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.

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 parliaments 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.”

As the year draws to a close, we’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
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 parliaments 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.”

As the year draws to a close, we’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?

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More than 800 readers have already stepped up in December to support our investigative journalism. Will you help us break big stories in 2025 by making a donation this holiday season?
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Let’s match
Cartoon title: Risks of reading The Narwhal. Illustration of a woman sitting with a computer that has a Narwhal sticker on a park bench. A narwhal sitting next to her reads her computer screen over the shoulder. Text reads: "Wait — the government did WHAT?"
More than 800 readers have already stepped up in December to support our investigative journalism. Will you help us break big stories in 2025 by making a donation this holiday season?