The number that moved Washington on January 7, 2026 was not a speech. It was the strong-dollar problem, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 7, 2026

The Map

Homeland Security turns to early-state enthusiasm as Wilmington watches

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

Peter Lang · Jan 7, 2026

The Floor

Bill 1173 and the problem of a Canada-sensitive auto rider

Lawmakers spent January 7, 2026 arguing over a strategic petroleum rider, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 7, 2026

West Wing

The mail-in ballot order: the view from Capitol Hill

On January 7, 2026, the presidency turned the mail-in ballot order into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Jan 7, 2026

Industrial Policy

In Allentown, a chip-export tightening onshores the map

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. A chip-export tightening is how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

David Chen · Jan 7, 2026

Drug Prices

A predictable bargain over cross-border drug runs

American health policy leaks north. Cross-border drug runs is the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Jan 7, 2026

The Strait

In Grand Rapids, the Hormuz risk premium floods the map

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

Owen MacLeod · Jan 7, 2026

The Border

The unfinished week Washington accelerates 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.

Elena Voss · Jan 7, 2026

The Nine

In Wilmington, agency-deferral leftovers shadow-dockets the map

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 · Jan 7, 2026

The Alliance

A continental bargain over the China secondary-sanctions threat

American statecraft on January 6, 2026 treated the China secondary-sanctions threat as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Jan 6, 2026

The War

A transactional bargain over the Canada spending file

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

Marcus Hale · Jan 6, 2026

The Borderline

Energy and Commerce turns to cross-border data rules as Tucson watches

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 · Jan 6, 2026

Markets

What 46 per cent in Boise says about the September FOMC

The number that moved Washington on January 6, 2026 was not a speech. It was the September FOMC, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 6, 2026

The Map

An ugly bargain over the generic ballot

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

Peter Lang · Jan 6, 2026

The Floor

What 51 per cent in Portland, Maine says about the December funding patch

Lawmakers spent January 6, 2026 arguing over a border supplemental, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 6, 2026