March 13, 2025 | Mark Carney is expected to take on his new duties as prime minister with a slimmed down federal cabinet of 15 to 20 ministers. Canadian politicians return to Washington for more tariff talks. Plus, young women are being targeted with ‘sex for rent’ offers.
00:00 The National for March 13, 2025
01:04 Carney's plan for a lean government
04:50 Tense tariff meetings in Washington
07:51 Trump threatens 200% tariff on EU alcohol
08:16 Layoffs begin at steel plants
10:31 S&P closes in correction after major fall
11:00 G7 foreign ministers meet in Quebec
11:25 Putin rejects ceasefire with new conditions
13:57 Trump double down on annexing Greenland
14:25 Investigating 'sex for rent' ads | Marketplace
17:34 Alberta government fires back at former AHS CEO's lawsuit
19:45 Alarm bells over measles outbreaks
22:41 Family investigates Sonya Cywink's murder | Fifth Estate
26:00 The Breakdown
26:12 Canada-U.S. trade tensions | At Issue
33:27 Carney's transition government | At Issue
43:47 Lake Superior shipwreck found | The Moment
#News #LatestNews #CBCNews
Subscribe to The National:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBCTheNational?sub_confirmation=1
More from CBC News | https://www.cbc.ca/news
The National is the flagship of CBC News, showcasing award-winning journalism from across Canada and around the world. Led by Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Ian Hanomansing, our team of trusted reporters helps you make sense of the world, wherever you are.
00:00 The National for March 13, 2025
01:04 Carney's plan for a lean government
04:50 Tense tariff meetings in Washington
07:51 Trump threatens 200% tariff on EU alcohol
08:16 Layoffs begin at steel plants
10:31 S&P closes in correction after major fall
11:00 G7 foreign ministers meet in Quebec
11:25 Putin rejects ceasefire with new conditions
13:57 Trump double down on annexing Greenland
14:25 Investigating 'sex for rent' ads | Marketplace
17:34 Alberta government fires back at former AHS CEO's lawsuit
19:45 Alarm bells over measles outbreaks
22:41 Family investigates Sonya Cywink's murder | Fifth Estate
26:00 The Breakdown
26:12 Canada-U.S. trade tensions | At Issue
33:27 Carney's transition government | At Issue
43:47 Lake Superior shipwreck found | The Moment
#News #LatestNews #CBCNews
Subscribe to The National:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBCTheNational?sub_confirmation=1
More from CBC News | https://www.cbc.ca/news
The National is the flagship of CBC News, showcasing award-winning journalism from across Canada and around the world. Led by Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Ian Hanomansing, our team of trusted reporters helps you make sense of the world, wherever you are.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Tonight, Justin Trudeau's parting words for Canada.
00:06I will always be boldly and unapologetically Canadian.
00:12His final full day is p.m. as Mark Carney is sworn in and tariffs loom large.
00:18This is priority number one.
00:19What we know about Mark Carney's cabinet and his first official trip abroad.
00:24Premier Ford, what do you want me to take out of this?
00:27A high-stakes meeting in Washington ends on a positive note.
00:31We feel that the temperature is being lowered.
00:35But no sign Trump is backing down.
00:38Canada only works as a state.
00:39As a state, it would be one of the great states.
00:44A disturbing trend in the midst of a housing crisis.
00:46Landlords asking for sex in exchange for rent.
00:50I don't mind helping you out if you're kind of helping me out too, right?
00:54You know what I mean?
00:55CBC Marketplace investigates.
00:59From CBC News, this is The National with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault.
01:06Thank you for joining us.
01:07Just hours from now, Canada will have a new Prime Minister.
01:10Mark Carney and his cabinet will be sworn in at Rideau Hall, capping off a lightning-fast
01:15transition of power at a precarious time for this country.
01:19A clearer picture is emerging tonight of just who will make up Carney's cabinet, which is
01:23expected to be slimmed down.
01:26They will need to hit the ground running because this major moment is happening inside another
01:31as the U.S. and Canada are locked in a trade war.
01:34Tonight, urgent meetings have now wrapped up in Washington.
01:38We'll take you there in a moment, but let's start in Ottawa with who's in cabinet, who
01:42is out, and how Justin Trudeau is saying goodbye.
01:45Ashley Burke takes us through it.
01:48Behind closed doors, Justin Trudeau wrapped up his last full day in office.
01:53The Prime Minister posting a brief farewell online titled, One Last Thing.
01:58I will always be boldly and unapologetically Canadian.
02:04My only ask is that no matter what the world throws at us, you always be the same.
02:11After almost a decade in power, Trudeau will head to Rideau Hall Friday and resign.
02:16Then his successor Mark Carney and a cabinet will be sworn in.
02:20This is a group of people that need to be ready to face the threats that we are facing
02:28from the United States on the trade front.
02:32Sources say since liberals chose Carney as their new leader, he's been planning a much
02:37leaner cabinet, a team of 15 to 20 ministers, laser focused on fighting the trade war and
02:43on this promise.
02:45That builds the strongest economy in the G7.
02:51Sources also say these three ministers are expected to be part of Carney's cabinet and
02:56some appear confident they'll continue handling the trade war.
03:00We will still be ministers during that period, or at least we'll see tomorrow, but certainly
03:07no, no, no, it's a good chance.
03:11CBC News has learned leadership contender Chrystia Freeland is expected to become transport
03:16minister.
03:17And environment minister Stephen Guilbeault will move to a new expanded role that includes
03:22Canadian heritage.
03:24It is the prerogative of the prime minister to decide who will sit on cabinet.
