CAJ announces two new awards for its annual awards program

Press Release

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is proud to announce two new prizes have been added to the annual CAJ Awards program.

One is for crime and justice reporting, and one is for local government reporting. Each award honours the life and work of a tremendous Canadian journalist.

The Janice Johnston Award for Crime and Justice Reporting will recognize stories that treat victims of crime with dignity and respect, that are built on fair, accurate, rigorous and unflinching original reporting, and that hold the police and legal systems fearlessly to account.

The award is named in honour of a longtime crime and court reporter for CBC Edmonton, whose work demonstrated how crime and justice reporting exposes issues directly related to public safety, security and well-being, illuminates broader social issues, and provides accountability for some of the most powerful systems in our democracy.

Johnston died in 2023 of cancer at age 62, weeks after her diagnosis. This award is the first CAJ award named after a woman.

“Janice Johnston was a trailblazing female reporter, and an inspiration and mentor to so many of us. I’m thrilled this award will celebrate her legacy as a fierce and compassionate journalist, and recognize excellent work in her honour, ,” said Jana G. Pruden, a fellow Edmonton-based crime reporter based in Edmonton who led fundraising for the award.

The Geoffrey Stevens Award for Local Government Reporting will recognize journalism that conveys deep knowledge of a municipal government, school board, First Nations band or other institution, and vividly reveal how the body’s decision-making has real-world consequences in the community.
This award is named after a reporter, author, editor and columnist whose career spanned six decades and covered all levels of government. Stevens, who died in 2023 at 83, worked for the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Time and Waterloo Region’s The Record.

“The Geoffrey Stevens award is a perfect fit with his career in journalism,” noted John Laschinger, a co-author of two books with Stevens, and chair of the committee of his friends and colleagues who established the award. “He started out covering City Hall in Toronto, and with the skills he learned there, as national political columnist with the Globe and Mail in Ottawa, the insights in his columns had a major impact on politics at all levels of government across the country.”

Gold prize for each award will be worth $1,000, and silver prize recipients will receive a certificate of recognition. The Stevens and Johnston awards are both funded by friends and supporters of the honourees.

“As a community of practitioners, we all stand on the shoulders of the giants who have come before us and who have succeeded in blazing bold new paths,” said Brent Jolly, president of the CAJ. “Each of these awards will carry on important legacies – and remind new and emerging journalists – of the commitments to excellence and dedication to the craft that both Janice and Geoffrey demonstrated throughout their distinguished careers.”

The awards for justice and local government reporting add to the existing roster of CAJ Awards, which recognize the year’s best journalism in all formats. There are now 20 awards in total across the investigative and general categories.

Entries for the 2025 CAJ Awards will open on Dec. 2, 2025, and close on Jan. 13, 2026.

The awards gala will conclude next year’s annual CAJ conference, which is taking place on June 12 and 13 at Carleton University in Ottawa.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is the country’s largest professional organization that serves to advance the interests of journalists from coast to coast to coast. The CAJ’s primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members.

For further information: Brent Jolly, president, Canadian Association of Journalists, brent@caj.ca

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