The Narwhal

The Narwhal named as finalist for six Canadian Online Publishing Awards

Our small non-profit news magazine is in the running for best publication and best news website in the country

The Narwhal has been named as a finalist for six Canadian Online Publishing Awards, including best publication and best news website.

Launched four months ago, The Narwhal’s team of investigative journalists dives deep to tell stories about Canada’s natural environment. The Narwhal is one of a small handful of non-profit news organizations in Canada and has just three full-time staff.

The Narwhal is a finalist for best publication and best news website, alongside publications such as Maclean’s, the National Observer and HuffPost Canada.

Our small team also earned a nod for best continuing coverage of a news story for Judith Lavoie’s series on the imperilled Wood Buffalo National Park, featuring images by Louis Bockner and videos edited by managing editor Carol Linnitt.

In the best investigative article category, The Narwhal has been named as a finalist for Linnitt’s exposé of the relationship between the coal company TransAlta and the University of Alberta — an investigation that was later replicated by CBC News.

The Narwhal has captured both finalist spots in the best photojournalism category — one for a reader-funded photo essay by Garth Lenz documenting the mining boom along the B.C.-Alaska border and another for a photo essay on Giant Mine by deputy editor Jimmy Thomson and photographer Matt Jacques.

In the best video content category The Narwhal is a finalist for a feature on the Wuikinuxv First Nation’s efforts to harness small-scale hydro to replace diesel fuel produced by Thomson and filmed by videographer Nicholas Castel.

We are so proud of the incredible work of our entire team of reporters, editors and photographers, but the biggest applause goes out to our readers and members who make all of this possible. Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting and contributing financially. You really have made our vision over here at The Narwhal a reality.

More than 300 Canadians are monthly members of The Narwhal. If you support our work, please become a member today.

And if you haven’t signed up for our free weekly newsletter yet, don’t miss another beat.

Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?
Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?

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Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
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Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
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