In the heat of the evacuations, and with a lack of reliable information, evacuees are hearing rumours — including fears that if their homes are razed by wildfires, it will be easier for industry to start mining in their community.

Ontario's wildfire response left some community members from Whitesand First Nation and Armstrong concerned the province wasn't doing enough to protect homes and structures in their communities. With @arlyn-mcadorey.bsky.social for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/16/n...

Now's a good time to revisit this piece by @natashabulowski.bsky.social on how it worked out the last time the government linked environmental promises to an oil pipeline:

Rare CNO IRL moment at the @cajournalists.bsky.social awards!!! Feat @rorywh.bsky.social and @davidmckie.bsky.social's silver award in the data journalism category :) ( @natashabulowski.bsky.social, @jameswsthomson.com )

Some smart analysis from @matinsarfraz.bsky.social on Ontario Premier Doug Ford's “Captain Canada” approach and whether it has actually delivered tangible results. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/06/12/a...

NEW from @natashabulowski.bsky.social and myself www.nationalobserver.com/2026/06/04/n...

The federal government’s long-awaited AI strategy does not tackle the environmental and climate impacts of rapidly building AI infrastructure like data centres New from @rorywh.bsky.social + @natashabulowski.bsky.social

Steven Guilbeault is leaving politics, but many climate-concerned MPs will remain even as the federal government works with Alberta to advance a new oil pipeline project. His message to these colleagues: you may have more power than you realize www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/29/n...

This is an important story but I wish it mentioned (not just included a buried hyperlink) the reporting done by @cloelogan.bsky.social on this nearly a month ago. This probably would have made me cranky if I had worked on this story. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/08/n...

If PM Carney's framing of a pipeline deal as ‘climate action’ sounds familiar, thats because it is. Trudeau approved TMX on a promise that its profits would directly fund the clean energy transition. @cathmckenna.bsky.social helps unpack some of the parallels www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/26/n...

Must-read reporting from @natashabulowski.bsky.social on sweeping changes likely coming down the pipe.

The federal gov is taking a page from Doug Ford’s playbook, proposing legislation that would allow cabinet to create “federal economic zones”where major projects can be pre-approved and fast-tracked. by @natashabulowski.bsky.social for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/12/n...

At least a dozen municipalities in Ontario have recently passed resolutions supplied by the natural gas company Enbridge. Using Civic Searchlight, @matinsarfraz.bsky.social discovered near-identical, Enbridge-drafted resolutions being passed in support of the province’s gas expansion.

This story I wrote about a gas plant proposed by NB Power on the Chignecto Isthmus is nominated for an Atlantic Journalism Award! Honoured, thank you 😌 It was the last story I reported for @nationalobserver.com from the Maritimes before moving to Toronto :')

SCOOP: I attended the launch of David Parker’s Centurion Project last night. I happened to step outside when an Elections Alberta investigator and the cops arrived. open.substack.com/pub/theorcha...

Ford’s latest bill collides with cities’ efforts to phase out gas in buildings. great work by @cloelogan.bsky.social for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/16/n...

My dispatch from the Liberal convention (it was quite a scene)

Liberal delegates are flocking to Montreal this week for their convention as the party is flying high in the polls and on the cusp of a majority government thanks to a surprising floor-crosser, @natashabulowski.bsky.social reports. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/09/n...

This is the opening song from the @grievousangels104.bsky.social new album Revolution. In the Time of Monsters is the time we are in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDar...

AI Minister Evan Solomon has met with energy and mining companies (Teck & Enbridge) about the environmental impacts of AI infrastructure, but no environmental organizations, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons on March 11. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/06/n...

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/06/n... “There's still hope that in a year from now, we could regulate AI applications in education, healthcare…But once we've just built thousands of megawatts worth of data centres & hooked them up to new gas-fired generators, we've locked in that infrastructure”

Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary's proposed Wonder Valley data centre won't require an Alberta enviro impact assessment (despite its massive power and water consumption), according to a letter obtained by @nationalobserver.com's Marc Fawcett-Atkinson. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/03/n...

There’s a political push for more water-guzzling AI data centres in Canada. And uh, it looks like - at least in Alberta - they’re planning to plop most of them in high water stress areas. For @nationalobserver.com, let’s cover @rorywh.bsky.social and @natashabulowski.bsky.social’s scary findings:

We analyzed the locations of 38 data centre campuses proposed in Alberta. Three quarters of them are in regions under high or extremely high water stress. Only three have been planned in low water stress regions, which comprise the majority of Alberta’s land mass.

