This Week's Round-Up: February 23, 2026

• 8 experts on Canada’s new defence strategy

• Is your CPP being used to fuel the trade war?

• Tumbler Ridge and the spread of anti-trans hate
• Canada's response to increasing wildfires
• We’re hiring an art fellow

This Is What American Fascism Looks Like

From assassinating its own citizens to egging on Alberta separatists, the US has changed in ways Ottawa still refuses to confront

BY STEWART PREST

For all the talk of “elbows up,” the federal government continues to avoid openly labelling US administration overreach as imperialist or authoritarian, even when it threatens Canadian sovereignty and democracy. On many issues, Canada has implicitly or explicitly agreed with the US, often in the face of all evidence. The country continues to spend billions policing a largely non-existent cross-border fentanyl problem. Increases to military spending have been in response to American NATO demands, even as the US president threatens a NATO ally and questions Canadian sovereignty.

Even the lawlessness of action in the Caribbean failed to draw any federal government official in Canada into openly criticizing the American administration.

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Wildfires are no longer a once-a-year emergency in Canada. With smoke and other side-effects now crossing provincial and national borders, Canadians are asking not whether this will continue, but how we respond.

Join us at The Walrus Talks Wildfires to hear from leading experts, engage with the latest research and perspectives, and explore promising solutions that can shape Canada’s response.

A MESSAGE FROM THE WALRUS LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOUNT PLEASANT GROUP

Supporting Children Through Grief

This episode of Sorry For Your Loss explores how children experience grief and how adults can talk with them about death in supportive, honest ways.

Sarah Keast reflects on losing her husband and speaking with her young daughters about his death, followed by a conversation with Kitrina Fex of Hospice Mississauga on how caregivers can help grieving children feel seen and supported.

This week on What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by award-winning poet Karen Solie, whose most recent collection, Wellwater, was published by House of Anansi in 2025. They talk about how little stress she felt going into the T. S. Eliot Prize event, mostly because she assumed she had very little chance of winning, about the joy of using the prize money to pay off her credit card debt, and about her plans for her next book, which may see her taking a break from poetry.

— Carmine Starnino

Editor-in-Chief, The Walrus