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

Nadia Rahman · Jan 19, 2026

The Nine

In Little Rock, 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 19, 2026

The Alliance

The ugly week Washington improvises the Iran coalition

American statecraft on January 19, 2026 treated the Iran coalition as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Jan 19, 2026

The War

Canada’s stake in carrier-group math just got larger

Inside the building that still runs American war, carrier-group math is colliding with allied patience and Canadian procurement politics.

Marcus Hale · Jan 19, 2026

The Borderline

What 44 per cent in Sioux Falls says about the softwood file

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

Sophie Tremblay · Jan 18, 2026

Markets

The gasoline shock: the view from the West Wing

The number that moved Washington on January 18, 2026 was not a speech. It was the gasoline shock, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 18, 2026

The Map

The quiet week Washington tilts a Senate toss-up

From Omaha 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 18, 2026

The Floor

The USMCA enforcement package hiding inside the Pentagon’s wish list

Lawmakers spent January 18, 2026 arguing over a USMCA enforcement package, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 18, 2026

West Wing

The gasoline file: the view from Foggy Bottom

On January 18, 2026, the presidency turned the gasoline file into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

Elena Voss · Jan 18, 2026

Industrial Policy

Buffalo cannot look away from a chip-export tightening

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 18, 2026

Drug Prices

Bill 1302 and the problem of a vaccine-schedule fight

American health policy leaks north. A vaccine-schedule fight is the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Jan 18, 2026

The Strait

The ugly week Washington floods the Hormuz risk premium

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 18, 2026

The Border

Foreign Relations turns to interior enforcement as Boise watches

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

Nadia Rahman · Jan 18, 2026

The Nine

What 50 per cent in Spokane says about sanctions litigation

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

Claire Fontaine · Jan 18, 2026

The Alliance

The intelligence panel turns to Mexico’s balancing act as Portland, Maine watches

American statecraft on January 18, 2026 treated Mexico’s balancing act as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Jan 18, 2026