Canada's National Observer (CNO) is a Canadian digital news outlet founded in 2015.[1] It publishes reporting and analysis on climate, energy, politics, and social issues. In 2024, Columbia Journalism Review described CNO as "a Canadian investigative outlet focused on climate and politics."[2] It is owned by the Observer Media Group.[1]
Canada's National Observer was launched following a Kickstarter campaign that raised $80,000 CAD.[1] Linda Solomon Wood is the founder and director of the Observer Media Group, which owns Canada's National Observer.[1] In 2009, she had founded the local publication Vancouver Observer. She launched the national platform in 2015 and, according to Nieman Lab, it would focus on "environmental reporting from a clearly pro-environment angle." [1] She also characterized CNO’s investigative reporting as solutions-oriented: “The whole point of an investigative series is to bring further attention to a problem so that there can be policy change for the better.”[1]
In 2016, National Post columnist Terence Corcoran described a "newspaper war" between Postmedia Network and the Toronto Star.[3] He criticized Torstar's "series of personal and corporate attacks" against Postmedia, in particular a 5,000-word investigation by CNO reporter Bruce Livesey that was published in both outlets. Corcoran described Livesey as "a master of the inappropriate juxtaposition of fact and conclusion" and referred to CNO as "the left-wing Vancouver online magazine." [4]
In 2017, Observer Media Group CEO Linda Solomon Wood testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, stating that the organization had "grown through finding new ways to leverage opportunities in a turbulent environment" and had cultivated "thousands of readers in Canada who value and will gladly pay for profound stories."[5]
That same year, CNO collaborated with the Toronto Star, Global News, the Michener Awards Foundation, the Corporate Mapping Project and four journalism schools, producing the Price of Oil project, which examined the health impacts of oil and gas development on Canadian communities.[6]
By 2018, the newsroom had offices in Vancouver and Ottawa.[1]
Investigations
Energy East pipeline
In 2016, CNO reported on private meetings between TransCanada Corporation officials and National Energy Board (NEB) members during the review of the proposed $15.7-billion Energy East pipeline. CBC News reported that the revelations “sparked outrage” in Quebec and led to the resignation of three NEB panel members in September 2016.[7]
TransCanada cancelled the project in 2017, with CBC describing the NEB controversy as "the single-biggest blow to the already unpopular pipeline's fortunes in Quebec." [8]
Awards
In 2017, it became the first digital-only news organization to win a National Newspaper Award, receiving the Breaking News award.[9]
In 2017, CNO was awarded a citation of merit at the Michener Awards, which Nieman Lab reported made it the first digital-only outlet to receive the honour.[10]
In 2023, it received a Webby Award honour for its podcast The Salmon People.[11]
In 2024, reporter Matteo Cimellaro received a Covering Climate Now award for his wildfire reporting series.[12]
Maclean's observed that CNO, along with other independent outlets such as The Narwhal, had “amassed tidy collections of journalism awards, going up against established publications.”[14]
The Review of Journalism analyzed former CNO reporter Emma McIntosh's investigation into disinformation campaigns, placing her work alongside investigations by CBC and The Globe and Mail as examples of Canadian media examining partisan propaganda networks.[15]
Media researcher Heidi Legg, in her "Canadian Media Ownership Index" published by Harvard University, wrote that "National Observer represents a new digital journalism trend: mission driven journalism and in tandem, a lack of transparency of private ownership of media." The report contrasted this trend with publicly traded companies and nonprofits, which have stricter transparency protocols.[16] Legg also cited CNO as an example of "Solutions journalism", describing it as a "trend in the US where foundations and corporations can pay to fund a story topic to be developed around a societal issue."[16]
David Beers, founder of The Tyee, noted that CNO's "energy sector investigations have rocked Ottawa and forced resignations." [17]
Institutional recognition
Canada's National Observer is one of only eight news providers selected for the federal government's Copyright Media Clearance Program, which provides government-wide access to electronic media sources. Administered by Public Services and Procurement Canada, the program includes multi-million dollar contracts with larger publishers like Postmedia and The Globe and Mail, with smaller outlets receiving hundreds of thousands in subscription fees. CNO is among eight news providers selected for the federal government's Copyright Media Clearance Program, administered by Public Services and Procurement Canada. The program provides government-wide access to electronic media sources through subscription contracts with publishers ranging from large outlets like Postmedia and The Globe and Mail to smaller publishers.[18]
Structure and affiliations
The newsroom unionized under the Canadian Media Guild in 2022, with the union highlighting CNO as "one of the few media start-ups" offering comprehensive benefits to journalists.[19]
CNO also participates in the federal government's Local Journalism Initiative and is a member of The Trust Project, an international consortium promoting transparency in journalism.[20] It is also a partner in the Climate Desk collaboration, a consortium of international media organizations reporting on the impacts of climate change.[21]
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