Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. May 8th, 2025

The search for a new Pope has quickly ended after just 2 days of deliberation. And as the white smoke drifts away from Vatican City, the identity of the Catholic Church’s fearless leader has been unveiled for all to see. Cardinal Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, will now be known as Pope Leo XIV. It is the first time in the Church’s history that an American will be leading them. We gather instant reaction as the show rolls on. Meantime, a new Leger survey says that most Canadians don’t feel safe when they visit an American city. It was conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies, and it found that 52 percent of respondents don’t find this pilgrimage as safe as it once was. While 29 percent of respondents disagree with this theory, 54 percent insist that they don’t feel welcome when they travel to the United States. Travel expert Lorraine Simpson calls up the Ottawa Now studios with her two cents.