The Landsberg Award

The Landsberg Award
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ABOUT THE LANDSBERG AWARD

The Landsberg Award is proudly presented by The Canadian Journalism Foundation in association with the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

The annual award celebrates a journalist who is raising awareness about gender equality and justice issues in Canada and seeks to inspire an increase in feminist media coverage and voices of women in Canada.
The award is named after Michele Landsberg—an award-winning Canadian journalist, author, social activist and feminist—to acknowledge the tremendous impact that she has had as an advocate and role model for all women in Canada. The award will inspire relentless and fearless journalists to consider Canadian news from a women’s equality perspective.

ABOUT MICHELE LANDSBERG

Articulate, tenacious, progressive and persuasive, award-winning former Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg is one of Canada’s best-known feminists and social justice activists. A fearless advocate for women and children over many decades, she uses words, in print and in person, to fight injustice, to attack oppressive power structures and policies, and to champion the cause of human rights, race and gender equality, peace and pluralism. Through her columns, she gave a strong public voice to many of those who would otherwise not be heard.

DEFINITION OF THE AWARD

This award will recognize a working journalist (employed or freelance) doing exceptional research, analysis and writing through a gender lens about women’s equality issues in Canada.

FORM OF THE AWARD

The award recipient will receive a $5,000 prize from the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

ELIGIBILITY

Awarded to a working journalist (employed or freelance) who has done the most to shine a spotlight on women’s equality issues in Canada in print, broadcast or online news reporting in 2023. Entries involving more than one contributor are welcome and will be judged as a single submission. Submissions are welcome in the following formats: article, column, online piece, editorial, op-ed, radio program, podcast, television program or documentary film.

Judging Methodology
The judging panel is comprised of four to eight jurors who review all submitted entries through an online portal, rank the entries and then attend a face-to-face meeting or participate via conference call with their rankings to agree on the recipient–and finalists, if applicable–of the award. The shortlist will be announced in April, with the winner announced at the CJF Awards ceremony in June 2025.

The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2025.

Submit your application

The Landsberg Award, celebrating exceptional coverage of women’s equality issues, went to Lindsay Jones for articles in The Walrus, WIRED and The Globe and Mail that examined sexual violence against women and exposed systemic bias in policing and the courts. The award is presented in association with the Canadian Women’s Foundation, which provides the $5,000 prize.

“All of these articles shared a deep gender analysis and a thoughtful understanding of how systemic issues impact vulnerable people,” says Suzanne Duncan, interim president and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. “I appreciated Lindsay’s focus on legal and policing frameworks in all of her pieces.”

The award, now in its 10th year, is named after Michele Landsberg, a prize-winning Canadian journalist, author, social activist and feminist, in acknowledgement of the tremendous impact that she has had as an advocate and role model for Canadian women.

“Ten years in, the Landsberg Award continues to receive high-quality entries from relentless and fearless journalists who are shining light on the inequities that continue to affect women in Canada and around the world,” says jury chair Sally Armstrong. “This year’s three finalists show exceptional grit and skill, and their work has resulted in real change.

 

The jury members are:

  • Sally Armstrong(chair), journalist, human rights activist and author;
  • Denise Balkissoon, Ontario bureau chief, The Narwhal;
  • Michele Landsberg, journalist, author, feminist and social justice advocate;
  • Suzanne Duncan, interim president and CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation;
  • Shanelle Kaul, correspondent, CBS News
  • Laura-Julie Perreault, international affairs columnist, La Presse; and
  • Erica Ifill, award-winning, anti-oppression journalist and economist, columnist at The Hill Times, founder and co-host, Bad + Bitchy podcast, and chief policy officer at Not In My Colour.

