diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ab8271a..96aa6b3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ yarn-error.log*
 prisma/dev.db
 prisma/dev.db-journal
 
-# local databases / generated
-data/
+# local databases / generated (root only — src/data/ holds committed source)
+/data/
 *.sqlite
 *.sqlite3
diff --git a/src/data/feeds.ts b/src/data/feeds.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b402080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/data/feeds.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/**
+ * Starter Canadian news feeds. These are seeded into the `Feed` table on
+ * first boot (and by `prisma/seed.js`); officials can add/edit feeds via the
+ * database or by extending this list — the pipeline only reads from the DB.
+ */
+
+export interface FeedSeed {
+  name: string;
+  url: string;
+  slug: string;
+  category: string;
+  siteName: string;
+}
+
+export const STARTER_FEEDS: FeedSeed[] = [
+  {
+    // NOTE: these cbc-stats URLs are the official CBC feed paths from the
+    // project spec, but as of 2026-08-15 CBC returns 404 for every public
+    // RSS endpoint (repeatedly re-verified with multiple UAs). Keep them so
+    // they light up if CBC restores the feeds; disable in `Feed.enabled`
+    // or swap URLs in the DB if the 404s bother you (see README → Feeds).
+    name: 'CBC News — Top Stories',
+    url: 'https://www.cbc.ca/cbc-stats/rss/rss-topstories.xml',
+    slug: 'cbc-top-stories',
+    category: 'top-stories',
+    siteName: 'CBC News',
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'CBC News — Canada',
+    url: 'https://www.cbc.ca/cbc-stats/rss/rss-canada.xml',
+    slug: 'cbc-canada',
+    category: 'canada',
+    siteName: 'CBC News',
+  },
+  {
+    // Live Arc outbound feed (verified 2026-08). The legacy
+    // ctvnews-ca-top-stories-public-rss-1.822009 URL currently 404s.
+    name: 'CTV News — National',
+    url: 'https://www.ctvnews.ca/arc/outboundfeeds/rss/',
+    slug: 'ctv-national',
+    category: 'national',
+    siteName: 'CTV News',
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'Global News — Canada',
+    url: 'https://globalnews.ca/canada/feed/',
+    slug: 'global-canada',
+    category: 'canada',
+    siteName: 'Global News',
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'The Globe and Mail — National',
+    url: 'https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arc/outboundfeeds/rss/category/canada/',
+    slug: 'globe-national',
+    category: 'national',
+    siteName: 'The Globe and Mail',
+  },
+  {
+    name: 'National Post — News',
+    url: 'https://nationalpost.com/category/news/feed',
+    slug: 'national-post-news',
+    category: 'top-stories',
+    siteName: 'National Post',
+  },
+];
+
+/** Sections shown in site navigation (stable, hand-curated). */
+export const SECTIONS = [
+  { slug: 'top-stories', label: 'Top Stories' },
+  { slug: 'canada', label: 'Canada' },
+  { slug: 'national', label: 'National' },
+  { slug: 'all', label: 'All' },
+] as const;
+
+export type SectionSlug = (typeof SECTIONS)[number]['slug'];