03:29Sources also say leadership contender Karina Gould didn't make the cut.
03:34Procurement minister Jean-Yves Duclos is out too.
03:37And so was health minister Mark Holland who endorsed Freeland.
03:41Decision was made to go a different direction, which I respect.
03:45I think it's the decision was to make a leaner cabinet.
03:49Holland also announced he won't run again in the next election, choosing to spend more
03:53time with his family.
03:55He's now one of eight ministers who say they're moving on.
03:58And Ashley, we're learning a little bit more about the plans for Carney's initial days
04:01as prime minister too.
04:03Yeah, Adrian, CBC News has learned that he's expected to travel to London and Paris next
04:08week on his first official trip abroad, then trigger an election before parliament is set
04:12to resume later this month.
04:15Carney and his cabinet will have to handle this trade war with the U.S. while also campaigning.
04:19And it will be up to Canadians to decide next if Carney should be the one to lead this country
04:24and take on Donald Trump.
04:26All right.
04:27Ashley Burke in Ottawa.
04:29CBC News will have special coverage of that swearing in of the Mark Carney government
04:33starting at 10 a.m.
04:34You can join Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton and Power and Politics host
04:38David Cochran on CBC News Network, CBC TV and everywhere you stream CBC News.
04:44And of course, this is an ad issue night.
04:46Rosie and the team will be here a little later with their thoughts on Carney's cabinet.
04:51Now some of those key cabinet ministers are in Washington tonight wrapping up a meeting
04:56on tariffs.
04:57They call it constructive, but not enough as to provide any new guarantees.
05:01And as Katie Simpson shows us, the tone from inside the White House is still as heated
05:06as ever.
05:07We're going forward.
05:08Can we take a selfie for our Argo fan?
05:11Underscoring the circus-like nature of this moment, Ontario's premier was asked for a
05:17selfie and to sign autographs as he emerged from his meeting with the Commerce Secretary.
05:22We feel that the temperature is being lowered.
05:27It's I can honestly say it was the best meeting I've ever had coming down here.
05:32Doug Ford left Washington with nothing more than a promise to keep the lines of communication
05:37open.
05:40Still that's seen as a new opportunity by the federal ministers also in that meeting
05:44as they hope to repair the soured Canada-U.S. relationship.
05:48There's potential for a reset as well where you have now a new prime minister that is
05:53going to be sworn in tomorrow to make sure that we engage constructively, that we engage
05:59in respect.
06:02But the president seems dug in, insisting he will not deviate from his tariff plan.
06:09Sitting beside the head of NATO, an alliance both Canada and the U.S. belong to, Trump
06:14repeatedly attacked Canadian sovereignty.
06:17Canada only works as a state.
06:19We don't need anything they have.
06:22As a state, it would be one of the great states keeping O Canada, the national anthem.
06:27I love it.
06:28I think it's great.
06:29Keep it.
06:30But it'll be for the state, one of our greatest states.
06:32We don't need anything.
06:34We don't need the cars.
06:35I'd much rather make the cars here.
06:36Now there'll be a little disruption, but it won't be very long.
06:41But they need us.
06:42We really don't need them.
06:43And we have to do this.
06:44I'm sorry.
06:45We have to do this.
06:47The comment at odds with remarks by Pete Hoekstra just hours earlier.
06:51The man Trump has picked to be the new U.S. ambassador to Canada.
06:55Would you agree that Canada is a sovereign state and should not be even jokingly referred
07:00to as the 51st state?
07:04Canada is a sovereign state, yes.
07:07During his Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hoekstra suggested the reason Trump keeps
07:11making threats against Canadian sovereignty.
07:14It's rooted in the personal relationship between Trump and outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
07:19Musing it could be Trump's sense of humour.
07:22Well, I think it's long established that Canadians don't find it funny.
07:26And now Ottawa has launched, I gather, a new formal challenge to Trump's tariffs.
07:31Yeah, Canada has started the process to register a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization
07:36over the new 25% steel and aluminum tariffs.
07:39It's Canada's second complaint this month, but it is worth pointing out these kinds of
07:43disputes and complaints, they can take years to resolve.
07:47Indeed.
07:48I'm Alison Jemison in Washington.
07:50A European Union counter-tariff on American bourbon has sparked threats of more U.S. escalation.
07:57In a social media post, Trump said if this tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S.
08:01will shortly place a 200% tariff on all wine, champagne and alcoholic products coming out
08:07of France and other EU-represented countries.
08:10So far, the EU has not lifted its tariff.
08:14And layoffs have begun in the Canadian steel industry with a small Ontario community facing
08:19the brunt of the first wave.
08:21Nicole Williams takes us to l'Original, where cuts to steel could be a crushing blow.
08:28The trade war playing out on the world stage, now a harsh reality for this small community.
08:36We are one of the cleanest steel producers in the world.
08:39Ivaco, the industrial pride of Eastern Ontario, announcing layoffs in the wake of 25% tariffs
08:46on steel and aluminum.
08:48There's a lot of worriness, obviously, on the shop floor and the people are concerned.
08:53According to the union, a combination of permanent and temporary layoffs will affect 150 workers.
09:00That's about 30% of the workforce of the factory in the small village of L'Original.
09:06And people here are well aware this could be just the beginning.
09:10The tariffs change daily with the Trump administration.
09:13So it's quite difficult to make plans around that kind of hostility.
09:19It's a serious blow to a community where most people earn a living at the steel plant or
09:25have a close connection to someone who does.
09:27They are one of the biggest employers.
09:30Ivaco also helps the other companies surrounding Ivaco.
