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

Nadia Rahman · Mar 23, 2026

The Nine

The unfinished week Washington rewrites a tariff-authority challenge

The legal system is now a second front. A tariff-authority challenge is how the administration is trying to win arguments it cannot finish in Congress.

Claire Fontaine · Mar 23, 2026

The Alliance

Nova Scotia’s navy town confronts a Venezuela oil bargain

American statecraft on March 23, 2026 treated a Venezuela oil bargain as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Mar 23, 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 · Mar 22, 2026

The Borderline

The drug-price transparency act hiding inside dollar-for-dollar tariffs

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

Elena Voss · Mar 22, 2026

Markets

The September FOMC: the view from Foggy Bottom

The number that moved Washington on March 22, 2026 was not a speech. It was the September FOMC, and the Canadian reading is harsher than the American one.

Thomas Bergeron · Mar 22, 2026

The Map

Bill 2050 and the problem of 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 · Mar 22, 2026

The Floor

Omaha cannot look away from a Canada-sensitive auto rider

Lawmakers spent March 22, 2026 arguing over an energy emergency resolution, and discovered again that Canada is sitting in the margins of the text.

Amrita Shah · Mar 22, 2026

West Wing

A photo-op with refiners: the view from Foggy Bottom

On March 22, 2026, the presidency turned a photo-op with refiners into a test of discipline, loyalty and the midterm calendar.

James Whitfield · Mar 22, 2026

Industrial Policy

Washington stays late on cloud contracts at DoD

The industrial policy coming out of Washington is no longer a slogan. Cloud contracts at DoD are how it shows up in Canadian boardrooms.

David Chen · Mar 22, 2026

Drug Prices

Bill 2046 and the problem of 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 · Mar 22, 2026

The Strait

A transactional bargain over Canadian heavy crude

A barrel at US$80 turns every hearing into a kitchen-table argument. Canadian heavy crude is the latest attempt to look in control.

Owen MacLeod · Mar 22, 2026

The Border

Bill 2044 and the problem of asylum clock rules

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

Nadia Rahman · Mar 22, 2026

The Nine

Bill 2043 and the problem of the mail-in voting order

The legal system is now a second front. The mail-in voting order is how the administration is trying to win arguments it cannot finish in Congress.

Claire Fontaine · Mar 22, 2026

The Alliance

The ugly week Washington courts the China secondary-sanctions threat

American statecraft on March 22, 2026 treated the China secondary-sanctions threat as a lever. Allies, including Canada, are doing the arithmetic.

Lila Okada · Mar 22, 2026