Investigation into Alberta renewables pause wins prestigious Hillman Prize
Prairies reporter Drew Anderson’s dogged coverage of Alberta’s pause on renewable energy projects was recognized for investigative storytelling ‘in service of the common good’
When Prairies reporter Drew Anderson got his hands on some pretty damning documents about Alberta’s surprise pause on renewable energy projects, he became a kid in a candy store — one with many sweet treats to choose from. This week, his reporting won him a Sidney Hillman Foundation award in the local news category, which also happens to be a first for The Narwhal!
“I’m so grateful for the recognition of this work, particularly as it comes at a time when the provincial government is rewriting its freedom of information laws to prevent this kind of work from ever seeing the light of day,” Anderson said.
“Drew recently told me how much he loves to be an annoyance to government and powerful industries when they try to keep secrets from the public,” Denise Balkissoon, executive editor of The Narwhal, said. “I’m so happy the Hillman jury is rewarding that energy.”
The Hillman Prize aims to honour and foster investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good, and Drew’s stories on the renewables pause certainly fit the bill. His work began in August 2023, when Alberta Premier Danielle Smith first said her government’s decision to pause renewable energy developments was, in part, a response to a request made by the province’s independent electricity grid operator. In May last year, after months of digging and filing freedom of information requests, Drew obtained internal emails that told a different story.
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The documents showed senior officials were pressured to support the government’s decision “without reservation” — and that some staff at Alberta’s independent grid operator resisted, saying “We will not lie.” They set off a slew of breaking stories from Drew, supported along the way by Prairies bureau chief Sharon J. Riley.
The resulting articles uncovered what Hillman judges described as a “political landmine” — and earned Anderson the prestigious 2025 Canadian Hillman Prize in local journalism.
Hillman Prizes have been awarded since 1950 in the U.S. and since 2011 in Canada. Drew’s work is recognized in the local news category, with the print/digital award going to the The Globe and Mail for reporting on a listeria outbreak at a major food processing facility and the broadcast award going to the team at CTV’s W5 for “Narco Jungle: The Darién Gap.”
Awards will be officially handed out at a ceremony on April 3 in Toronto.
Anderson began filing freedom of information requests as soon as the Alberta government announced a “pause” on new renewable energy developments in the summer of 2023. In the end, after 25 requests and months of waiting for the first files to land, hundreds of heavily redacted pages trickled in.
The resulting coverage was shared widely as many major media outlets picked up the story — CBC, CTV, Postmedia and more — and ran with it, citing The Narwhal.
“By uncovering the truth and holding the powerful to account, these journalists are demonstrating the importance of investigative reporting,” Alex Dagg, Canadian board member of the Sidney Hillman Foundation, said on Tuesday in a press release announcing Anderson’s prize. “Their courage and dedication exemplify the very essence of journalistic integrity, and we are honored to celebrate their outstanding contributions.”
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.
And in 2024, our stories were raised in legislatures across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.
And in 2024, our stories were raised in legislatures across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
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