09:38Those deep-rooted connections mean the impacts will be felt beyond the factory walls.
09:44There's a lot of truckers who depend on that place, a lot of restaurants, all that stuff.
09:49It's a downward effect.
09:51It's awful because the village is living with that.
09:55Then there's also the fear that what's happening here may be a sign of what's to come for the
10:00rest of the country.
10:02We can be certain that unfortunately more damage will be done.
10:07The national union that represents steel workers says government needs to step in not only
10:13to help those here but manufacturers across the country.
10:17There are 23,000 people employed directly in steel in Canada and 100,000 more in related
10:24industries.
10:26There is a lot at stake if this escalates or drags on.
10:30Nicole Williams, CBC News, Laurignol, Ontario.
10:34Trump's continued and growing tariff threats have rattled investors, sending markets diving
10:39including the S&P 500 which has closed in a correction.
10:44The slide began after its February 19th peak, just days after Trump announced his metal
10:49and reciprocal tariffs.
10:51Since then, the S&P has fallen more than 10% which is the threshold for a market correction.
10:57G7 foreign ministers met in Quebec at a time when Donald Trump's tariffs and threats have
11:03plunged US-Canadian relations to new lows.
11:07The handshake between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie
11:11was cordial enough.
11:12Jolie reportedly thanked Rubio for referring to Canada as a country on a day when Trump
11:18again mused about annexing it.
11:20The meetings continue tomorrow.
11:23Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling out Washington's push for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
11:28It's calling it a good idea, but while Kyiv has agreed to an immediate truce, Briar Stewart
11:34shows us Putin says there are nuances to work out first as Russia advances on the battlefield.
11:41As Vladimir Putin addressed the media alongside the leader of Belarus, Russia's president
11:47set a high bar for any ceasefire, suggesting it could give Ukraine a chance to rearm.
11:56The idea itself is right and we absolutely support it, he said, but there are questions
12:01we should discuss.
12:04Like will it lead to a peace deal that addresses what he calls the root causes of the conflict
12:10and who will be responsible for monitoring it.
12:14As a US special envoy was in Moscow trying to sell the ceasefire, Donald Trump was meeting
12:19with the Secretary General of NATO.
12:22Now we're going to see whether or not Russia is there and if they're not it'll be a very
12:26disappointing moment for the world.
12:29These talks come as Russia has retaken nearly all of the territory Ukraine seized in the
12:34Kursk region back in August.
12:36It's where Putin said he visited Wednesday and where he claimed Ukrainian troops are
12:41isolated and will either need to surrender or be killed.
12:45Very hard.
12:46It's very hard.
12:47Roman Kratsov is a medic who just returned from Kursk.
12:52Where it's difficult to evacuate the wounded because many of their supply lines have been
12:56cut off.
12:57Even still, he's wary of a ceasefire.
13:00I'm dreaming about peace too, yeah, but the price of this peace, this is the question.
13:08Ole, who is only going by his first name in accordance with Ukrainian military rules,
13:13was fighting in Kursk, but was pulled out after suffering a concussion.
13:17He got out of his vehicle moments before it was hit by a Russian bomb.
13:23He's in northern Ukraine, his 26-year-old son is fighting in the south.
13:27I can't say for sure whether we need an immediate truce, he said, but added as a father, he
13:34wants a ceasefire so his son can stop fighting.
13:38While Russia hasn't agreed to a ceasefire, Trump says that negotiations are already underway
13:43for a more permanent peace agreement, including the division of land and how much of Ukraine
13:49Russia might be able to keep.
13:51Briar Stewart, CBC News, London.
13:55President Trump is doubling down on his desire to control Greenland.
13:59Well, I think it'll happen.
14:01We have to do it.
14:02We really need it for national security.
14:04I think that's why NATO might have to get involved in a way, because we really need
14:10Greenland for national security.
14:13Trump went on to question Denmark's right to the island.
14:16Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, which is a NATO member.
14:21CBC Marketplace is going undercover to expose an illegal practice targeting young women
14:26in the midst of Canada's housing crisis.
14:29Ads are popping up online, offering them a place to stay in exchange for sexual favours.
14:35The Marketplace team answered some, and Asha Tomlinson brings us one of the conversations
14:39that followed.
14:40I saw that I offered free rent.
14:43We're undercover, meeting with a man who's posted an ad online.
14:47He's offering a warm bed in Hamilton, Ontario for a petite female.
14:51When you see...
14:52It's not the same bed, right?
14:54What you're about to hear next gets explicit.
14:56We fool around a little bit here and there, right?
14:58Sort of.
14:59If you're not into actually having sex, that's cool.
15:01We can do other things, right?
15:03I don't mind helping you out if you're kind of helping me out too, right?
15:07You know what I mean?
15:09We found over a dozen listings on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist seeking a sex-for-rent
15:14arrangement.
15:15Many target young women in college and university, international students as well.
15:21Would you call this a predatory practice?
15:23Absolutely.
15:24It's a predatory practice.
15:26Janine Benedet says soliciting sexual favours in exchange for free or discounted rent is
15:32not just unethical.
15:33It's illegal.
15:34Any time somebody obtains or tries to obtain a sexual service in exchange for something
15:40of value, they're violating the criminal code.
15:43She says police forces need to do more.
15:46We know that the single biggest deterrent to this kind of behaviour is enforcement.
15:52It's the threat of publicity and real consequences.
15:56We reached out to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
16:00It says if Canadians report these sex-for-rent ads, they will investigate.
16:05And what does the man we met with on hidden camera have to say?
