The Buzz Feb 14th 2026: Is Trump losing his grip?

The Buzz Feb 14th 2026: Is Trump losing his grip?

Welcome to the weekend and welcome to The Buzz.

When the week began, almost no one in Canada had ever heard of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Now we’ll never forget it.

The country is in a state of mourning this weekend, and a small town that yes, will live on, has still changed forever. It will never be the same again. Kids lost. Their parents and siblings, who watched them go to school in the morning, now look at empty chairs around the dinner table.

It’s time to reflect on that, and Justin Ling does so in this piece in the Toronto Star:

🔒 Opinion | In the face of horror in Tumbler Ridge, these are the questions we need to be asking

Money talks, and apparently, it really talks the closer you get to Donald Trump.

Take the Gordie Howe bridge story. Within minutes of Trump putting out yet another stream of untruths, this time on who built the bridge and who paid for the bridge, the name Mouron started to surface. That’s the billionaire family that owns the existing bridge between Detroit and Windsor. Their fortune has been built on the tolls that have tumbled into their pockets for decades. They also have apparently contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars into certain election coffers. So, when they whisper to someone that a new bridge is going to cost them, and that person whispers to someone else, who just might be the president, rumours and lies become tweets. And next, you have an international incident on your hands. This kind of scenario used to benefit Trump most, but these days are different, as Lawrence Martin wrote in the Globe:

🔒 Trump’s Gordie Howe bridge bellyflop only boosts Canada’s stock

Is Donald Trump losing his edge? Is Trump support cracking?

Things clearly have not been going his way lately, but this may have been the first serious hiccup in his attempt to beat up Canada on the trade front. A number of US farm organizations, at a time when Trump is saying he might shelve the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, are saying USMCA must be kept. Mike Crawley wrote about this on CBC online:

U.S. agriculture groups launch campaign backing trade deal with Canada, Mexico

The Alberta story was making headlines again this week. Not pipelines, but separation.

But let’s be clear, there’s no referendum yet, and it’s unlikely there will be one unless Danielle Smith decides to let one happen. Should she? Not if she turns to opinion writer Jen Gerson for advice:

🔒 Opinion | Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has no business holding a referendum

The one thing that I really don’t like about the Alberta story is that those pushing separation are trotting down to Washington...

Or claim they are, and meeting with senior American officials, or so they also claim, for advice. Benedict who?

NBC News took a run at this story:

Canadian separatists optimistic after meetings with Trump officials

Lots more on Canadian politics on our two podcasts this week, both of which are available for you to watch on YouTube.

Good Talk with Chantal Hebert and Bruce Anderson can be found here.

And Reporter’s Notebook with Althia Raj and Rob Russo is available right here.

The second half of The Buzz this week is bookended by our continuing look at AI.

This piece is very much about Canada and AI, and it comes to us from Nicole Foster at iPolitics:

Unlocking Canada’s AI Potential: Why the Choices We Make Today Matter

So, what do you think of doorbell cameras?

They’ve received a lot of attention of late with a high-profile apparent kidnapping case in the United States. Some feel they are a huge leap forward in surveillance, while others aren’t so sure. Check this out:

With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet

Canada planted a new flag in the northern hemisphere this week, and it’s being noticed.

I’m talking about the new consulate the country has opened in Greenland. It’s been on the planning board for more than a year, but when it happened a few days ago, it was a very noticeable move by a self-assured Canada. Here’s how Politico told the story:

Canada’s Muscular New Anti-Trump Strategy Debuts in Greenland

Okay, here is a weekend read you may not soon forget.

There’s a lot here for those thinking AI, those who are deep into AI may not see anything that will shake them, but for the rest of us, this is a real eye-opener to the age we are now in. The writer is a fellow named Matt Shumer, and he wrote this on X, but it’s not a “tweet”, it’s a real piece of work. Enjoy:

Something Big Is Happening

It’s been an emotion filled week these past few days. I’m not just talking about the stories we covered, which have really been difficult to write and to read. For me, this week started with word that a mentor and friend to so many of us in this business, had passed away. Losing Elly Alboim is a great loss to Canadian journalism, and his death has forced me to think back over the six decades I knew him and was fortunate to learn from him.

I’m writing this from Winnipeg, where I’ve had a few engagements this week, including The Buzz. My hotel room overlooks the Winnipeg airport, where things kind of started for me all those years ago in the late sixties. I’ve been staring out the window a lot, thinking about the journey I’ve taken. The people I worked with at Transair, the airline I was trained at here at the Winnipeg airport, and travelled the prairies with, and then all the great colleagues, like Elly, who I travelled the world with at the CBC. When you lose someone close, you consider your own vulnerability, and I have done so this week. But I have also spent a lot of time realizing just how lucky I’ve been. So, onward.

Time to wrap The Buzz for this week. See you again in seven days.

The Buzz is a weekly publication from National Newswatch that shares insights and commentary on the week’s developments in politics, news and current affairs.