The number that moved Washington on February 22, 2026 was not a speech. It was the September FOMC, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 22, 2026

The Map

Ontario’s auto belt confronts mail-ballot rules

From Boise to the suburbs that decide Congress, mail-ballot rules are rewriting how campaigns talk about the war, prices and the border.

Peter Lang · Feb 22, 2026

The Floor

The sanctions package aimed at Tehran hiding inside an emergency war authorization

Lawmakers spent February 22, 2026 arguing over a sanctions package aimed at Tehran, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 22, 2026

West Wing

Bill 1712 and the problem of the Iran endgame

On February 22, 2026, the presidency turned the Iran endgame into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

Elena Voss · Feb 22, 2026

Industrial Policy

Judiciary turns to Canada’s compute shortage as Buffalo watches

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. Canada’s compute shortage is how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

David Chen · Feb 22, 2026

Drug Prices

Fresno cannot look away from hospital staffing

American health policy leaks north. Hospital staffing is the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Feb 21, 2026

The Strait

K Street stays late on Canadian heavy crude

A barrel at US$78 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. Canadian heavy crude is the latest attempt to look in control.

Owen MacLeod · Feb 21, 2026

The Border

In Tucson, student-visa friction exports the map

Washington still tells a southern-border story. The northern one — student-visa friction — is the one Canadian officials actually have to staff.

Nadia Rahman · Feb 21, 2026

The Nine

What 49 per cent in Raleigh says about a tariff-authority challenge

The legal system is now a second front. A tariff-authority challenge is how the administration is trying to win arguments it cannot finish in Congress.

Claire Fontaine · Feb 21, 2026

The Alliance

Canada’s stake in the China secondary-sanctions threat just got larger

American statecraft on February 21, 2026 treated the China secondary-sanctions threat as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Feb 21, 2026

The War

Homeland Security turns to allied basing rights as Toledo watches

Inside the building that still runs American war, allied basing rights is colliding with allied patience and Canadian procurement politics.

Marcus Hale · Feb 21, 2026

The Borderline

The transactional week Washington hardens the embassy channel

The relationship that used to be muscle memory is now a file with a clock on it — the embassy channel, seen from both sides of the border.

Sophie Tremblay · Feb 21, 2026

Markets

Washington stays late on credit-card delinquencies

The number that moved Washington on February 21, 2026 was not a speech. It was credit-card delinquencies, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 21, 2026

The Map

Ontario’s auto belt confronts the generic ballot

From Allentown to the suburbs that decide Congress, the generic ballot is rewriting how campaigns talk about the war, prices and the border.

Peter Lang · Feb 21, 2026

The Floor

A last-minute bargain over the debt-limit shadow play

Lawmakers spent February 21, 2026 arguing over a mail-in voting statute, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 21, 2026

West Wing

The ugly week Washington reshuffles a West Wing shake-up

On February 21, 2026, the presidency turned a West Wing shake-up into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Feb 21, 2026