| World Press Freedom Canada | |
| Formation: | 2008 |
| Predecessor: | Ottawa’s National Press Club |
| Type: | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters: | Ottawa |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Shawn McCarthy |
World Press Freedom Canada (sometimes known as the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom) is a Canadian not for profit organisation that campaigns for media freedom and journalist safety.
It issues the annual press freedom award.
World Press Freedom Canada was founded by Spencer Moore[1] and incorporated as a not for profit in 2008,[2] The organization advocates for press freedom and the safety of journalists. The organisation was previously, and sometimes still is, known as the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom[3] and is a successor to Ottawa’s National Press Club. The Ottawa Press Club faced financial challenges in 2003,[4] filing for bankruptcy protection in July 2003.[5]
In 2021, World Press Freedom Canada's president was Shawn McCarthy.[6]
In 2014, the organization organized an event to fundraise for Mohamed Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian journalist who was being detained in Egypt and who later won the 2015 Press Freedom prize.[7]
In 2021, the organization was critical of Royal Canadian Mounted Police's activities during the 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests.[8]
World Press Freedom Canada organises and issues the Press Freedom award and the Spencer Moore awards, which were started by the predecessor organisations.[9]
The organization also holds an annual contest among editorial cartoonists, in which cartoonists such as Plantu (2010), Bruce MacKinnon (2014),[10] Signe Wilkinson (2015),[11] and Ali Miraee (2023)[12] have won first prize.[13]
| 1999 | Kim Bolan | Vancouver Sun | [14] | |
| 2000 | Robert Tripp | Kingston Whig-Standard | ||
| 2001 | Corinna Shuller | National Post | ||
| 2002 | Haroon Siddiqui | Toronto Star | ||
| 2003 | International Freedom of Information Exchange | |||
| 2004 | Andrew McIntosh | National Post | ||
| 2005 | Juliet O’Neill | Ottawa Citizen | ||
| 2006 | John Hoey and Anne Marie Todkill | Canadian Medical Association Journal | ||
| 2007 | Tarek Fatah | |||
| 2008 | Gilles Toupin and Joël-Denis Bellavance | La Presse | ||
| 2009 | Daniel Leblanc | Globe and Mail | ||
| 2010 | Michelle Lang (posthumously) | Calgary Herald | [15] | |
| 2011 | Citizen Lab | [16] | ||
| 2012 | Canadian Science Writers’ Association | |||
| 2013 | Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor | Postmedia | ||
| 2014 | Katherine Gannon | Associated Press | ||
| 2015 | Mohamed Fahmy | |||
| 2016 | Ben Makuch | VICE News | ||
| 2017 | Patrick LagacéPaul Dornstauder and Geoff Leo Paula Simons (Honourable mention) | La PresseCanadian Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| 2018 | Justin BrakeMike de Souza (Honourable mention) Charles Rusnell, Jennie Russell and Gary Cunliffe (honourable mentions) | The Independent of Newfoundland and LabradorThe National Observer | [17] | |
| 2019 | Michael RobinsonMarie-Maude Denis (honorable mention) | The Telegraph Journal in Saint John, N.BRadio-Canada | ||
| 2020 | Kenneth JacksonMichael de Adder (honorable mention) Joan Baxter (honorable mention) | Aboriginal Peoples Television Network | ||
| 2021 | Nathan VanderKlippeSarah Cox Kevin Donovan (certificate of merit) Meghan Potkins & Madeline Smith (certificates of merit) | Globe and MailThe Narwhal | ||
| 2022 | Fatima Syed and Tai Huyn | The Local | [18] |
| Year | Name | Employer/Role | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Arnold Amber | Canadian Journalists for Free Expression | [19] | |
| 2015 | Bob Carty | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| 2016 | Suzanne Legault | Information Commissioner of Canada | ||
| 2017 | Jim Bronskill | The Canadian Press | ||
| 2018 | Charles Morrow | The Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom | [20] | |
| 2019 | Ken Rubin | n/a (freelance) | ||
| 2020 | David Pugliese | The Ottawa Citizen | ||
| 2021 | Kim Bolan | Vancouver Sun | [21] | |
| 2023 | Rachel Pulfer | Journalists for Human Rights | [22] |