This Week's Round-Up: May 13, 2026

• A separatist group stole Alberta’s voter data

• Cuba: No fuel, no power, no water

• You know more Botox users than you think

• Accessibility in action

• New reader letter

Canada Should Call Trump’s Bluff on CUSMA Trade Talks

With the US economy weakening, Ottawa has more leverage than it thinks

BY PETER JONES

The US economy may be sliding into a period of structural decline. The political system could correct the underlying trends through a concerted, bipartisan process of cutting spending and raising taxes, especially on the rich. But it seems incapable of doing so, and Trump’s policies—which include imposing hidden taxes on US consumers in the form of constantly varying tariffs—are rapidly making things worse. (Indeed, the cynical observer might just wonder if deliberately driving the country off a fiscal cliff is seen by some MAGA ideologues as a way to kill entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, once and for all.)

Where does this leave Canada’s CUSMA calculations?

Today's Quiz Question

Contagion Nation

Thank you for publishing Monica Kidd’s powerful investigation into “Why Measles Is Back” (December 2025). In medical school in the ’60s, I watched the deaths of two children in the ICU. Soon after that, measles vaccination began to make such deaths a thing of the past. The measles virus has evolved the most powerful reproductive system. It is highly invasive: breathe in someone’s cough and the virus invades. It quietly reproduces in the body for about two weeks. Then, initial symptoms appear: fever, cough, runny nose. Maybe just a cold? The virus-loaded coughing lasts another week before a rash appears. The airborne virus can remain infectious for up to two hours in closed, poorly ventilated areas, so can easily spread from one person to another. Fortunately, unlike the flu or COVID-19, measles has not evolved any new mutations to survive. Its stable form means that the same vaccine continues to work its magic.

Willam P. McKay
Halifax, NS

The Walrus Talks AccessAbility is a live recording of Courage Inc. hosted by Duncan Sinclair, Deloitte Chair of Canada and Chile, who brings years of leadership and expertise to this urgent discussion. Featuring talks by four speakers from the disability community on policy frameworks, leadership, and innovation, the importance of technology, corporate rollbacks on DEI, and the persistence of ableism, the talks will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Sinclair.

50 Years of Stories: The Walrus and Amazon Canada present the 2026 Shortlist

This year’s shortlist marks 50 years of the First Novel Award and celebrates an outstanding group of debut Canadian authors whose novels showcase bold storytelling, unforgettable characters, and fresh perspectives from across the country. From powerful literary fiction to imaginative and thought-provoking narratives, these books represent some of the most exciting new voices in Canadian literature today.

Meet the authors and explore the shortlisted novels.

In this episode of What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross. Her debut book, The Longest Way to Eat a Melon, was published by Sarabande Books in 2025. Jacquelyn and Nathan talk about her book ending up in a New York Times trend piece, about turning self-consciousness from an obstacle to her writing into one of its central themes, and about how her approach to writing has been changed by becoming a parent.