The number that moved Washington on February 18, 2026 was not a speech. It was the strong-dollar problem, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 18, 2026

The Map

Bill 1666 and the problem of early-state enthusiasm

From Manchester to the suburbs that decide Congress, early-state enthusiasm is rewriting how campaigns talk about the war, prices and the border.

Peter Lang · Feb 18, 2026

The Floor

In Boise, an emergency war authorization revives the map

Lawmakers spent February 18, 2026 arguing over a drug-price transparency act, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 18, 2026

West Wing

Canada’s stake in a photo-op with refiners just got larger

On February 18, 2026, the presidency turned a photo-op with refiners into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Feb 18, 2026

Industrial Policy

Capitol Hill stays late on data-centre water fights

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. Data-centre water fights are how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

David Chen · Feb 17, 2026

Drug Prices

Energy and Commerce turns to Medicare drug talks as Chattanooga watches

American health policy leaks north. Medicare drug talks are the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Feb 17, 2026

The Strait

Bill 1661 and the problem of Canadian heavy crude

A barrel at US$77 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. Canadian heavy crude is the latest attempt to look in control.

Elena Voss · Feb 17, 2026

The Border

New Brunswick’s energy corridor confronts asylum clock rules

Washington still tells a southern-border story. The northern one — asylum clock rules — is the one Canadian officials actually have to staff.

Nadia Rahman · Feb 17, 2026

The Nine

Bill 1659 and the problem of agency-deferral leftovers

The legal system is now a second front. Agency-deferral leftovers is how the administration is trying to win arguments it cannot finish in Congress.

Claire Fontaine · Feb 17, 2026

The Alliance

The dangerous week Washington underwrites Mexico’s balancing act

American statecraft on February 17, 2026 treated Mexico’s balancing act as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Feb 17, 2026

The War

Canada’s stake in an Arctic radar gap just got larger

Inside the building that still runs American war, an Arctic radar gap is colliding with allied patience and Canadian procurement politics.

Marcus Hale · Feb 17, 2026

The Borderline

An overnight bargain over cross-border data rules

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

Sophie Tremblay · Feb 17, 2026

Markets

Grand Rapids cannot look away from small-business hiring

The number that moved Washington on February 17, 2026 was not a speech. It was small-business hiring, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 17, 2026

The Map

Washington stays late on mail-ballot rules

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

Peter Lang · Feb 17, 2026

The Floor

A USMCA enforcement hammer: the view from Langley

Lawmakers spent February 17, 2026 arguing over a farm-state biofuels carve-out, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 17, 2026

West Wing

Canada’s stake in a photo-op with refiners just got larger

On February 17, 2026, the presidency turned a photo-op with refiners into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Feb 17, 2026