NEW: Councillors and sources inside the City of Vancouver say the city's mayor, Ken Sim, will put forth a budget Wednesday that will eliminate the city's celebrated climate and sustainability department.

Toronto! @cloelogan.bsky.social is the new reporter in town. Drop her a line with your story tips and burning questions you need answered about the city's changing climate, building plans and political challenges.

For my 400th story with @nationalobserver.com (and my last from Atlantic Canada!) I reported from the Chignecto Isthmus, where efforts to preserve a fragile landscape meet plans for a new gas plant with a 25 year lifespan.

Perhaps the least hinged quote I've seen from this government so far.

Enbridge execs have been boasting to shareholders they plan to return $40-$45 billion to them over the next five years supported by gas expansions across the continent. Ontario in particular is a cash cow where they have an opportunity to "over earn." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/09/a...

Exciting news! Yesterday, a new tool developed by @nationalobserver.com's @rorywh.bsky.social launched. It allows you to search through the transcripts of 550 municipalities’ public meetings. We've been using it internally for a few months and it's been so helpful for our reporting.

Freelancers based on Vancouver Island or the BC coast, please get in touch if you're available over the next few weeks!

Today for @nationalobserver.com, I dig into the federal gov's off diesel goal by 2030 for remote Indigenous communities. That goal was stated as a commitment, but a briefing note we obtained shows the feds never believed it could meet the target — considering it, rather, as “directional.”

New from @rorywh.bsky.social and I. The wildfire danger where homes meet forests is rising worldwide. Using new data, we built a detailed map of Halifax’s fire-prone forest edge — and explain what it says about the state of the wildland urban interface in Canada.

Just now speaking to the Liberal caucus, Carney offered more detail about this forthcoming climate competitiveness strategy. He said it will focus on “results over prohibition.” The clearest signal yet the proposed oil and gas emissions cap will be killed. 4 years of government work down the drain.

@cloelogan.bsky.social and I were working on a story about cuts to a program that monitors endangered whales. But we were stonewalled by Transport Canada for weeks. Frustrated and wanting to know why, I filed an ATIP. I got nearly 400 pages of emails in response: the dumbest coverup I've ever seen.

I will be chatting with Markus Schwabe of CBC Sudbury's Morning North at 8:10 EST this AM about ice roads — highlighting my @nationalobserver.com series on winter roads in the James Bay region.

Interview request! I am looking to speak to someone who lives in the Wildland Urban Interface of the Halifax area for a @nationalobserver.com story. Please dm me or shoot me an email at cloe[at]nationalobserver.com

if Trump's order to keep open fossil fuel plants that are scheduled to be decommissioned is followed, it will cost US ratepayers between $3-6 billion per year earthjustice.org/press/2025/i...

As the Susies Lake fire burns and continued drought raises the prospect of still more fires, Tim Houston says he’s doing enough to address climate change reported by me

Collab between Marc Fawcett-Atkinson and @joanbaxter.bsky.social. While the province of Nova Scotia has closed the woods to people, the same is not true for forestry operators, who have been granted special exemptions from the wildfire restrictions.

From @woodsideful.bsky.social. It has been 100s of days since Canadian oil company ReconAfrica was accused of human rights abuses + environmental destruction in Namibia. The CDN body responsible for the complaint received it in April 2024, but the position been vacant for months, the work frozen.

I wrote a fun (yet serious) article that narrows in on splash pads as cooling infrastructure. Includes: a panel that found the best splash pad in Canada + info about the increase of extreme heat in cities. It also features one of my best interviews of late-with a 7 year old splash pad connoisseur.

It's going to be another hot weekend across Canada. If you hit up your local splash pad to keep cool, snap some pictures and tell us why you like it — and aside from contributing to civic pride, you could also win prizes!

Want to win a @nationalobserver.com water bottle + a free one-year subscription? We are digging into splash pads in the age of unbearably hot summers + want to hear from you about your local pad – we're on the hunt for the best one. Send your submissions: [email protected] by July 11.

The Nova Scotia government is renewing push for fossil fuels off the coast. The call for exploration bids includes 13 parcels along the central Scotian Shelf and Slope, one of the most fished areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Today for @nationalobserver.com

Want to win a @nationalobserver.com water bottle + a free one-year subscription? We are digging into splash pads in the age of unbearably hot summers + want to hear from you about your local pad – we're on the hunt for the best one. Send your submissions: [email protected] by July 11.

Thank you to @metcalfuri.bsky.social for highlighting my recent series on ice roads! Being a fellow with the Metcalf Institute in 2023 was *such* an amazing experience. You can find the full series at the link below on @nationalobserver.com.

