This Week's Round-Up: January 19, 2026

I Survived Canada’s Deadliest Mass Shooter. Then Had to Prove It

After authorities cast doubt on my account, I returned to Portapique to relive the harrowing night I fled for my life

Image of President Donald Trump looking at a construction crane.

On April 18, 2020, Gabriel Wortman murdered thirteen of his neighbours in Portapique, Nova Scotia. He hid in a nearby field overnight and killed nine more people the following day, including a pregnant woman. He died later that morning, after RCMP officers fired on him at a gas station.

Lisa Banfield, Wortman’s common-law partner, endured years of violence from Wortman. She escaped with her life the night his shooting rampage began. Read her account of that day, her life with Wortman, and her return to her former home.

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Carney’s “Buy Canadian” Policy Doesn’t Require Companies to Be Canadian

Ottawa’s new purchasing rules let US giants qualify as domestic with little more than a mailing address

BY ERIN O'TOOLE, ELIOT PENCE

Photo of a person looking at three warships in the Arctic Ocean.

Trump Is Serious about Greenland. What Does Carney Do?

Ottawa may be forced into the most dramatic security reset in decades

BY WESLEY WARK

Photo of an image of Greenland containing an American flag displayed on a phone screen with soldiers in the background.

Greenland Is on the Brink. Canada Is Nowhere in Sight

As NATO allies mobilize to deter Trump, Ottawa remains conspicuously absent

BY WESLEY WARK

Photograph of armed soldiers surrounding and escorting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

What Trump Did to Venezuela Should Terrify Ottawa

Canada’s tepid response to Maduro’s seizure exposes just how vulnerable the country is to American power

BY WENDY KAUR, DIYA JIANG

Photo of singer Katy Perry kissing the cheek of former prime minister Justin Trudeau with the sun setting behind them.

The Strategic Love Story of Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry

What their romance tells us about modern fame

BY WENDY KAUR

Photo of Evan Solomon against a red background.

Evan Solomon Wants Canada to Trust AI. Can We Trust Evan Solomon?

The journalist-turned-minister says the tech will make us richer and regulation should be “light”

BY KATE LUNAU

Today's Quiz Question

The Mark Carney government’s proposed “Buy Canadian” policy differs from how national defence sourcing is handled in the US and Europe. In those jurisdictions, three core principles help keep strategic expertise and production capacity within national borders. What are they?

Yes, I Know the Answer

A closeup photo of a yellow map of Quebec with a red push pin next to text that reads Quebec

It’s Going to Be a Wild Year in Quebec Politics. We’re on It

We’re launching a Quebec bureau and a special poll with 338Canada and Pallas Data

BY CARMINE STARNINO

Photograph of Quebec Liberal Party former leader Pablo Rodriguez speaking into microphones.

Inside the Stunning Collapse of the Quebec Liberal Party

And it’s happening just as the province heads into a potentially historic election

BY CAITLIN WALSH MILLER

Photo of Quebec premier Francois Legault holding up his fists.

The End of the Legault Era

The premier leaves with the worst numbers of any Quebec leader—and a party facing a brutal election year

BY PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER

Image of a toaster with three read price tags attached, each one reading a different number: $18, $20, and $25.

Everything Costs More Because the Algorithm Says So

Tariffs and inflation dominate headlines, but personalized pricing is the real affordability crisis

BY VASS BEDNAR

How Universities Are Shutting Out Disabled Students and Staff

Some administrators treat accommodations as a favour—and those requesting them as problems

BY LYGIA NAVARRO

A black-and-white illustration of a black bear in a forest

What a Standoff with a Black Bear Taught Me about Life in Northern Alberta

Working as a fire tower lookout meant regularly confronting wildlife

BY TRINA MOYLES

A black-and-white photo of Tom Wayman against a blue background

The Flag

The coloured cloth / means only one thing / although that one thing depends on who / beholds it

BY TOM WAYMAN

A MESSAGE FROM THE WALRUS LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Marking 150 Years of the Supreme Court

As the Supreme Court of Canada marks 150 years, Canadian Time Machine looks beyond landmark decisions to the people, places, and moments that shaped the country’s highest court.

The episode features filmmaker and lawyer Étienne Trépanier on reimagining how Canadians experience the Court today, alongside reflections from former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin on what makes the institution both distinctly Canadian and deeply human.

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In this episode of What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by Griffin Poetry Prize–winning poet Tolu Oloruntoba. His most recent collection is Unravel, published by McClelland & Stewart in 2025. Tolu and Nathan talk about the tensions, both good and bad, that come from winning awards so early in a career, about the pressure he put upon himself while writing Unravel, and about going in a very different direction for his next book, a collection inspired in part by Keanu Reeves’s John Wick films.

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2026 is starting off with déjà vu: once again we’re fielding threats to Canada’s future. As misinformation is used to polarize our population and undermine our democracy, Canadians need stable ground.

Last year, The Walrus Talks convened vital voices on Canadian sovereignty and tariffs, and each day, our journalism fights falsehoods with clarity, full context, and fact checking.

Keep the conversation Canadian. Support The Walrus today.

— Emma Mackenzie Hillier

Senior Events Manager, The Walrus

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