Denise Balkissoon

Toronto

Executive Editor at The Narwhal

Executive editor, @thenarwhalca | 20+ yrs on the verge of quitting Canadian journalism | https://t.co/Gd8kEmT9oy

Featured in: Favicon

thenarwhal.ca Favicon

msn.com

thestar.com Favicon

theglobeandmail.com Favicon

flipboard.com Favicon

realclearpolitics.com Favicon

chatelaine.com Favicon

macleans.ca Favicon

thewalrus.ca Favicon

todaysparent.com + 4 more

Articles

Alex Hutchinson on finding adventure, anywhere

1 week ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

Alex Hutchinson likes to keep busy. He’s been a physicist and a competitive runner on Canada’s national team. Now, he’s a journalist considering the neuroscience of fitness, endurance sports and outdoor adventure, with a couple of bestsellers under his belt. He also plays saxophone for fun. In his latest book, The Explorer’s Gene, Hutchinson weaves his wide-ranging interests into a celebration of far-flung corners, whether on Earth or inside the human mind.
Jeremy Dutcher misses the Atlantic Ocean

2 weeks ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

Onstage, Jeremy Dutcher sings in a deep, yearning tenor. On the phone, he giggles as he attempts to choose his favourite of Canada’s natural sites, considering options around the country before giving up. “I’m very, very fortunate as a musician. We get to see a lot of the country that I don’t think a lot of people always get to,” Dutcher says.
Packing a lack of shame on summer camping trips

3 weeks ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

But Indigenous stewardship — which includes hunting, fishing and other harvesting — isn’t what has degraded the outdoors. The real risk to popular recreation spots is uneducated or entitled visitors who feed wildlife, disregard trail markings and don’t take garbage home with them. General overuse can be an issue, too. There were 20.8 million parks visitors across B.C. from 2013 to 2014; a decade later, that figure was just over 27 million. It’s a lot.
The Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial Lays Bare the Battle for Men’s Humanity

1 month ago | thekit.ca | Denise Balkissoon

Content warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault. The woman alleging sexual assault by a group of junior hockey players says she’s unsure if all of the men in the room were involved.
Senator Paula Simons saw ‘wild eagle sex in the sky’

1 month ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

Paula Simons has always had a lot to say — and the guts to say it. For 20 years, she racked up awards for her work at the Edmonton Journal, where she explored Indigenous Rights, same-sex marriage and mental health care before many would broach the topics publicly. After being appointed as a senator in 2018, she’s stayed just as opinionated. While those opinions are strong, they’re also complex and open to change.
The Narwhal’s TC Energy investigation makes Jackman Award shortlist

1 month ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

We’re excited to share that an investigation by The Narwhal is a finalist for the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Jackman Award for excellence in journalism. The nominated series revealed the inner workings of fossil fuel company TC Energy and was written by northwest B.C. reporter Matt Simmons, former director of investigations and enterprise Mike De Souza and Ontario reporter Fatima Syed.
Shad says nature is ‘a spiritual need’

1 month ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon

Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better. And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
‘I’m fiercely pro-fur’: Vogue’s Christian Allaire

2 months ago | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon |Drew Anderson |Fatima Syed

Growing up, Christian Allaire loved spending summers with his cousins in his grandma’s backyard, near their home community of Nipissing First Nation. He also loved watching Drag Race with those same cousins, even after they voted against the strapless garbage bag minidress he made for a RuPaul-inspired home fashion contest.
Raccoons saved Scaachi Koul’s dumb cat

Mar 7, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Denise Balkissoon |Matt Simmons |Kate Schneider

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. “I promise you will laugh at least once per chapter,” Scaachi Koul says about her latest memoir, Suckerpunch. It’s a big promise, given that the book recaps three wretched years in which she got divorced, lost her job and learned her mother had cancer, all while coping with the pandemic. That said, Koul has a special ability to find a sliver of bright hilarity in the darkest cave.
Unearthing Black history in Nova Scotia

Feb 28, 2025 | thenarwhal.ca | Ainslie Cruickshank |Mel Woods |Shannon Waters |Denise Balkissoon

Look at your Google calendar, and it might no longer tell you it’s Black History Month. At a time when some of the most powerful world leaders, backed by tech broligarchs, are rewriting histories — and brazenly attacking diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — telling some of those erased stories feels even more pressing.