Return to Transcripts main page
CNN News Central
Canadian Prime Minister's Liberal Party Surging In Polls In Wake Of Trump's Push To Annex Canada & Tariff Threats; Feeding America: Trump Admin Freezes $500M In Food Bank Aid; "Adaption Nation: A Climate Crisis Survival Guide" Airs Sunday At 8PM. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired March 21, 2025 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:33:59]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: In the Oval Office this morning, President Trump said he is focused on adding Canada's, quote, "beautiful landmass to the U.S.," reiterating his plan to annex the country as the United States' 51st state.
That plan, and Trump's threat of tariffs has not been sitting well with Canadians. In fact, the backlash, along with a swell of Canadian pride, has led to a remarkable recovery in the polls by Canada's Liberal Party.
Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, is now hoping to capitalize on that surge and is reportedly poised to call for a snap federal election.
Let's bring in CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten.
All right, because he wants an election, because he's doing well. Harry, how much of Canadian opinions of the U.S. changed since Trump took over?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, Canada. Their feelings on us have changed tremendously. Tremendously. I mean, my goodness gracious, Canadians who want a friendly approach to the U.S. long before Trump came into office, 73 percent of Canadians, felt that way.
[14:35:59]
Get where that number is now, down to just 23 percent. That's a drop of 50 points. And that is all because of the man in the White House right now, Donald John Trump. They do not like what Trump is doing.
KEILAR: All right. And this allowed a big change in the upcoming Canadian election, which, you know, could have been called very quickly. We knew that.
ENTEN: Yes, yes. You know, parliamentary system up there, quite different from what's going on here.
Chance that the Liberal Party wins the most seats? On January 19th, it was less than a 1 percent chance. Look at where we are now on March 21st, 90 percent.
I mean, come on. You never see this type of movement in American politics. I was trying to recall a presidential election which saw this type of shift.
And I think the only one I could really think of was when Gerald Ford mounted a massive comeback at the end of the 1976 campaign against Jimmy Carter. He lost.
But right at this particular point, the Liberal Party Mark Carney Party looking pretty gosh darn good, if the election we're held today.
KEILAR: OK. And so this has to do, no doubt, about the tariffs, the trade war, right? Also, it seems like Canadians are pretty down with being a sovereign nation. They seem pretty attached to that whole idea.
ENTEN: Yes, I'm going to roll it all into one right here. We're going to deal with both of those issues.
Part of the U.S., do Canadians want to become part of the U.S.? I mean, when do you ever see 90 percent of Americans ever agreeing on anything. But 90 percent of Canadians agree they don't want to be part of the United States.
Just 10 percent. That's -- I call it the moon line. That's the percentage of people who believe in the United States that we fake the moon landing. That's the percentage of Canadians who want to be part of the United States.
And here's the big question, right? Who do they trust on that issue? Look at this. Liberal Mark Carney, that's who they trust on that issue.
Of course, the prime minister, 53 percent compared to Pierre Poilievre. There we go. I'm getting my French on today. Just 31 percent of Canadians trust him more on the issue, the conservative party leader.
And of course, we were talking -- we were talking about that trade war. And look at this. Better to handle the trade war with the United States of America? Look at this. Liberal Mark Carney. Look at that, 55 percent, compared to Pierre Poilievre at just 30 percent.
Bottom line is the Canadian party looked dead in the water. That is why Justin Trudeau went adios amigos. And now, all of a sudden, the Liberal Party is poised at this point to be the favorite for the snap election, likely to be called this Sunday.
KEILAR: It's really amazing.
Why would that 10 percent, though, want to be part of America if we faked the moon landing? That part, Harry --
ENTEN: Oh.
KEILAR: I don't get.
(LAUGHTER)
ENTEN: You know, I couldn't answer. All I can do is give you one little encore. Oh. Canada, da, da, da, da, da, da.
KEILAR: And thank you so much.
ENTEN: Back to you. Thank you.
KEILAR: So beautiful.
We appreciate it. Thank you.
And when we do come back, how food banks across the country are scrambling to keep their pantries stocked now that federal assistance has reportedly been put on hold by the Trump administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:42:29]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Today, there is growing concern at one of the nation's largest food bank networks. A leader at Feeding America, which oversees tens of thousands of food pantries across the U.S., says that critical funds have been frozen by the Trump administration.
And because of that, food banks will soon struggle to meet demand.
Vince Hall is chief government relations officer for Feeding America, and he joins us now.
So take us inside Feeding America. What does that actually mean for folks that rely on the services that you provide?
VINCE HALL, CHIEF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS OFFICER, FEEDING AMERICA: Its shocking. But there are 47 million people in the United States that are struggling with hunger, including 14 million children.
And our neighbors who are experiencing hunger tell us that they rely on food distributions from Feeding America food banks and 60,000 faith-based and nonprofit organizations that partner with them to make it through each month, to make sure that their kids have enough food.
And the reality is that USDA-purchased foods account for 23 percent of the total amount of food being distributed by the Feeding America network every day.
SANCHEZ: So connect the dots for us. How does the freezing of funds, or the pausing of funds, or the cutting of funds directly impact the work that you do?
HALL: So unless Feeding America food banks have access to enough donated food and, in some cases, very expensively purchased food to meet the needs in their communities, really, it's the USDA-purchased foods that have to fill that gap. Otherwise, the lines go unserved. And it's heartbreaking to see
seniors, veterans, active-duty military members, people with disabilities, people who have just fallen down on hard times, coming to a food distribution and there not being enough there for everybody to make it through.
So this is a crisis that is compelling, to have 47 million people be food insecurity in a country of 340 million. This is a problem we can solve. There is actually enough food in the United States to solve the issue of hunger.
USDA, in partnership with food donors, in partnership with local community volunteers that help their local food bank every day, can combine to solve this problem.
SANCHEZ: So the message from DOGE and lawmakers who support the gutting of federal agencies like USDA is that something needs to be done about federal spending because it's inefficient and there's tremendous waste. I wonder what your message to those folks would be.
HALL: I would say that, for over 50 years, farmers across the United States have been in deep and meaningful partnerships with their local food banks to address the issue of hunger. Often it is USDA that is a catalyst for those relationships to succeed.
[14:44:59]
And that if we want to have vibrant and healthy agriculture in this country, if we want to have family farms be able to sustain themselves, and we want to address the problem of hunger that's afflicting so many Americans, USDA should continue. And, in fact, should expand that critical role.
Congress can help with the farm bill. This year, they're supposed to pass the reauthorization of the farm bill.
And by investing more money in the emergency food assistance program, by protecting SNAP benefits, and by protecting a senior food box program that USDA operates, we can actually make some major inroads into solving this problem.
SANCHEZ: You alluded to some folks that might be at risk, but are there particular communities or corners of the country and the population that would immediately see an adverse impact as a result of some of these changes?
HALL: Yes, that's a great question. Because the specific program we're talking about, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, is rural America's hunger lifeline.
It is very complicated and expensive to do what we do, which is deliver food to every county in the United States of America and try to leave no one behind.
The TEFAP food provided by USDA means that we have a predictable supply of diverse, healthy, nutritious foods on a schedule. And there's a little bit of additional funding to help offset the cost of storing and distributing that food, which is the biggest impediment to solving rural hunger.
So nine out of every 10 counties in this country that have the highest rates of food insecurity are rural counties. And so this money is especially targeted to helping those Americans.
SANCHEZ: That's fascinating to me, in part, because it is largely rural communities that have elected the kinds of leaders that support these cuts.
So I wonder if you think those leaders are inadvertently going to drain support once some of their constituents find out that these programs that have gone away are based on these lawmakers supporting these cuts.
HALL: I think it's important for everybody to use their voice in our democracy. And local communities are so willing to support local food banks. And I encourage that. People can donate funds, they can donate food, they can donate time and volunteer.
But the most important thing, perhaps in response to your question, is to donate their voice. And that is to speak up on behalf of their neighbors experiencing hunger. People with lived or living experience with hunger can speak up for themselves.
And it's not just about this administration. It's also about Congress. It's about the need for a robust, bipartisan farm bill that makes meaningful investments in TEFAP and other nutrition programs.
SANCHEZ: Vince Hall, we're so grateful for you joining us. Thank you so much.
HALL: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a look at the innovative solutions that could help the world adapt to dealing with extreme weather.
Don't go anywhere. We're back in just moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:51:46]
KEILAR: Last year was the hottest year on record. And the unprecedented heat helped fuel climate disasters across the globe. We're talking hurricanes, floods, wildfires.
They're only getting worse. And it's causing billions of dollars of damage here in the U.S. every year. So what does it take to rebuild in areas threatened with even more extreme weather in the future?
SANCHEZ: This week, on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, travels the globe to see for himself the innovative solutions that would allow the world to build safe and sustainable communities that could withstand any climate disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 2025 began with the worst urban wildfire in American history, thousands of burned-out families and businesses across Los Angeles County are wondering what comes next and studying what survived.
(on camera): Greg, I'm standing in front of your creation and it looks like it was sort of airlifted in here after the fire. It is so relatively unscathed. How much of that is luck? How much of that was by design?
(voice-over): After this Pacific Palisades house went viral for its survival, architect, Greg Chasen, told me that the vacant lot next door was a fire break made of luck.
But the house is a definition of fire adaptation. With a wall instead of a picket fence around native landscaping. Tempered glass windows with metal frames.
(on camera): It's striking how clean the lines are and that is advantageous when it comes to blowing embers. There's just less to get hung up on, right?
GREG CHASEN, SANTA MONICA-BASED ARCHITECT: I really think it is. A lot of the other new houses that burned in the area, they have gable upon gable upon gable. It just creates more and more areas for fire and embers to collect and do damage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: It's fascinating.
So, Bill, is with us now.
Bill, tell us a little bit about what made you want to start on this journey, but also how you go from innovation to widespread implementation, because that's a really tricky thing.
WEIR: Absolutely. Scale is everything, Brianna. But the inspiration was my little boy, River, born in 2020. When I became a new dad, I realized this kid is going to live to the 22nd century. Where should he live? What kind of house should he live in?
I'm reading him the "Three Little Pigs" book, and we want to be like the third pig, right? And not necessarily build with brick but build smart enough for the Big Bad Wolf that is getting worse every year.
And I found inspiration from fire zones, Paradise, where they rebuilt from the flood zones, the hurricane zones in Florida where one mom came up with a new creative construction. Really just disaster proof way to build homes there as well. And right now, though, to answer your question, it is going to be
survival of the richest. The people who are focused on the science, smart communities that have the resources to think in these things and build this way.
The question is, can we scale it up? Can these ideas come down in price and it spreads into the zeitgeist enough where this ounce of prevention mentality takes hold?
[14:54:59]
SANCHEZ: Not to give away the answer to that question, Bill, but did this give you hope that people can keep living in places like Florida or California, which, it seems like every year, are dealing with larger and larger disasters?
WEIR: Absolutely. There are better ways to live with fire, live with water, be more flexible, understand it. But the big question right now is financial.
And when it comes to insurance markets cratering in California, although the answer for that, the people who have the strongest construction, the best sort of smart, sustainable neighborhoods have the lowest insurance rates as well. So the markets will force a lot of this.
But we're going to get into a lot of different ideas. There's my little boy in the delivery room, the inspiration for this thing.
But we have so much hope in this hour, so much human ingenuity and ideas and people thinking in new ways about shelter, about community, supply chains, power streams.
It's really in humanity's hands right now. The only thing that's missing at the moment is leadership.
SANCHEZ: We're excited to watch it.
Bill Weir, thank you so much.
Be sure to tune in, an all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," one whole hour, one whole story, airs Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.
How was a single fire in London able to upend travel worldwide? We'll take you live to Heathrow Airport, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
