Photo Essay

From tunnels to tutus: a drag show gives new, fabulous life to an old mine

Not all old mine sites get to sashay into a new life. Nestled into coastal mountains just north of Vancouver, the former Britannia mine is now a museum, a clean-up site — and a stage for Pride

By Francesca Fionda

Photography by Amber Bracken

Francesca and Amber drove to Britannia Mine Museum on June 13 to report this story

June 25, 2026 9 min. read

Lees Creek in North Bay, Ont., has a long-standing advisory against drinking or fishing from it. The creek is the closest body of water to Jack Garland Airport, where foam used in firefighting training contained PFAS forever chemicals. Photo: Vanessa Tignanelli / The Narwhal

Explainer

North Bay’s PFAS problem: 5 things to know about a ‘forever chemicals’ hotspot in Ontario

By Leah Borts-Kuperman (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)

June 26, 2026 10 min. read

In a small northern city, citizens have launched a class-action lawsuit over decades-old PFAS pollution....

Drag artist Homo Hardware spreads a pair of wings attached to their arms during a performance at the Britannia Mine Museum in Britannia Beach, B.C.

Newsletter

A drag king, queen and thing walk into an old copper mine …

By Karan Saxena

June 26, 2026

It used to be the biggest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. A century later,...

An illustration showing a long-haul truck and a tray of mushrooms.

In-Depth

Are B.C. mushrooms unfairly subsidized? U.S. growers think so

By Shannon Waters

June 24, 2026 7 min. read

After years of investing in technology, B.C.’s mushroom industry is on the cutting edge. Now,...

An illustration showing human hands holding a burning forest.

Opinion

How to live in a restless world

By Matt Simmons (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)

June 23, 2026 10 min. read

As wildfires, floods and other climate impacts accelerate, experts say our best chance of adapting...

Carol Linnitt and Emma Gilchrist stand next to each other with a scenic, blurred out background.

Newsletter

Here’s one way to fight tech tyranny

By Emma Gilchrist

June 24, 2026

It’s a revolutionary act to read this piece and take back control from tech giants....

A slim road running through a logging block with low mountains in the background.

Explainer

What, exactly, is happening with coal mining in Alberta?

By Drew Anderson

June 23, 2026 9 min. read

Alberta banned coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Then it allowed it....

A tick crawling on a background of pink and orange hues beside black stripes

Explainer

Check yourself — or someone else: 2026 is the summer of ticks

By Elaine Anselmi

June 22, 2026 8 min. read

Ticks are finding new corners of Canada and driving fear of Lyme disease into outdoorsy...

Newsletter

Kinship between people, places and nations

By Michelle Cyca

June 21, 2026

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, we hope you’ll check out these stories from First Nations...

Four red Muskoka chairs sit on a wooden dock overlooking Lake Muskoka on a sunny day.

News

Lake Muskoka gets its first MZO, meaning Ontario can push a new resort past local planning rules

By Leah Borts-Kuperman (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)

June 19, 2026 9 min. read

The Ontario government sold land near Muskoka Bay with a Minister’s Zoning Order as part...

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

Would you swim at a beach if authorities didn’t test the water quality?

Guilbeault on Carney’s climate plan: ‘He thinks that the markets are going to do it’

Inside the push to mine gold near Tofino, B.C.

DRIPA, Indigenous Guardians, the second-sunniest province and more: May in review

A bee is photographed against a coloured backdrop.

Nature’s hardest working insects – bees – are under threat

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. The trial recently concluded. Learn more.