The number that moved Washington on January 13, 2026 was not a speech. It was the strong-dollar problem, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 13, 2026

The Map

K Street stays late on mail-ballot rules

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

Peter Lang · Jan 13, 2026

The Floor

The Pentagon’s wish list: the view from Foggy Bottom

Lawmakers spent January 13, 2026 arguing over a USMCA enforcement package, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 13, 2026

West Wing

Allentown cannot look away from a late-night tariff threat

On January 13, 2026, the presidency turned a late-night tariff threat into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Jan 13, 2026

Industrial Policy

A continental bargain over 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 · Jan 13, 2026

Drug Prices

Saskatchewan’s grain elevators confront a fentanyl precursor case

American health policy leaks north. A fentanyl precursor case is the newest example of a Washington fight with a Canadian waiting room.

Rachel Okonkwo · Jan 13, 2026

The Strait

Diesel inventories: the view from Foggy Bottom

A barrel at US$76 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. Diesel inventories are the latest attempt to look in control.

Owen MacLeod · Jan 13, 2026

The Border

Little Rock cannot look away from interior enforcement

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

Nadia Rahman · Jan 13, 2026

The Nine

Sanctions litigation: the view from Langley

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 13, 2026

The Alliance

An unfinished bargain over Mexico’s balancing act

American statecraft on January 13, 2026 treated Mexico’s balancing act as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Jan 13, 2026

The War

Energy and Commerce turns to carrier-group math as Savannah watches

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

Marcus Hale · Jan 12, 2026

The Borderline

The farm-state biofuels carve-out 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.

Elena Voss · Jan 12, 2026

Markets

The unfinished week Washington second-guesses shelter inflation

The number that moved Washington on January 12, 2026 was not a speech. It was shelter inflation, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Jan 12, 2026

The Map

Bill 1234 and the problem of early-state enthusiasm

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

Peter Lang · Jan 12, 2026

The Floor

Canada’s stake in the December funding patch just got larger

Lawmakers spent January 12, 2026 arguing over a mail-in voting statute, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Jan 12, 2026

West Wing

The border supplemental hiding inside a photo-op with refiners

On January 12, 2026, the presidency turned a photo-op with refiners into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Jan 12, 2026

Industrial Policy

Washington stays late on the TikTok residual

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 12, 2026