Explainer

How to have your period in the woods

No, bears won’t attack you. As with meals and navigation, menstruation is a normal part of logistics planning for camping and other outdoor adventures

By Canice Leung

Updated May 15, 2026 10 min. read

Two women standing on a dock with a little water taxi behind them. They are wrapped in a blanket.

Something to celebrate

Eight years ago, my friend Emma Gilchrist and I were tiiired of the natural world being an afterthought in Canadian journalism. So we started this little unicorn of a publication. Pretty soon, The Narwhal wasn’t just our thing; it became the thing that thousands of people joined in on, nurturing and caring for it as an antidote to hopelessness and dread.

Join our eighth birthday celebration 🎉 — and help us plan for the next eight — by becoming a member today. And while you're here, check out some of our recent award-nominated work. We'll be back at it next week with all-new stories!

Become a member

An illustration of an Etch-A-Sketch, with a drawing of a squiggly lines connecting a man on one side, with an oil well on the other and a map of Alberta in between them.

Investigation

Tracking down prominent Albertans behind delinquent oil and gas companies

By Drew Anderson

Updated May 15, 2026 15 min. read

A former prime minister, a major philanthropist and a host of developers emerge from a...

Analysis

The AI data centre boom is here. What will it mean for land, water and power in Canada?

By Savannah Ridley

Updated May 15, 2026 10 min. read

Kevin O’Leary’s plans to build the world’s biggest data centre in a drought-stricken part of...

An illustration of a tree planters' tent camp in a forest at night, with a first aid tent to one side. A shadow looms over the tents, representing the threat of sexual violence.

In-Depth

Out of the shadows: confronting sexual violence in tree-planting

By Matt Simmons (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)

Updated May 15, 2026 16 min. read

Drop a group of young people into a remote forest and some will find fun...

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A tiny, fuzzy western sandpiper chick is white with brown and black patterns, a black pointy beak, a round body and long, spindly legs. It lefts one leg high up as it walks, and the shot is extremely zoomed in, with beautiful detail of the moss the tiny bird walks on, showing how zoomed in it is

News

Tiny birds, and their tiny superfood, could decline due to ‘irreversible’ effects of Vancouver port expansion

By Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood and Isabelle Groc

Updated May 15, 2026 11 min. read

The Fraser estuary is a major recharging stop for western sandpipers flying up the Pacific...

A Winnipeg Transit bus flashing a "Sorry not in service" banner leaves the city transit garage. A sign outside the garage announces the new system starting June 29

In-Depth

‘Balancing act’ or ‘disaster’? Winnipeg’s transit overhaul, mapped

By Julia-Simone Rutgers and Malak Abas

Updated May 15, 2026 11 min. read

An overnight overhaul of Winnipeg Transit aimed to make riding the bus more accessible and...

Investigation

Is contamination on a Canadian Armed Forces base making employees sick?

By Leah Borts-Kuperman (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter) and Amber Bracken

Updated May 15, 2026 19 min. read

‘I took an oath that I would risk my life for what Canada stood for’:...

On the ground

Katzie First Nation guardians and partners celebrate restoration of important B.C. marsh

By Santana Dreaver

May 15, 2026 7 min. read

Dikes were installed throughout the Fraser River to pursue agriculture — now, reverting Xwíʔləm̓nəc to...

A river running through forested land, viewed from an aerial distance.

Explainer

From pipelines to mines, Canada’s environmental reviews could be transforming. Here’s how

By Carl Meyer

May 14, 2026 10 min. read

The government under Prime Minister Mark Carney is proposing a massive shift in the way...

A lone swan swims in a pond, head looking downward amid dramatic shadows.

News

Ontario clamps down on conservation authorities as consolidation planning continues

By Fatima Syed

May 13, 2026 8 min. read

A leaked recording of a meeting between Environment Ministry officials and conservation authority heads reveals...

Watch

@thenarwhalca

From $25 an hour to $4,995: salaries on either side of the climate crisis

Ontario is returning to the office. What does that mean for traffic and emissions?

Shorts

A malfunctioning LNG terminal, orphan wells, Who Pays? and more: April in review

Fire for good: First Nations are bringing back cultural burns

Floods, renewables, endangered species and more: March in review

Ontario’s FOI plans threaten your right to know

Drew Anderson explains how AI Data Centres are building built by developers in Alberta thanks to a big push in funding.

Alberta’s $100-billion AI dreams

What do fluctuating oil prices mean for Canada?

AI, the Ring of Fire and more: February in review

LNG Canada burned 1.7 million cubic metres of gas on a single day in September

An update on The Narwhal’s court case against the RCMP

Why Ontario is dealing with more traffic — and emissions

Carol Linnitt is the co-founder of The Narwhal. The Narwhal is suing the RCMP.

We’re fighting for our right to report — and your right to know

B.C. is flooding, again. We explain

B.C. says 1950s-style clear-cut logging isn’t happening anymore. Is that true?

Animals are getting killed on Canada’s railways

Piping Plovers on Wasaga Beach, in Ontario

Endangered plovers love this Ontario beach. Is the feeling mutual?

Any Ontario minister could soon have the power to create law-free zones — and decide what gets built there

POV: a reporting trip to Heiltsuk territory

Pipeline opposition took centre stage at Neil Young’s Burnaby, B.C., concert

Organic is barely a starting line, chef Michael Smith says

Chef Michael Smith keeps coming back home to P.E.I.

Could refreezing the Arctic help save its melting ice?

A screenshot of a video call for a Moose Questionnaire with ShawtyAstrology.

How do you reach people who don’t believe in climate change?

A beaver lodge animation and illustration. One beaver is inside of the lodge.

Two families of beavers live in Stanley Park…

Michelle Cyca talked about Indigenous sovereignty

Some people say Indigenous Rights are “racist,” but that’s not true

A screenshot of a video call for a Moose Questionnaire, with ShawtyAstrology in the top half and Narwhal editor Denise Balkissoon below.

“Ducks are very cute,” ShawtyAstrology says

Video thumbnail featuring Patrick Johnson, a Guardian Watchman.

Canada’s conservation goals depend on this

What’s going on around Grand Forks, B.C.?

How do you undo over 100 years of pollution?

Why are we seeing wildfires already? What causes them?

Here’s how cities can prevent flooding

North of North’s Anna Lambe is open to people growing

Here’s how one Mohawk community is dealing with a hungry beetle

There’s nothing inherently “critical” about critical minerals

Marrying a polar bear seems totally reasonable

What is the carbon tax?

Watch our in-depth explainer for more on the carbon tax

Anna Lambe has been pretty far north

Six dead birds? In this economy?

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We’re suing the RCMP to fight for press freedom

In November 2021, photojournalist Amber Bracken was arrested by the RCMP while on assignment for The Narwhal. So we launched a lawsuit to take a stand for press freedom. Now, we're in the middle of our trial.

Learn more