@natashabulowski.bsky.social and I analyzed the locations of 38 proposed data centre sites in Alberta for this investigation. The results aren’t pretty. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/23/i...

And congratulations to @arnokopecky.bsky.social for the recognition of his globetrotting guerilla coverage of the Poilievre campaign. He was away from home for basically the entire campaign, writing brilliant and unique dispatches from the back of the room.

Congratulations to @rorywh.bsky.social for being what must be one of the earliest-career nominees in National Newspaper Award history — and in the innovation category, no less. Huge.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used a wide-ranging speech in Toronto on Thursday to argue that slow permits, high taxes, changing rules and development “bans” weakened Canada’s trade position. by @matinsarfraz.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/26/n...

This would be ironic if it weren't just so common as to be inevitable, given the lack of interest in safety for non-car road users.

Israeli company LogiVote is pitching strategists and politicians an AI-powered campaign tool that turns voters into "digital fighters" as six provinces gear up for municipal elections in 2026. Investigation by @rorywh.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/24/i...

How Doug Ford is spreading surveillance tech throughout #Ontario After scrapping speed cameras, Ford has overseen the expansion of a province-wide, cloud-based surveillance network — handing private firms control over public space. New from @terraloire.bsky.social: ricochet.media/labour/class...

Toronto is covered with road salt right now, which will eventually end up in the city's waterways, where it disrupts ecosystems. To get an idea of how much we're talking, I got salt figures from the city going back to the 80s: nearly 5 million tonnes. For @nationalobserver.com

The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned a one-vote win for the Liberals in Quebec's Terrebonne riding via @michelsaba.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/13/n...

Some great debunking work here by @natashabulowski.bsky.social and Marc Fawcett Atkinson. Just because something agrees with how you see the world, doesn't mean it's correct.

PM Carney's new auto strategy dropped Feb. 5. Out: the EV availability standard (which would have required 100% EV sales by 2035). In: a $2.3B EV rebate program and more stringent tailpipe emissions regs (aiming for 75 per cent adoption rate by 2035) www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/05/n...

"’Backwards’ was my first thought," said Cathy Holtslander, director of research and policy at the National Farmers Union. "Obviously, they made these cuts without knowing what they were doing."

I was reminded of this investigation I did with @ethancox.bsky.social and @brishti.bsky.social the other day, watching police indiscriminately attack protesters and then make up excuses after the fact. It happens here, too.

Here's what went down in court yesterday, as the province + cycling advocates both had their say before three judges at the Court of Appeal. The province was appealing a previous ruling, which found that the removal of three major bike routes in Toronto is unconstitutional. For @nationalobserver.com

Nearly 86,000 marine animals were caught up in “ghost gear” between 2020 and 2023, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) data obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an access to information request, via @rochellebaker1.bsky.social   www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/16/n...

Amber Bracken & The Narwhal are suing the RCMP for wrongfully arresting and detaining her while on assignment and violating both her and the publication’s Charter rights in a high-stakes press freedom case set to unfold over the course of five weeks via @natashabulowski.bsky.social

The people demand shoe scene details!

Tim Hodgson's briefing materials reveal points of leverage and opportunities for collaboration, offering an unprecedented view into the complex terrain of major project negotiations.  @woodsideful.bsky.social reports on what the provinces and territories want most.

Catherine Hickson was trying to save her geothermal company from certain death just as Kevin O'Leary was coming to town. Then, with the announcement of the Wonder Valley data megaproject — to be powered in part by geothermal — she thought her prayers were answered. They weren't.

This morning in Vancouver, Amber Bracken will take on the RCMP in a historic lawsuit brought by @thenarwhal.ca over her arrest while working in the field. @arnokopecky.bsky.social on why this lawsuit matters.

Job alert!! @nationalobserver.com is hiring for a backfill reporter position from Feb to October. Ottawa-based. Application link here.

The time honoured Canadian tradition of sitting in one's bathrobe, numbly watching the United States sleepwalk into something evil and stupid

Last day of the @nationalobserver.com fundraiser! We're $27,000 short of our goal for the Climate Solutions Reporting Project. If you've been thinking about donating, today's the day. Help us get this across the finish line: www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124263

We had an awesome year @nationalobserver.com! So excited for the work we have planned for the New Year!!

NEW FROM ME:“We have a federal [industrial pricing] backstop that we should be willing to enforce if provinces aren't willing to do what they're supposed to,” said @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social “It's in federal law. I don't understand why we're not doing it." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/18/n...