Canada's National Observer
Canada's National Observer (CNO) helps Canadians make sense of the changing climate. With an audience of millions and more than 400,000 readers who subscribe personally or through their organizations, CNO covers politics, public health, disinformation, corporate overreach, business and justice. CNO's editorial mandate includes holding corporate polluters to account and providing the public with updates on the most promising developments in the clean energy transition.
A rich array of stories is available through the CNO app available in the Apple and Google stores, or via a variety of newsletters, podcasts (Apple, Spotify), webinars (Youtube), and CNO TikTok channel.
Our Team
Canada’s National Observer brings together seasoned professionals and some of the brightest emerging talents in Canadian journalism. This unique combination fosters an environment rich in expertise and innovative perspectives that allows us to cover the complex issues of climate change and environmental policy with depth, clarity and creativity. Our employees are unionized with the Canadian Media Guild. CNO's staff page is here, and you can read our collective agreement here.
Our Commitment
At Canada's National Observer, our commitment is to journalism that makes a difference – that informs, engages and empowers. We are dedicated to producing stories that are newsworthy, drive change, foster a stronger democracy and create a promising future.
Our Readers
Canada's National Observer thrives on a strong connection with readers and subscribers. We value public feedback beyond just publishing comments or letters. Our audience’s insights contribute significantly to our story development, help us address emerging questions, uncover under-reported issues, and bring diverse perspectives to light.
A powerful way that our readers help us is by providing story tips and information leaks in the public interest. If you know something we should know, please get in touch at [email protected]..
Our History
Founded in 2015, Canada's National Observer is part of the Observer Media Group. It emerged to fill a gap in Canadian journalism: reporting on climate, the environment, national and provincial politics, technology, culture and related issues. Early in its history, CNO conducted a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for its journalistic endeavours. Coverage included such topics as climate change, corporate influence and environmental policies. CNO has been involved in significant collaborative journalism projects, such as the "Price of Oil," and has gained recognition for its investigative reporting, particularly in areas affecting Canadian society and beyond.
Linda Solomon Wood is the founder of Canada's National Observer. Having previously developed Vancouver Observer (VO), she was ready to expand. When VO's coverage outgrew the local brand to include significant national stories on energy and the environment, government spying on citizens, and foreign control of Canadian energy assets, she received the CJF Jackman Award for Excellence on behalf of VO in Toronto. At the gala, she announced plans for a new publication. The CNO launch took place in March 2015.
Canada’s National Observer broke new ground in 2017 for digital-only media when it received a citation from the Michener Awards given by the Governor General of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. This is one of the highest honours in Canadian journalism and CNO was the first online-only publication to receive it. The citation was awarded for reporting on dysfunctions in the regulatory process governing the proposed Energy East pipeline.
More recognition followed the same year when CNO became the first digital-only news site to win a National Newspaper Award. The award came in the business reporting category for an eight-part series entitled ‘House of Irving,' that reported on the Irving family of New Brunswick. Tracy Glynn, editor of New Brunswick Media Co-op at the time, said "National Observer is changing the media landscape in Canada, showing that business can be reported on in a way that has the public interest at heart, which is the task of journalism."
Canada’s National Observer has garnered too many prestigious recognitions to mention here. Recent honours include multiple Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAs), including 'Best News Website,' 'Best Column or Blog,' and 'Best Photo Journalism.' In 2016, it was named 'Independent Publisher of the Year' by COPAs, winning in categories like 'Best News Coverage' and 'Best Digital Solution.'.Sandy Garossino's commentary earned special accolades. CNO also ranked second for 'Best News Website' nationally, and has multiple nominations from the Canadian Association of Journalists. CNO received a second Michener citation for its role in the collaborative 'Tainted Water' series, exposing widespread lead contamination in Canadian water. In 2019, Garossino was nominated for best column of the year in British Columbia by The Webster Awards. Marc Fawcett-Atkinson's reporting on plastics in Canada received a nomination in 2021 for 'Best Environmental Reporting' from the Webster Awards.
In 2022, CNO won a second National Newspaper Award for Karyn Pugliese's columns on residential schools. It received nominations for the National Newspaper Awards and an honourable mention at the Canadian Hillman Prize for 'Friends with Benefits,' highlighting the influence of developers on politics. CNO was also a finalist for the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Excellence in Journalism Award, in collaboration with the Institute for Investigative Journalism, for its water series, and also was nominated for the Climate Solutions Reporting Award for the podcast, "Race Against Climate Change."
Sandy Garossino and Max Fawcett were finalists in 2022 in the Digital Publishing Awards of the Magazine Association of Canada for best columns.
In 2023, CNOs The Salmon People podcast was named a Webby Honoree in the 27th Annual Webby Awards. “Honorees like The Salmon People are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said Claire Graves, president of the Webby Awards, a prestigious international award for online media. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 14,000 entries we received this year.”
"The Salmon People" was also nominated for "overall excellence" in the Canadian Foundation for Journalism award for small media.
Matteo Cimellaro won the prestigious Covering Climate Now's justice award for his reporting on the outsized impacts of wildfires on First Nations, while Max Fawcett won the National Newspaper Award for his columns, both in 2024.
Sources of Revenue
CNO's revenue is generated from three primary sources: Subscriptions (40%), Contract Work & Collaborations (40%), and Government of Canada grants (including funds for 3 reporters under the Local Journalism Initiative) and tax credits (18%). Our fiscal sponsor is the Institute for Sustainability, Education and Action (I-SEA.) Our subscribers come from across Canada and include universities, government bodies, and other civil society groups as well as thousands of individuals with personal accounts. Another portion of revenue comes from sponsorships and events, such as our annual panels with the European Union Delegation to Canada. Alongside I-SEA, we collaborate with dozens of Canadian foundations to produce journalism that educates the public about climate solutions under The Climate Solutions Reporting Project.