16:08We called him.
16:09My name is Asha Tomlinson.
16:10I'm a host with the CBC Marketplace.
16:13Can you walk me through why you choose to offer housing in this way?
16:17I like to help people in any ways have a good day.
16:23We shared our findings with Facebook.
16:25Its parent company, Meta, says this type of content violates its policies and it encourages
16:30people to report it if they see it.
16:33No response from Craigslist.
16:35Asha Tomlinson, CBC News, Toronto.
16:38You can catch the full Marketplace investigation tomorrow night.
16:40The secret cost of housing airs on CBC television at 8pm, 8.30 in Newfoundland.
16:46It's also available on Gem.
16:48Well a troubling trend is emerging in Ontario as measles cases double in just two weeks.
16:54I feel very angry that it's completely preventable.
16:58Why some doctors are calling it a public health failure.
17:03An Indigenous woman's death unsolved for 30 years.
17:07Now her sister is taking matters into her own hands.
17:10No civilian should feel that they have no options but to investigate the death of their
17:15loved one themselves.
17:17The 5th Estate investigates why the trail went cold so quickly.
17:23And a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Superior.
17:26We finally found it.
17:28We're back in two minutes.
17:34The Alberta government is firing back at its former health services CEO over her wrongful
17:39dismissal lawsuit.
17:41The province denies wrongdoing and political interference.
17:45Julia Wong takes us through the new court documents.
17:48The Alberta government is not holding back in countering a wrongful dismissal lawsuit
17:52filed by the former CEO of Alberta Health Services.
17:55The Minister of Health is preparing a statement of defence on behalf of the government.
18:01I understand it's been filed.
18:03Last month, Athana Menselopoulos filed a $1.7 million lawsuit against Alberta Health and
18:08the Health Authority, alleging she had been fired for investigating possible conflicts
18:13of interest and government interference in private surgical facility contracts and medical
18:18purchases like children's pain medication.
18:21In a statement of defence filed Thursday, the province pushed back, alleging an investigation
18:25failed to uncover any wrongdoing.
18:28The Alberta government alleges Menselopoulos had become infatuated with her investigation
18:33and she was fired because she couldn't do her job, and then presented a dramatic tale
18:37and false narrative of political persecution to try and pressure AHS to pay up.
18:43And says while there were conversations between Menselopoulos and a staffer from the Premier's
18:47office about contracts, there was no pressure whatsoever.
18:51Any issues that are being raised now by the CEO, former CEO, are internal to AHS.
18:58What we are doing is identifying if there were problems with that procurement process
19:01and we're going to fix them, Mr. Speaker.
19:03In a statement, Menselopoulos' lawyer fired back, saying the investigation cited in the
19:08statement of defence looked solely at a single contract, and Menselopoulos was fired before
19:13a broader investigation was done.
19:16He says she was terminated without cause and despite making budget reductions.
19:21As for the rejection there was government pressure, Menselopoulos' lawyer says the
19:24example provided was one instance and significant events transpired after that.
19:30There are several investigations now underway, including by the RCMP and Auditor General.
19:35The province is also doing its own investigation.
19:38An interim report from that is expected at the end of May.
19:41Julia Wong, CBC News, Edmonton.
19:45There's concern tonight over an alarming surge in measles cases.
19:48In Ontario alone, they have more than doubled in just two weeks.
19:52Jennifer Yoon shows us what some are calling a public health failure.
19:57In this Montreal clinic, a race to contain the spread of a super contagious disease.
20:02Among the places with the measles exposure, a Habs game, a show and the airport.
20:08In Ontario, a wider outbreak.
20:10Two weeks ago, Ontario reported 119 cases so far this year.
20:15Now there are 277, more than double.
20:1931 people have been hospitalized, the vast majority unvaccinated children.
20:25I think that's really kind of a public health failure when we're seeing this many cases of a vaccine preventable disease.
20:30Most of the previous cases were in two regions of southwestern Ontario.
20:35Now they're popping up across much of the province.
20:39This mom is terrified for her newborn who can't get the shot yet.
20:43There are cases in the Niagara region where she lives.
20:46She's too little, she has no protection and it's very contagious.
20:49So I even worry just bringing her out.
20:51I feel very angry that it's completely preventable, it was almost eradicated.
20:55Measles killed an Ontario child last year and doctors say it needs to be taken seriously.
21:03It's not the benign childhood illness that some people like to make it out to be.
21:06But those weary of vaccines are hard to convince.
21:10Sometimes it's difficult to be able to talk to people in terms of the reasons of vaccination.
21:21Measles is so contagious, those who are unvaccinated and exposed are at serious risk of getting ill and infecting others.
21:29And it's almost impossible to track down every case.
21:33We don't have enough people who are vaccinated and that's why this has taken off in the community that it has.
21:40There is no cure for measles, the only protection is vaccination.
21:45Public health officials are stressing the vaccine is safe, it's been used for decades
21:49and it's effective in stopping the spread and saving lives.
21:54Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto.
21:56An Ontario woman is calling on police to re-examine her sister's death unsolved for decades.
22:03I question this whole scenario in terms of how did her body end up there.
22:09The Fifth Estate uncovers the questionable coroner's report in the case.
22:15And Rosie's here with that issue, there she is.
22:17Hey Adrienne, just hours after Canadian officials met with Trump's commerce secretary
22:21we'll talk about whether it made any difference.
22:24We've been ripped off for years and we're not going to be ripped off anymore.
22:27Could negotiations change Trump's mind?
22:30And ahead of Mark Carney's cabinet shuffle we'll talk about what's at stake for him.
