CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association

Toronto, May 15, 2026 /CNW/ – The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is proud to announce that Karyn Pugliese is the recipient of this year’s CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

The fellowship is aimed at fostering expert reporting on critical health issues affecting Indigenous communities in Canada. Open to Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) journalists working with a publishing partner to support editorial, production and multimedia capacity, this prestigious fellowship provides a $100,000, one-year research stipend for an Indigenous journalist with at least five years’ experience and $50,000 publishing partner support. Fellows and their media partners will collaborate to produce impactful stories in one or more of the following media: broadcast documentary series, podcast or series of published articles by the end of 2027.

For the fellowship, Pugliese will collaborate with national Indigenous media organization APTN to investigate the opioid crisis impact on Indigenous communities across Canada. “We are honoured to name Karyn this year’s CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellow,” says CJF president and executive director Natalie Turvey. “The opioid crisis has had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities across Canada, and the story demands a journalist of Karyn’s calibre and credibility.

“Her storytelling is powerful, her ties to the community are deep and her dedication to journalism that creates real change is clear in everything she does.”

Pugliese will examine what communities say is working, where harm is being reduced and where people are staying alive. She is to profile at least three First Nation communities: one looking for access to Western-style healing, one looking at traditional programs, particularly land-based programs, and another looking at involuntary programs.

“The CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship represents an unprecedented opportunity to have significant impact on Indigenous people, Canadian policy and the public in general,” notes selection committee chair Connie Walker, a Pulitzer- and Peabody Award-winning journalist. “Karyn’s extremely well-crafted application reflected her vast experience in journalism and hooked us in with a personal, urgent and compelling issue, focusing not only on her community but on the broader impact.”

The CJF, in partnership with the CMA, acknowledges that Ottawa, where Pugliese lives and works, is s located on the never surrendered homeland of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, a land of spirit and purity, of healing plants and sacred waters, provided to the People by Creator since time immemorial.

An award-winning journalist, writer, public speaker and educator, Pugliese is a trusted voice with more than 20 years of varied journalistic experience. An Algonquin reporter (Pikawakanagan First Nation) who regularly delivers news that matters to First Nations communities through APTN, Pugliese has held senior editorial and management roles at APTN, CBC and Canada’s National Observer.

“This Fellowship reflects our commitment to reconciliation and to advancing health equity for Indigenous Peoples, and we are honoured to support Karyn’s work,” says CMA President Dr. Margot Burnell. “Indigenous-led journalism helps surface truths that too often go unheard and creates space for solutions that are informed by community knowledge and experience.”

Pugliese will be honoured at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 10 at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto. For tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities, see contact information below or visit the CJF Awards page.

CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship selection committee members are:

• Chair – Connie Walker, Pulitzer- and Peabody Award-winning journalist;
• Nelson Bird, Lecturer, Indigenous Journalism & Communication Arts, First Nations University;
• Cheryl McKenzie, Executive Director, News and Current Affairs, APTN;
• Lauren Pelley, Senior Health & Medical Reporter, CBC News; and
• André Picard, Health Reporter and columnist, The Globe and Mail.

The CJF is grateful for the partnership of the Canadian Medical Association.

About the CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship:

**Fellowship now open to freelancers and newsrooms**

Now in its second year, the CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association fellowship is a groundbreaking initiative, aimed at fostering expert reporting on critical health issues affecting Indigenous communities in Canada. Open to Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) journalists working with a publishing partner to support editorial, production and multimedia capacity, this prestigious Fellowship provides a one-year research stipend of $100,000 for a mid-career Indigenous journalist with at least five years’ experience, and $50,000 publishing partner support. Fellows and their media partners will collaborate to produce impactful stories  in one or more of the following media: broadcast documentary series, podcast, series of published articles by the end of 2027.

When possible, the Fellow and publishing partner will provide opportunities for Indigenous early career journalists to support impactful storytelling and media production throughout the Fellowship term.

The CJF is grateful for the support of the Canadian Medical Association.

Applications for 2026 are now closed.

About the CMA 

The Canadian Medical Association leads a national movement with physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our ambition is a sustainable, accessible health system where patients are partners, a culture of medicine that elevates equity, diversity and wellbeing, and supportive communities where everyone has the chance to be healthy. We drive change through advocacy, giving and knowledge sharing – guided by values of collaboration and inclusion.

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsor: