AI job applicants, promised boats, and boycotts going strong: CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet

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That white guy who can't get a job at Tim Hortons? He's AI
That white guy who can't get a job at Tim Hortons? He's AI
4 days ago
Duration 3:26
A series of AI-generated videos that show a white man complaining about how difficult it is to get a job in Canada have been taken down by TikTok, following inquiries made by the CBC News Visual Investigations team.
The social media platform says the videos violated its community guidelines, because it wasn't clear enough that they were made with AI.
Most of the videos feature what looks like a white man in his 20s named "Josh," who speaks to the camera and makes racially charged statements about immigrants and their role in the job market. In fact, "Josh" is created by AI and doesn't exist.
In one video, he complains he can't get a job because people from India have taken them all, particularly at Tim Hortons. He claims that he applied for a job at the doughnut shop and was asked if he spoke Punjabi.
In a statement, Tim Hortons said the emergence of videos such as this have been extremely frustrating and concerning for the company, and adds that it has had difficulty getting them taken down.
In another video, "Josh" attacks Canada's immigration policy, asking why so many people are admitted to Canada when there aren't enough jobs to go around.
It's part of a trend known as "fake-fluencing." That's when companies create fake personas with AI in order to make it look like a real person is endorsing a product or service. The company in this case is Nexa, an AI firm that develops software that other companies can use to recruit new hires. Some of the videos feature Nexa logos in the scene. The company's founder and CEO Divy Nayyar calls that a "subconscious placement" of advertising.
The U.S. boycott remains strong. Why many Canadians are digging in their heels
It's shaping up to be a record sales year at Maker House, an Ottawa gift shop where almost everything in the store — from furniture to food to greeting cards — is entirely made in Canada.
Hot sellers these days include a T-shirt with the newly iconic "elbows up" slogan, and chocolate bars wrapped in quintessential Canadian expressions such as "eh."
Founder Gareth Davies says year-over-year sales surged by 150 per cent in February, when U.S. President Donald Trump first announced plans to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, and ramped up his threats to make Canada the 51st state.
At the time, many Canadians pledged to boycott U.S. travel and goods, and support the Buy Canadian movement as a way to express their anger.
Davies says sales since then have continued to stay strong: they're currently up by 80 per cent and almost doubled during the week leading up to Canada Day.
"It's like a big hug from your neighbours across the country saying, 'You know, we're in this together and we're going to protect our country and our economy,'" he said. "I, in my gut, believe it will last as long as the vitriol lasts from the south."
Boycotts often wane over time as people lose interest and return to old habits. But many Canadians' resolve to boycott the U.S. and focus on Canadian products has remained strong, and shows no signs of dissipating.
A majority of Canadians polled in a new survey said they're actively supporting the Buy Canadian movement, and support stores removing U.S. products. Plus, Canadian travel to the U.S. has steadily declined since Trump took office in January.
Should Tim Hortons repay all Canadians promised a boat? This Ottawa man thinks so
Michel Leveillee is a loyal Tim Hortons customer.
The Ottawa man says he visits two or three times a day for his large double-double, and he always participates in "Roll Up the Rim to Win" — the annual promotion that gives customers the opportunity to win prizes ranging from a doughnut to an all-inclusive vacation.
So when Leveillee became one of thousands of Canadians across the country last year who were told they'd won a 2024 Targa 18 WT boat and trailer, he couldn't believe it.
"[There were] tears of joy," he said. "And after that came the tears of deception."
The wins had been a mistake. Tim Hortons reached out to its customers by email, blaming "technical errors."
Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocats then launched a class-action lawsuit, arguing the thousands of affected customers deserve to be awarded the boat and trailer or the prize's value — about $64,000, the firm estimates.
They had intended to represent all Canadians. In June 2025, a judge ruled that the lawsuit could go forward, but only for Quebec residents, because that province has stronger consumer protection laws.
Leveillee said he'll be happy for any customers who can get justice, but Tim Hortons should be held responsible for everyone who got the notifications.
"If [you] buy a coffee on the Quebec side [of the Ottawa River], and then you play Roll Up the Rim and win in Ontario, you're a winner no matter what," he said, noting he often stops for coffee in Gatineau, Que.
CBC News reached out to Tim Hortons for comment, but they declined because the matter is still in court.
Read more from CBC's Gabrielle Huston.
A Marketplace story update
Finally, an update to a story that Marketplace pursued a little over a year ago on food dyes, several of which are banned in Europe, but allowed here.
The New York Times reports that Trump's secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has convinced several food manufacturers to remove some of these synthetic dyes from their food by the end of 2027.
They report at least one major holdout, however: the candy industry, which says people like brightly coloured candy. Read more on this development here.
What else is going on?
Canada's big banks 'appear to be protecting themselves,' expert says.
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