“This website I’m quoting from, I don’t know a whole lot about… but I just thought their words were better than mine.” — Alberta councillor, citing a website with an AI chatbot pushing towns to quit net-zero programs. Latest from @rorywh.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/06/27/n...

Note to freelancers: I'm open to pitches for @nationalobserver.com! We pay pretty well, and we're flexible with timelines for assigned stories. I don't need a long pitch — think 2 paragraphs — but please give an idea of what your story is. Some recently published freelance pieces:

Working on a story for @nationalobserver.com about municipally-owned utilities. Quite a few here in the Atlantic but am searching for ones in other parts of Canada - please send any good examples my way!

This article from @natashabulowski.bsky.social for @nationalobserver.com is a must read! It lays out what's happened so far with Bill C-5, and gives good background on what's at stake. Stay tuned – fed Committee on Transport, Infrastructure + Communities is set to report back to the House on Fri.

"We’re just getting started’: from Alberta to Montana, Blackfeet guardians hope to bring back the buffalo jump" by @jameswsthomson.com from ‪@thenarwhal.ca‬ is our second place winner for the #DPA25 category Best Feature Article

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

The question of how to rebuild has become existential: the NDP is down to seven MPs and lost official party status for the first time since 1993. @natashabulowski.bsky.social + @rochellebaker1.bsky.social on the future of the NDP for @nationalobserver.com

Offshore natural gas is Newfoundland and Labrador’s latest pitch for development that it claims will be “part of the solution to the global path toward-net zero emissions” despite ample evidence that fossil fuels like oil and gas must be phased out to reach climate targets. For @nationalobserver.com

"Our previous five-year deal provided a total of a three per cent general wage increase. We've fallen significantly behind, as inflation was almost seven times higher." I'm the president of the CP branch of the Canadian Media Guild and we believe The Canadian Press can do better for its employees.

The latest from me for my series on ice roads for @nationalobserver.com. This story focuses on how climate change is already impacting ice roads and what future projections are saying about their futures. 🧊

The Atlantic news from the first ministers' conference: a proposed energy corridor which would interconnect the Atlantic provinces’ grids, and then tie them to hydro in Quebec. The Premiers say it needs federal support. For @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2025/06/04/n...

NEW: The company behind Alberta's Grassy Mountain coal plan said it spent about $2000 on ads. But an investigation by @nationalobserver.com shows pro-coal social media ads during the vote period totaled more than $11,000 — and that's only part of the spend.

Poilievre lost his riding, throwing his future in the party into question. @arnokopecky.bsky.social was there to witness the tears. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/28/o...

After a long night with analyses, panel discussions, and a live blog, with reporters across the country @nationalobserver.com isn't slowing down. Here's more coverage. First, from @natashabulowski.bsky.social, here's what Carney had to say after his win. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/28/n...

Last update for tonight from me. Carney wins, Liberals are looking at a minority government, but a major story here is Poilievre's loss. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/25/a...

Jagmeet Singh has resigned as leader of the federal NDP after losing his seat in Burnaby, BC.

FRESH story for @nationalobserver.com from election night with the Green Party in Elizabeth May’s riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. 🗳️

Story so far: Liberals leading in Atlantic Canada, but it's no clean sweep the way they hoped. Atlantic Canada won't make or break the election, but it's not the roaring start Liberals were hoping for. It's looking to be a tight race. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/25/a...

This election, @nationalobserver.com is doing a livestream with @ricochetmedia.bsky.social. We are now live! Tune in on youtube 🗳️

Conservatives missed all-candidates events at a much higher rate than the other major parties. We looked for reports of no-shows in each of the 343 federal ridings, and here's what we found:

Tonight! Join us 😌

There are a bunch of oil lobbyists in Poilievre’s orbit, shedding new light on his promise to grant the fossil fuel industry’s wish list to shred climate and environmental regulations. New from me and @natashabulowski.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/25/n...

New from @woodsideful.bsky.social and I for @nationalobserver.com. The Conservative platform committed to doubling oil production and greenlighting a proposed LNG facility in NL. Meanwhile, 33 exploration licenses for the Atlantic offshore will be made available this year.

Part 2 of my series on ice roads for @nationalobserver.com is up! As the multiple climate-change impacts the community experiences only stand to intensify, Fort Albany FN is determined to move forward on a plan more ambitious than anything they’ve tackled before: a permanent road to the south. 🧊

Remember a couple months ago, the feds said they replaced a nearly $20 billion loan from banks with a gov loan to lower interest payments on Trans Mountain? Turns out, almost $15 billion of that new "loan" wasn't a loan at all and won't be paid back. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/09/n...

over the moon to share this new fellowship we're offering at @thenarwhal.ca!