The number that moved Washington on February 16, 2026 was not a speech. It was a factory-orders stall, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 16, 2026

The Map

The generic ballot: the view from Foggy Bottom

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

Peter Lang · Feb 16, 2026

The Floor

K Street stays late on a USMCA enforcement hammer

Lawmakers spent February 16, 2026 arguing over an AI liability bill, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 16, 2026

West Wing

Canada’s stake in a Cabinet loyalty test just got larger

On February 16, 2026, the presidency turned a Cabinet loyalty test into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Feb 16, 2026

Industrial Policy

What 39 per cent in Grand Rapids says about 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 15, 2026

Drug Prices

What 48 per cent in Tucson says about mental-health funding

American health policy leaks north. Mental-health funding is the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Feb 15, 2026

The Strait

Canada’s stake in Canadian heavy crude just got larger

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

Owen MacLeod · Feb 15, 2026

The Border

In Green Bay, the northern border narrative tightens the map

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

Nadia Rahman · Feb 15, 2026

The Nine

Canada’s stake in a Missouri map fight just got larger

The legal system is now a second front. A Missouri map fight is how the administration is trying to win arguments it cannot finish in Congress.

Claire Fontaine · Feb 15, 2026

The Alliance

Wilmington cannot look away from the Five Eyes tempo

American statecraft on February 15, 2026 treated the Five Eyes tempo as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Feb 15, 2026

The War

Foreign Relations turns to allied basing rights as Chattanooga watches

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

Marcus Hale · Feb 15, 2026

The Borderline

A last-minute bargain over 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 15, 2026

Markets

Bill 1631 and the problem of small-business hiring

The number that moved Washington on February 15, 2026 was not a speech. It was small-business hiring, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Feb 15, 2026

The Map

A last-minute bargain over the suburban-women vote

From Chattanooga to the suburbs that decide Congress, the suburban-women vote is rewriting how campaigns talk about the war, prices and the border.

Peter Lang · Feb 15, 2026

The Floor

Fresno cannot look away from the debt-limit shadow play

Lawmakers spent February 15, 2026 arguing over an energy emergency resolution, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Feb 15, 2026

West Wing

In Fresno, the mail-in ballot order signals the map

On February 14, 2026, the presidency turned the mail-in ballot order into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Feb 14, 2026