Canada was once one of America’s closest allies. But today, that partnership is Exhibit A in America’s global tariff war. The Trump administration has discarded Canada like so many old, worn-down tires. In response, “Elbows up!” is the country’s ice hockey–derived rallying cry against what most Canadians see as a profound betrayal.

As the year comes to a close, our staff, contributors, and partners have reflected on the Prospect stories that epitomized 2025. 
Read the full Best of 2025 collection.

Canada Strong

Credit: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP

Over the course of the past year, I’ve taken the pulse of this rapid descent into geopolitical darkness: Canadian leaders have sought out out new markets and alliances, while everyday people have hit back with their own cleverly designed and executed boycotts. Read the story and more coverage below.

Beating Back Data Centers

Credit: Riley Robinson/The Christian Science Monitor via AP

The regulatory fight over data center siting has only just begun. As individual communities discover what they’re up against—higher energy prices, depleted drinking water sources, disappearing fields and farms, and compliant local officials—expect those battles to intensify. See you in court. Read the story.

Washington’s Football Fantasy Comes True

Credit: Aaron M. Sprecher via AP

Outgoing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and most Washingtonians wanted to see their beloved NFL football team, the Washington Commanders, in a state-of-the-art stadium. Be careful what you wish for. Only time will tell whether that move is worth city taxpayers’ hard-earned mega-millions. Read the story.

FEMA’s Years of Living Dangerously • Saving FEMA

Credit: Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

Hurricanes or no hurricanes—as was the case this past summer—the White House is determined to foist a stripped-down FEMA and its disaster recovery mission onto the states. Federalism is all well and good—at least until a state doesn’t have the money to recover from a wildfire, flood, tornado, or hurricane. The White House recently called off a FEMA Review Council meeting to announce the new way forward. With the council’s initial reform findings reportedly cut back from 160 to 20 pages, the forecast for the much-maligned but essential agency is shaping up to be a Category 5–level disaster. Read the two stories.

Gabrielle Gurley is a senior editor at The American Prospect. She covers states and cities, focusing on economic development and infrastructure, elections, and climate. She wins awards, too, most recently picking up a 2024 NABJ award for coverage of Baltimore and a 2021 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication urban journalism award for her feature story on the pandemic public transit crisis.