Accelerate our investigative reporting: Support CNO's winter fundraiser

For the first time in a while, I am truly worried about the future of climate policy in our country. 

Our federal government talks a good line, but so far the best we have done is tinker around the edges while our emissions continue to rise. Canada is failing to meet our Paris Accord commitments to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent below 1990 levels. To make matters worse, the climate policy we do have in place has taken a walloping of late. The federal Conservatives launched an early election campaign based on “axe the tax,” a frontal assault against carbon pricing. It has captured the imagination of a public struggling financially under a post-pandemic inflationary period, high interest rates and stagnant wages. 

Today, at this critical moment, we launch our annual winter fundraising campaign to raise $150,000 by December 31 to power climate reporting that confronts our timid politics with the facts and solutions Canadians need.

Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear directly from our editors and journalists about the impact of their stories and their plan for more in 2025. These letters will show you how your support supports investigations that really made a difference—holding decision-makers accountable, exposing corruption, and showcasing the wonderful solutions that drive change.

Will you support journalism for the climate? Tax receipts are available for donations of $100+, see instructions at the end.

Many provinces, at least those with economies tied to fossil fuel production, are similarly at war with the feds on climate policy. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is threatening to sue over a proposed oil and gas emissions cap that even conservative mainstream media publications have declared makes sense. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and other Prairie premiers are pushing back on the federal government’s clean electricity plans, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford is still intent on expanding gas for home heating over cleaner electricity and threatening to rip out bike lanes. Even the B.C. NDP, in the throes of a very tight election race, promised to give up on the consumer carbon tax if the federal government does away with it.  

It is entirely likely the federal Liberals will not survive the next election, in part due to their commitment to climate policy. This has been echoed south of the border with the reelection of Donald Trump, no friend to climate, as U.S. president. So where does that leave us?

Climate and environmental movements have always had highs and lows. When times are good, public support goes up for causes seen as altruistic nice-to-haves. When times are tough, the pendulum swings the other way. 

We at Canada’s National Observer have not given up on climate. We plan to redouble our efforts to connect the dots, not just for the people who already read us and believe that climate change is an existential problem, but to reach those who don’t. We’ve been thinking a lot about how best to do that in the year ahead. If the American election taught us anything, it’s that polarization can lead to devastating results. There are disturbing signs that Canadians are falling into a similar us-and-them mindset. 

There is no substitute for reporting grounded on facts and science. But that alone is not enough. We need to talk to each other more and in a more respectful manner. To that end, our reporters are expanding their contacts to build a bigger tent and spending more time on the ground in communities where all of this comes to matter. We are designing short explainers with links to respected sources that clearly explain terms and science that can be difficult to understand. 

We are redoubling our efforts to reach out to everyone with open, inquisitive minds to let them know we understand their fears and concerns about the big changes that need to happen. Because we know there are already solutions to many of our global warming problems and some of the resistance is simply human resistance to change. We at CNO will keep you abreast of the latest and best solutions from government, business and activists who push us all to move faster.

To do this requires money, and lots of it. And I fear this will be a tough year on that front, too. The conservative movement in Canada is rallying against federal funding that has helped keep journalists across the country, including ours, working. So we are coming to you, our readers and supporters, for help.

I’m so proud of our work in the last half of this year. We launched a new global affairs podcast called Mortal Giants. Under the direction of our senior climate reporter John Woodside, our staff are producing a series called Powering Up, which examines Canada’s clean energy transition efforts. And our business team, editor Darren Schuettler and writer Darius Snieckus, have produced an inspiring series called Big Green Build, examining climate-friendly advances in the construction industry. Our new managing editor, Jimmy Thomson, is an ace editor and fabulous commentator in his own right, and along with our National Newspaper Award-winning columnist Max Fawcett, we’ve added David Moscrop to our roster of writers.

Our Indigenous affairs and climate writer Matteo Cimellaro won a top international climate journalism award and recently traveled to northern Manitoba to produce a three-part series on National Marine Conservation Areas. Our reporter Abdul Matin Sarfraz, who came to CNO from Afghanistan, has been keeping tabs on Ontario climate news and was recently invited to a gathering in Germany of expatriate journalists from Afghanistan. Natasha Bulowski set sail this summer to write an immersive series of stories about cleanup efforts of plastic on the West Coast and recently broke the outrageous story on the vow by Alberta’s ruling party to embrace carbon dioxide. Marc Fawcett-Atkinson’s investigative reporting on Canada’s lax pesticide regulator prompted a Health Canada investigation and caught the attention of federal politicians, who raised it in Question Period on Parliament Hill. Reporters Rochelle Baker and Cloe Logan have been keeping tabs on climate politics, as elections roll out on the West and East Coasts.   

This is a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change and there is so much more we hope to accomplish. Even as the pendulum swings against us and too many politicians abandon climate policy, we promise to continue to hold them accountable and boost the most promising solutions as they arrive. But we need your help to continue our great work. Please donate what you can and we won’t let you down. 

Join us in the fight for climate truth. Make your donation today and help us reach our winter fundraising goal of $150,000. Together, we can ensure that factual, science-based climate reporting continues to reach Canadians.