at first.

just wrapping my head around having a child, a newborn. I already have another child. You want to devote everything on a lot of time and energy into the fire hall, and it's not always realistic, but making the meetings and attending some training is definitely possible. James Marsh has been fire chief for more than 25 years. My little guy, he's already talking about that he's going to be the next fire chief, and I keep laughing because I was like,

your little sister's probably going to give you a run for your money. Jillian Rourke says it isn't about any gender offering more than the other, but about how a more diverse team is a stronger team. Everybody has their strengths, and sometimes that's, you know, being stronger physically. Sometimes that's being bigger physically. Sometimes it's being smaller physically, like getting into spaces. I wouldn't want to say that any gender carries any kind of attributes that the other doesn't because I see great things in everybody in the department.

Thanks for being with us. This has been Your World Tonight for Thursday, July 16th. I'm Salima Shivji. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.com slash podcasts.