22:33Chantal, Althea and Andrew join me to talk about that and more.
22:41The Fifth Estate has uncovered new details about the investigation into the death of Sonia Siewank.
22:47Her body was found three decades ago.
22:49One of hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada whose cases remain unsolved.
22:55And Connie Walker shows us her sister has been trying to solve it on her own.
23:01She was small, very petite.
23:03She wasn't really tough, she wasn't really made tough.
23:06In 1994, Maggie Siewank's sister Sonia was found here
23:11in a small park 40 kilometres outside of London, Ontario.
23:15Frustrated by a police investigation that she thinks has gone cold
23:19Maggie has taken to the streets of East London to try to find answers for herself.
23:24The last place she was seen was across the street there.
23:28Maggie is investigating tips and interviewing people
23:31who claim to have information about her sister's murder.
23:34No civilian should feel that they have no options but to investigate
23:38the death of their loved one themselves.
23:40Maggie's lawyer Jessica Zita thinks she might not be in this position
23:44if police had investigated more thoroughly 30 years ago.
23:48We obtained the original coroner's report.
23:51It said Sonia was found partially clothed in a ditch
23:55with over 20 contusions and abrasions on her body.
23:58The cause of death was blunt force trauma associated with cocaine intake
24:03but whether it was accidental or homicide cannot be determined.
24:08The undetermined ruling was made a year after Sonia's death
24:12around the same time that the original OPP investigation seemed to wind down.
24:17I question this whole scenario in terms of how did her body end up there?
24:26Why was she positioned in the way she was?
24:29Why was she partially clothed?
24:31And we put it all together and it's it's a homicide regardless.
24:37In 2016 Chief Pathologist Michael Polanen came to the same conclusion.
24:42After reviewing Sonia's case he determined the manner of death is homicide.
24:48It's not just a question about Sonia it's a question about hundreds
24:53and I mean hundreds of other cases that have been also undetermined.
25:00The OPP declined our interview request but said Sonia's case is active and ongoing.
25:06Okay so Connie that that's pretty interesting.
25:08The police say that the case is still active but as I understand it
25:12Maggie's own investigation is making some headway.
25:15Absolutely she's conducting her own robust investigation.
25:18As you see in the piece she's canvassing the streets of East London
25:22and it's been paying off.
25:23She's been getting tips.
25:24She's been tracking down people of interest.
25:26Conducting her own interviews with people who say they have information about Sonia's murder.
25:30Really grilling them.
25:32She's even made clandestine recordings of one source who says she was with Sonia the night
25:37she was killed and had information about the assault and identities of other witnesses.
25:41Now Maggie's passed on that information and the recording to the OPP
25:44and is hoping they will follow up.
25:46Okay a lot more to come.
25:47Connie Walker so great to see you.
25:49Thanks Adrienne.
25:51The Fifth Estate's investigation A Sister's Promise
25:54airs tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on CBC Television and Gem and on YouTube tomorrow afternoon.
26:00So now let's break down the week in politics.
26:02Rosie's here with At Issue.
26:04At Issue tonight Trump's trade war.
26:07Donald Trump says he will not bend on steel and aluminum tariffs.
26:11We've been ripped off for years and we're not going to be ripped off anymore.
26:14No I'm not going to bend at all.
26:15Aluminum or steel.
26:17Canadian officials are meeting with the Commerce Secretary.
26:20Howard Lutnick has been critical of Canada's response.
26:23What does Canada do?
26:24They put a tariff on sports equipment.
26:27I mean really this is just it's tone deaf.
26:31So what does this meeting mean for trade tensions between the US and Canada?
26:35Can cooler heads prevail?
26:37I'm Rosemary Barton here to break it down again tonight.
26:40Chantelle Hébert, Andrew Coyne, Althea Raj.
26:41Good to see everyone.
26:42I mean we are talking tariffs pretty much every week.
26:46But it's because they're on, they're off, they're back on.
26:49What I think was interesting this week beyond that
26:52was the way Howard Lutnick reached out to Doug Ford, asked for a meeting.
26:58Doug Ford, you know, not going ahead with the tariffs on energy.
27:01There's some interesting moves there and I'm not sure what, if anything, they tell us.
27:06Chantelle.
27:08And then you turn to me.
27:09And then I turn to you.
27:11Yeah right.
27:13I'm not sure that they mean a lot.
27:15I think what we've seen over the past month, month and a half,
27:19is that it doesn't really matter what any Secretary of State in this cabinet says
27:27because in the end the mood that Donald Trump has,
27:32depending on the time of the day or the night,
27:34is going to dictate for at least a few hours what policy will be in place.
27:40So whatever, it may have been a productive meeting.
27:43I don't know.
27:44We weren't in the room.
27:45But whether that is a step forward, I very much doubt.
27:52Why?
27:52Because I'm not convinced that it has any impact on where Donald Trump is going to take this.
27:58I believe the only thing that can have impact on this president and this administration
28:03is pressure from American voters and American business,
28:07not meeting with whoever, and as well-meaning and effective as they may be, Canadian politicians.
28:13But surely that proves the point a little bit, Andrew,
28:18that the tariff on energy that Doug Ford was threatening,
28:2125 percent tariff, got their attention to the point that Howard Lutnick had to call him,
28:26and then the president rolled back the additional tariffs on steel and aluminum
28:30he was threatening 50 percent.
28:32I mean, does that not show that some part of our strategy is working?
28:37Some part is.
28:38I'm not sure this part is.
28:40I think these meetings are, if anything, worse than useless.
