Drew Anderson
Prairies Reporter
Drew Anderson is the Calgary-based Prairies reporter for The Narwhal, covering Alberta and Saskatchewan. He focuses primarily on the intersection of energy, environment and politics, with forays into agriculture, drought, forestry, biodiversity and more. He writes frequently on oil and gas liabilities as well as renewable energy generation and Alberta’s electricity grid.
He has spent his entire journalism career, and most of his life, in Calgary. Before joining The Narwhal in 2021, he worked for the CBC, doing everything from daily news and investigations to features and analysis. Prior to CBC, he edited and published the now-defunct Fast Forward Weekly where he produced some serious work and also got into less serious shenanigans.
Drew’s work at The Narwhal has been nominated for Digital Publishing Awards, a Canadian Association of Journalists Award and in 2025 he won the prestigious Hillman Prize for his work digging into the Alberta government’s motivations behind a moratorium on renewable energy in the province.
Outside of work, Drew reads a lot — especially science fiction. He runs, hikes, swims in the river and occasionally defeats his children in foolishly instigated snowball fights or water gun battles.
Stories by Drew Anderson
Appetite for investing in electricity projects shifting ‘away from Alberta,’ say investors
A report quietly released this summer by Alberta’s electricity grid operator finds investment has been...
Alberta’s new plan for its electricity market punishes renewables
Alberta’s private electricity grid is complicated. So are plans to overhaul it. Here’s everything you...
‘Broken’ trust: senior political staffers met by jeers at meeting with rural Albertans
Alberta’s oil and gas well problem is a ‘giant stinking pile of shit,’ according to...
Wildfire retardants help stop fires — but also impact ecosystems
In the rush to put out wildfires, hundreds of millions of litres of fire retardant...
Prairie provinces are supposed to share water. What happens during a drought?
Manitoba is the last in line for water sharing from Prairies rivers stemming from the...
What we know about fossil fuel subsidies in Canada
Billions are given to oil and gas corporations each year, including loans, tax breaks and...
‘Build, baby, build’: a guide to Canada’s Bill C-5
The feds are rushing to fast-track major projects, from pipelines and mines to housing and...
Two Albertas: rural town halls and Big Oil’s halls of power
A meeting in rural Alberta reveals a knot of tension in the global oil industry:...
‘Not based on science’: documents show internal government scramble to expand Alberta cougar hunt
A controversial decision to increase cougar hunting in Alberta — including in parks — was...