 

The 2024 CJF Awards are generously supported by CIBC, Rogers Communications, Labatt Breweries of Canada, Canadian Medical Association, McCain Foods, MobSquad, Aritzia, BMO Financial Group, Intact, Sobeys, TD Bank Group, CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada Life, Scotiabank, Canadian Bankers Association, FGS Longview Communications, KPMG, RBC, Accenture, Aga Khan Development Network, Apple Canada News, The Balsillie Family Foundation, Bennett Jones LLP, Canadian Women’s Foundation, CDPQ, Davies, Desjardins, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Maple Leaf Foods, Sunnybrook Foundation, Tom’s Place, and The Woodbridge Company Ltd. In-kind sponsorship is provided by Bespoke Audio Visual, MLSE and Porter Airlines.

 

Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the CJF.

PAST WINNERS

2024

– Lindsay Jones for articles in The Walrus, WIRED and The Globe and Mail that examined sexual violence against women and exposed systemic bias in policing and the courts.

2023

– Molly Hayes, Tavia Grant and Elizabeth Renzetti for a Globe and Mail series examining intimate partner violence and bringing coercive control into the broader public consciousness, revealing complex social challenges but also viable solutions.

2022

–  Christina Frangou for her independent character-driven stories in Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Reader’s Digest revealing discrimination in Canada’s medical and legal systems.

2021

– Alyshah Hasham and Wendy Gillis, longtime courts and crime reporters for the Toronto Star, were joint recipients of the 2021 Landsberg Award in recognition of their stories addressing women’s experiences of male violence—including police workplace sexual harassment—and exploring potential solutions.

2020
– Elizabeth Renzetti, columnist and feature writer with The Globe and Mail, for exploring issues such as biased design in space, the lack of female political leaders and why ideologically-motivated killing of women isn’t treated as terrorism.

2019
– Connie Walker, investigative reporter and host of Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo, the CBC News podcast, for her work exploring the story behind the true-crime mystery of the death of a Cree girl named Cleo Semaganis.

2018 
– Robyn Doolittle, investigative reporter with The Globe and Mail, for her “Unfounded” series exposing a pattern of mishandling sexual assault cases by police across the country.

2017
– Tavia Grant, reporter with The Globe and Mail, who explored the trafficking of Indigenous women as well as the ongoing gender pay gap.
>> Read about the recipient

2016
– Radio-Canada Enquête duo of journalist Josée Dupuis and producer/director Emmanuel Marchand, who found Indigenous women who were willing to talk about the racism, sexism, and sexual and physical abuse that they suffered at the hands of the police in the northern Quebec town of Val-d’Or
– Catherine Porter, a social justice columnist and feature writer with the Toronto Star, was recognized for a selection of her work as a columnist exploring systemic issues and delving into controversial topics
>> Read about the recipients

2015
– Heather Mallick, staff columnist with the Toronto Star, on exploring the legal framework surrounding prostitution in other countries during Canada’s debate over laws governing the sex trade
>> Read about the recipient

2014
–  Janet McFarland, business reporter with The Globe and Mail, on gender inequality on corporate boards
>> Read about the recipient
Twitter: #LandsbergAward

The Canadian Journalism Foundation is proud to present this award in association with:

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is a national leader in the movement for gender equality in Canada. Through funding, research, advocacy, and knowledge sharing, the Foundation works to achieve systemic change that includes all women. By supporting community programs, the Foundation empowers women and girls to move themselves out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence and leadership. Launched in 1991 to address a critical need for philanthropy focused on women, the Canadian Women’s Foundation is one of the largest women’s foundations in the world. With the support of donors, the Foundation has raised more than $100 million and funded over 2,000 programs across the country. These programs focus on addressing the root causes of the most critical issues, and helping women and girls who face the greatest barriers.  The Canadian Women’s Foundation aims to be inclusive of diverse people across gender and sexuality spectrums. We focus our efforts on supporting those who face the most barriers and have least access to relevant services. This includes people who identify as women, girls, trans, genderqueer, non-binary, and 2SLGBTQI+. To learn more, visit www.canadianwomen.org.