28:45The premise of them is there's some set of demands,
28:48some reasonable demands that the United States has that we can at least go partway to meeting,
28:53and if we do that, we'll somehow resolve this conflict and put it to bed.
28:57I don't see any evidence that there's any such demands.
29:00I think Canadian negotiators or Canadian government officials have tried in vain to find out
29:05what exactly might be those sort of demands.
29:08And I'll repeat what the prime minister said, that the most likely scenario,
29:12the most likely explanation of whatever is going through Donald Trump's head is
29:16that this is purely punitive, this is purely designed to harm the Canadian economy
29:21with a long-run ambition of making it so painful and so difficult to carry on as a country
29:26that people will be suing for peace, suing for annexation.
29:30Whether or not that's the case, it doesn't seem to me to be anything achieved by this
29:34except to make this normalized, to make them look reasonable,
29:38like they're involved in some kind of actual negotiation.
29:41As Chantal said, our best weapon in this is American public opinion,
29:48and every time the president slams on tariffs on Canadian exports, imports into the United States,
29:54he's hurting his own consumers and losing part of his base.
29:57So the best thing that we can do, it seems to me, is to keep the pressure on.
30:01Every time we apply tariffs, we may not be hurting them much directly with our tariffs,
30:06but we goad them into overreacting in the way that the president is given to doing,
30:10and disqualifying himself and making himself look as what he is, extreme and irrational.
30:16Althea?
30:17I think two things happened this week.
30:19One is actually Doug Ford was more successful perhaps than he intended to be.
30:25His threat of cutting off the power got everybody scared.
30:29And the impact was that the White House panicked and decided to charge its own citizens for more.
30:37And then the kind of off-ramp that Howard Lutnick negotiated with Canada got Canada to ease.
30:44But it didn't help.
30:48It saved American pain.
30:49It didn't help Canadians.
30:51But the background of that is actually, it feels like Doug Ford was freelancing on his own.
30:57And in that call with the Council of the Federation, he was told like,
31:01you can't just do this because you're escalating a trade war that will affect the rest of us.
31:05So if we want to escalate, I think the message from this week was,
31:10we need to be united and sing from the same songbook.
31:14And we can't make big moves without everybody being on board.
31:17Yeah, and that's probably why Doug Ford today was saying things like,
31:21I'm speaking for myself, I'm not speaking for anybody else.
31:24Because other premiers sure didn't like that, Chantal.
31:27Yes, but Doug Ford is the leading premier in this battle.
31:33Not just because he's comfortable with a four-year majority government that he's leading,
31:39but also because he leads the country's biggest economic engine.
31:47If a smaller province tried to do what he did, it would hardly get any attention in Washington.
31:52So he is part and parcel of the federal government strategy.
31:57I'm assuming that the time that Mark Carney spent with Premier Ford,
32:01more time than he has spent to date, as far as I can tell, with any premier.
32:05And the fact that that relationship with Finance Minister Dominique Leblanc
32:10and the Ontario premier is so strong,
32:13also means that the federal government is not being blindsided every step of the way by Ontario.
32:19No, I would suggest that Doug Ford is a convenient bad cop in these negotiations.
32:24Andrew, last word to you, then I'm going to take a break.
32:26You just took the words right out of my mouth.
32:31I'm generally in favor of premier singing from the same hymnbook,
32:34ideally the federal hymnbook in these things.
32:36And on the assumption that this is coordinated,
32:39and you can't always assume that with Doug Ford.
32:41But yeah, having this kind of loose cannon, if you will,
32:46and the Fed saying, look, we're not doing this.
32:49This is the premier of Ontario doing this.
32:51And you know what a loose cannon he is.
32:54It does have some effectiveness.
32:56Okay, we're going to leave it there.
32:57But you've set us all up nicely for the next part of this.
33:00We are going to talk about Mark Carney as he prepares to become prime minister tomorrow.
33:05Mark is going to be a fantastic prime minister.
33:08He's the leader of my party.
33:09He has my full support.
33:12Mark Carney will become Canada's 24th prime minister tomorrow.
33:14What will the team around him look like?
33:16What message will the cabinet send to the country?
33:19That's next.
33:26At issue, Mark Carney's cabinet.
33:27The next prime minister is opting for a leaner cabinet focused on the trade war.
33:32Some ministers will be out, while others will see their roles change.
33:36Mark Carney will be sworn in tomorrow as our new prime minister.
33:40And it will be his prerogative to tell us who will be a part of his next cabinet.
33:46What will the Carney cabinet tell us about his approach?
33:48And who will stay to take on Trump?
33:49Let's bring everyone back.
33:50Chantal, Andrew and Althea.
33:52Althea, we are all sort of doing what we do in Ottawa,
33:55which is trying to figure out who's going, who's staying.
33:58We don't always know.
33:58But we have a couple of things that we do know in terms of who's staying.
34:02Melanie Jolie, for instance, staying in the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
34:06What are you going to be watching for tomorrow?
34:09Well, basically, how much change is Mark Carney bringing?
34:13So we already know that the cabinet will be much smaller.
34:15How small, we don't yet know.
34:16I've tried to count.
34:17I can't get below 21.
34:19So I'm guessing it's around that.
34:22There already have been signals of huge changes.
34:25Some caucus members are calling it a purge.
34:28Mark Miller at immigration.
34:29Mark Holland at health.
34:31In some cases, I think these were surprises.
34:33Mr. Holland announced that he is not running again.
34:38Fisheries minister out in Gaspé is gone.
34:40So is the Quebec lieutenant of Justin Trudeau
34:44and a Quebec City area minister, Jean-Yves Clout.
