The number that moved Washington on May 12, 2026 was not a speech. It was a hot payrolls print, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · May 12, 2026

The Map

The transactional week Washington haunts 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 · May 12, 2026

The Floor

The an AI liability bill hiding inside a Canada-sensitive auto rider

Lawmakers spent May 12, 2026 arguing over an AI liability bill, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · May 12, 2026

West Wing

Canada’s stake in the gasoline file just got larger

On May 12, 2026, the presidency turned the gasoline file into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · May 12, 2026

Industrial Policy

Ways and Means turns to Canada’s compute shortage as Portland, Maine watches

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. Canada’s compute shortage is how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

Elena Voss · May 12, 2026

Drug Prices

A partisan 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 · May 12, 2026

The Strait

What 38 per cent in Buffalo says about Gulf Coast refining

A barrel at US$89 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. Gulf Coast refining is the latest attempt to look in control.

Owen MacLeod · May 12, 2026

The Border

Canada’s stake in work-permit backlogs just got larger

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

Nadia Rahman · May 11, 2026

The Nine

What 42 per cent in Little Rock says about 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 · May 11, 2026

The Alliance

An ugly bargain over Gulf shipping insurance

American statecraft on May 11, 2026 treated Gulf shipping insurance as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · May 11, 2026

The War

The expensive week Washington overcommits the tanker war

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

Marcus Hale · May 11, 2026

The Borderline

The border supplemental hiding inside the auto rules of origin

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 · May 11, 2026

Markets

Canada’s stake in shelter inflation just got larger

The number that moved Washington on May 11, 2026 was not a speech. It was shelter inflation, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · May 11, 2026

The Map

Langley stays late on mail-ballot rules

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

Peter Lang · May 11, 2026

The Floor

Canada’s stake in a USMCA enforcement hammer just got larger

Lawmakers spent May 11, 2026 arguing over a strategic petroleum rider, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · May 11, 2026

West Wing

What 44 per cent in Wilmington says about a sudden pardon rumour

On May 11, 2026, the presidency turned a sudden pardon rumour into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · May 11, 2026