Empire Nights: The Journalists’ Forecast – Big Stories of 2026 that Will Shape Canada

2025 rewrote the political rules. Canada adjusted to a new American president, elected a new prime minister, navigated a trade war with its largest partner, and stared down mounting economic headwinds. A new world order has arrived—and it’s here for the foreseeable future. So, what stories will define 2026?The Empire Club of Canada brought together three of the country’s most influential political journalists—Bob Fife (Ottawa Bureau Chief, The Globe and Mail), Robert Benzie (Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, Toronto Star), and Sabrina Nanji (Founder and Lead Journalist, Queen’s Park Observer)—to forecast the big political stories that will shape Canada in the year ahead.Before the panel took the stage, Darrell Bricker, Global CEO, Ipsos Public Affairs, delivered an insightful data briefing on the state of the issues that matter most to Canadians in 2026 and how public opinion is starting to shift. Drawing on fresh Ipsos research, he mapped the fault lines and emerging trends that will frame the year ahead.Then in a “turn-the-tables” twist, the journalists become the subjects. Prominent political commentator, Scott Reid was the one asking the questions, breaking with tradition and promising sharp unfiltered insight into the people, pressures, and power struggles that will drive the 2026 agenda.