Photo: The Investigative Journalism Foundation won two gold medals at the 2024 Canadian Online Publishing Awards, and has a chance to add two more for 2025 / Canadian Online Publishing Awards
By Bethany Lindsay
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Investigative Journalism Foundation
The Investigative Journalism Foundation has received two nominations for this year’s Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPA).
The IJF is up for 2025’s Best Continuing Coverage in COPA’s Media division for the Residential Schools: The Hidden Stories database, along with the ongoing series of stories based on the documents in that database. The nomination recognizes the work of reporters Bethany Lindsay, Chantelle Bellrichard, Ninah Hermiston and Rochelle Becker, along with managing editor Cecil Rosner and technology manager Max Hartshorn.
The second nomination is in the Best Daily News/Sports Coverage category for reporter Zak Vescera’s reporting on Conservative MPs who had invested in Brookfield Asset Management, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s former company. The contributions of reporter Patti Sonntag, software engineer Martin Allen and data analyst Sam Park are also recognized in that nomination.
The IJF’s CEO, Zane Schwartz said: “These nominations speak to the heart of what we do at the IJF. They recognize that combining cutting-edge data analysis with classic shoe leather reporting creates fantastic journalism. I’m so proud of the entire team.”
The Canadian Online Publishing Awards are the largest digital publishing awards program in Canada, recognizing excellence in content creation among news outlets as well as business-to-business, consumer and university publications. The awards are organized by Masthead, an industry magazine covering the publishing sector in Canada.
Last year, the IJF walked away from the awards with two gold medals.
The IJF’s Zak Vescera and CTV News reporter Adrian Ghobrial won Best Investigative Article in the for their collaborative series on a Canadian company tied to a global pyramid scheme, and the IJF team was recognized for Continuing Coverage for its procurement database.
The winners of the 2025 awards will be announced at a celebration in February.