34:47In terms of the new people, well, I don't know about you, Rosie,
34:51but I've called a bunch of people today who are not answering their phones.
34:55Normally respond.
34:57So they're being good soldiers and not calling back
35:00and probably on their way to Ottawa tomorrow.
35:02So there's a lot of new faces, some promotions, I suspect.
35:07I should say that.
35:09And then I think it's, you know, how Mr. Carney positions himself
35:14in terms of what the message he wants to send.
35:17Mr. Trudeau did that with renaming ministries,
35:20environment and climate change, for example.
35:22He had changed the indigenous services portfolio.
35:26He changed.
35:26Is he going to create new ministries that we don't have names yet
35:30to refocus our attention?
35:31It was interesting.
35:32I will note that they shuffled Stephen Guilbeault
35:36out of the environment and climate change portfolio.
35:37Apparently, he's still in cabinet.
35:40But he is a lightning rod out west on the carbon tax issue,
35:45on the pipeline issue.
35:46And so removing him, I think, sends a strong signal.
35:49The fact that he remains in cabinet, though,
35:51is an olive branch, I think, to Quebecers.
35:53There's going to be a lot of, from what we understand,
35:55consolidating of ministries in order to get down to those numbers.
35:58The only way you can do it.
35:59Is talking about.
36:00Yeah.
36:00So you're going to like, this is kind of the first test
36:03for Mr. Carney on a bunch of fronts, Chantal,
36:06because you're going to upset some people.
36:08The way that they seem to be selling it is to say,
36:10well, this is just the cabinet for now to get us,
36:13you know, into the election and through the election
36:15so we can deal with other things going forward.
36:17But tell me what you're watching for on that front
36:19in terms of how he manages people and their expectations.
36:24Well, for one, if you're going to cut the cabinet down to about 20,
36:28everybody is going to have a real job.
36:30I don't think you need to invent new portfolios.
36:33You have to consolidate what's around the table.
36:36Second, I think the most important thing to watch for
36:40is whether those frontline ministers who are dealing
36:43with the Canada-U.S. file on a daily basis are staying in place,
36:48starting with Finance Minister Dominique Leblanc,
36:51because what you do not need is,
36:53at the beginning of an election campaign,
36:56people who are kind of on a learning curve in these portfolios.
37:00We've seen it this week.
37:02Stuff will happen that will require responses,
37:06government responses between now
37:08and whenever the campaign ends in six or seven weeks.
37:11So you need ministers who actually know what they're doing,
37:14who have staff in place.
37:16And finally, yes, Stephen Gilbaud,
37:20as far as I can tell, I'm told, is getting larger responsibilities.
37:24And he would be.
37:25If you're staying, you're getting more work.
37:28Because there are less bodies around the table.
37:32So it's not a demotion.
37:34And actually, the places where you send people who are demoted,
37:38as in the shelf-watching ministry,
37:42those won't exist in this smaller cabinet.
37:45The impression they're trying to send
37:46is not that they're saving money.
37:49It's that this is a war cabinet,
37:51like a unity cabinet if the referendum had resulted
37:55in a defeat for federalism.
37:57A smaller team to be more focused on
38:00what they will describe for the entire campaign
38:03as an existential crisis.
38:05Yeah, Andrew, and then I know you went back in there, Althea.
38:08Andrew.
38:10I leave to my colleagues the speculation
38:12on who will occupy which post,
38:14but to me, the absolute revolution in this is the numbers.
38:17If they come in with a cabinet of less than 20,
38:20that will be the smallest cabinet since the 1950s.
38:23It's not coincidental that the decline of cabinet
38:26as a decision-making body and of cabinet ministers
38:29having any real responsibilities coincided
38:32with the rapid expansion to these ridiculous numbers
38:35where we've had close to 40 cabinet ministers.
38:37The larger the cabinet, the smaller the minister.
38:40When you have 12 ministers or 15 or 20 ministers
38:42around the table, they're all basically players.
38:44When you have 40, they basically turn into ants.
38:47And to get to those numbers,
38:50you have this proliferation of meaningless titles,
38:52overlapping responsibilities where it's not clear
38:54who's really responsible for what.
38:56They're basically handed out as tokens
38:59and as baubles to coveted interest groups
39:02or demographics or regions of the country.
39:04And we get further and further away
39:05from the actual business of cabinet,
39:06which is governing the country.
39:08If you'd cut it down to less than 20 or even close to 20,
39:12you are sending a signal that cabinet government is back.
39:15You are sending a signal that we are in serious times
39:17and we need a serious governing model.
39:21You are certainly sending a signal
39:22that you have made a major break
39:24with the way in which this country has been governed,
39:26not just under Justin Trudeau,
39:28but under a number of previous prime ministers.
39:30Yeah, so it would send that message of change
39:32that he's hoping to be able to send here
39:34while he still has to keep some of those key figures
39:36inside in some way.
39:38Althea, then Chantal.
39:39Okay, a few things.
39:41On the unity thing,
39:42one of the big things to watch tomorrow
39:44is, is there an actual surprise?
39:45Is he reaching out across the aisle
39:47and putting people from different parties
39:48and stripe in his actual cabinet?
39:51What happens to Karina Gould and Chrystia Freeland?
39:54Ms. Freeland seems to suggest that she's in there.
39:57We haven't heard peep squat from Karina Gould.
39:59If she is not in there,
40:00I know she represents a left side of the flank
40:03that Mr. Carney is not necessarily a fan of,
40:05but there will be some management of caucus
40:08that will need to be done on that.
