About the Local Journalism Initiative
Strengthening local coverage of civic matters in underserved communities
Inspired by successful international programs such as Report for America and the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) will provide funding to Canadian media organizations to hire reporters to cover underserved communities or news deserts across Canada.
“Our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians everywhere continue to have access to accurate, diverse and relevant news. In order for that to happen, we have to continue to have an active, professional, reliable and independent press. Today, we are reaching another milestone toward the implementation of these measures that aim to support Canadian journalism and journalism in underserved communities.”
—The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Working for local news media, LJI reporters will report from courthouses, city halls, band councils, school boards, Parliament, provincial legislatures, and more. LJI content will be made available to accredited media organizations for editorial use.
In December 2019, the inaugural call for applications resulted in the approval of 105 journalists in 95 host newsrooms across Canada. (Click here for the complete list.)