The number that moved Washington on January 20, 2026 was not a speech. It was small-business hiring, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 20, 2026

The Map

Early-state enthusiasm: the view from Capitol Hill

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

Peter Lang · Jan 20, 2026

The Floor

K Street stays late on the farm bill leftovers

Lawmakers spent January 20, 2026 arguing over an AI liability bill, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 20, 2026

West Wing

Canada’s stake in the Iran endgame just got larger

On January 20, 2026, the presidency turned the Iran endgame into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Jan 20, 2026

Industrial Policy

Canada’s stake in the TikTok residual just got larger

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. The TikTok residual is how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

David Chen · Jan 20, 2026

Drug Prices

Allentown cannot look away from 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 · Jan 20, 2026

The Strait

The predictable week Washington overpromises the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

A barrel at US$76 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the latest attempt to look in control.

Owen MacLeod · Jan 20, 2026

The Border

Spokane cannot look away from CBP staffing at the 49th

Washington still tells a southern-border story. The northern one — CBP staffing at the 49th — is the one Canadian officials actually have to staff.

Nadia Rahman · Jan 20, 2026

The Nine

The continental week Washington fast-tracks a birthright petition

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

Claire Fontaine · Jan 20, 2026

The Alliance

In Savannah, the Iran coalition splits the map

American statecraft on January 20, 2026 treated the Iran coalition as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Jan 20, 2026

The War

What 45 per cent in Chattanooga says about the tanker war

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

Elena Voss · Jan 20, 2026

The Borderline

In Allentown, the auto rules of origin weaponizes the map

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

Sophie Tremblay · Jan 20, 2026

Markets

What 41 per cent in Toledo says about the strong-dollar problem

The number that moved Washington on January 19, 2026 was not a speech. It was the strong-dollar problem, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 19, 2026

The Map

Boise cannot look away from a Senate toss-up

From Boise to the suburbs that decide Congress, a Senate toss-up is rewriting how campaigns talk about the war, prices and the border.

Peter Lang · Jan 19, 2026

The Floor

Manitoba’s manufacturing shops confront an emergency war authorization

Lawmakers spent January 19, 2026 arguing over a strategic petroleum rider, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 19, 2026

West Wing

Bill 1316 and the problem of the gasoline file

On January 19, 2026, the presidency turned the gasoline file into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Jan 19, 2026