40:10On the question of such a small cabinet,
40:13it means that representation somewhere will suffer.
40:15Either it's regional representation or it's gender
40:18or it's ethnicity or it's religion.
40:20And those stakeholders will also take some management
40:24because they are not going to be happy.
40:26And last, I would say on the whole,
40:29the original team behind the Canada-US response,
40:32I think we had spoken about that last week.
40:34I don't expect a lot of changes,
40:35but I do think that Dominic LeBlanc
40:37could easily move over to a portfolio,
40:40a Canada-US portfolio in my imaginary cabinet,
40:42Canada-US intergovernmental affairs portfolio,
40:45because he doesn't need to have the finance behind him.
40:48And frankly, a budget is about to be delivered
40:50in about two and a half months.
40:52And it might be good to have somebody
40:53who actually is more focused on the finances of the country
40:57than Dominic LeBlanc skills,
40:59which are frankly people skills
41:01that are attuned to the Canada-US intergovernmental.
41:04We see that with Doug Ford
41:05and the meeting with Letnik, for example.
41:07Yeah, I have also heard that theory
41:09that there's a way to move him around
41:11so that he's doing the things that he's best at
41:13and let someone deal with, to your point,
41:15the budget and the other things, Chantal.
41:18But the last time we talked about the lead minister
41:21on Canada-US who wasn't finance or foreign affairs
41:24was a minister who didn't have a ministry.
41:28And it's all nice to say intergovernmental affairs,
41:33but you're kind of not putting the way behind the title
41:37that you should be.
41:39And that rightly, Chrystia Freeland declined on that basis.
41:42So we'll see tomorrow on that particular thing.
41:46Yes, representation will be diminished.
41:51I'm wondering, looking at all the names
41:53of people who aren't in cabinet,
41:54whether there will be more than one minister
41:56east of Montreal.
41:57And what does that mean
41:58for the battle against the Bloc Québécois?
42:01A final word on Carina Gould.
42:03She's from Burlington.
42:06Sometimes you feel like déjà vu.
42:09I watched Paul Martin become prime minister
42:11and then find a way to send out of cabinet
42:16and caucus Sheila Copps, who was from the same area.
42:19And I'm thinking, is history really,
42:21really going to repeat itself?
42:23And by the way, that sent a really bad signal
42:26to a large section of the Liberal Party
42:29and to many, many female voters.
42:31Yeah, he paid the price for that one, for sure.
42:34Quick 10 seconds to you, Andrew.
42:37Just two quick things.
42:37One is, it'll be interesting.
42:38There's been some talk that he might appoint
42:40a conservative, a small seat or a large seat
42:44to the cabinet.
42:44That will be interesting to see
42:45in terms of national unity.
42:47And the other thing, and Sean tells me
42:48at this point many times is,
42:50what's going to be the response
42:51in terms of the cabinet making of Pierre Pallièvre?
42:53He's been the front runner for so long.
42:55He certainly had the opportunity
42:56to be able to attract people to run for him
42:59with the promise of cabinet posts.
43:00Can he put up a cabinet that is of equal stature
43:03or comparable stature to the one
43:05that Carney's going to unveil?
43:06Very good point.
43:07Thank you all for that.
43:08That is At Issue on The National for tonight.
43:10We're going to keep talking.
43:12We'll talk about Trudeau.
43:13Justin Trudeau's calls at the end
43:15of his prime ministership
43:16to fix the PM's residence at 24 Sussex.
43:18You can catch that on YouTube
43:20or the At Issue podcast.
43:21Now back to Adrienne in Toronto.
43:24Thank you, Rosie.
43:25Coming up, a shipwreck lost
43:27for more than a century.
43:28Finally found.
43:30It's one of the holy grails of the shipwrecks.
43:32It had been missing 132 years.
43:36The story of the Western Reserve
43:38and its remarkable discovery next in our moment.
43:46You're looking at a very old photograph
43:48of the Western Reserve.
43:49The freighter had been missing
43:51ever since it sank in the stormy waters
43:53of Lake Superior in 1892.
43:5627 people died that day
43:58with only a single survivor left
44:00to tell the tale.
44:01More than a century later,
44:03the ship has finally been found
44:05and the discovery is our moment.
44:08It's one of the holy grails of the shipwrecks.
44:11Everybody's been looking for her
44:12and we finally found it in the Western Reserve.
44:15She was one of the first steel freighters
44:17built on the Great Lakes.
44:19She was built to haul record loads.
44:22However, back in 1892,
44:24Captain Peter Minch and his family
44:26were taking a summertime cruise.
44:28So he's got six of his family members on board
44:31and the crew got into a storm.
44:33The beam broke
44:35and the Western Reserve went down within 10 minutes.
44:39A gentleman named Harry Stewart,
44:41who was the only one to make it to shore alive,
44:43is a tragic story.
44:44One person survived, 27 passed.
44:47From when the time it sank
44:48and from the time we discovered it,
44:50it had been missing 132 years
44:53and now we can honor the 27 lost on the Western Reserve.
44:57Harry Stewart, the sole survivor,
44:59his family has reached out to us
45:01and they're elated.
45:03Now we know where the ship is.
45:07What an amazing find,
45:08but also the Great Lakes are something.
45:11Lake Superior is the largest surface area
45:13of any freshwater lake in the world
45:15and the estimation is that there may be
45:17as many as 8,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes,
45:2030,000 people lost.
45:23Mysteries abound.
45:25From all of us at The National,
45:26thank you for being with us.
45:27I'm Adrienne Arsenault.
45:29Take care.