TLDR; Award-winning environmental journalist in Northern Ontario, Canada. Bylines in The Narwhal, The Walrus, Canada’s National Observer, etc.

Leah Borts-Kuperman is currently working as an Ontario staff reporter at The Narwhal, thanks to funding from the Local Journalism Initiative, covering issues affecting what's known as the “near north” from her home in North Bay, Ontario.

Previously, Leah’s reporting, investigations, and photography as a freelance journalist have been regularly published by Canada’s National Observer, The Walrus, The Logic, TVO, Industry Dive, Future of Good, and Modern Farmer, and others. Her work focuses on issues of environment and public health. She has reported on concerns around a plastics factory in North Bay and Nipissing First Nation, and a project to recover endangered bats, led by Shawanaga First Nation.

Most recently, her reporting has won awards including Best Investigative Article and Best Feel Good Story at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards in 2025. She was also nominated for a 2025 National Newspaper Award for her investigative series into contamination on military sites across Canada.

In early 2025, Leah was also thrilled participate in Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Literary Journalism: Environmental Writing program. In fall 2024, she attended the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing’s “Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Human Health” workshop as a selected fellow in Raleigh, North Carolina. Also in 2024, Leah’s story “A squeaky wheel with data: how Nipissing First Nation is healing environmental damage,” for The Narwhal won the Gold medal in the Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAs) for Best Feel Good Story.

In 2022, Opera Trans*formed: Teiya Kasahara, a short documentary Leah co-produced with Maria Sarrouh for CBC Music and the CBC Creator Network, was awarded Best in Festival at the Canadian Labour International Film Festival. The film was also an official selection for the Toronto Short Film Festival and Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival.

In 2020, Leah’s work at Opera Canada won Silver for Best Lifestyle Article/Series at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. Leah has also received the NEWSTALK 1010 Award for outstanding journalism (‘19) and was a member of the National Ballet of Canada’s Emerging Arts Critics Programme (‘19-20).

In past lives, Leah has also been Content Manager at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Social Media Manager and Newsletter Editor at The Hoser; Associate Editor at Construction Canada, Construction Specifier, and Pool & Spa Marketing magazines; and Editorial Assistant at Opera Canada Magazine.

Leah holds a Master’s of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (‘20) and an Honours Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and Art History from University of Toronto (‘18). Here, she got her arts reporting chops as The Varsity’s Theatre Critic.

Now, Leah regularly gives radio interviews and presents lectures in university classrooms. Please get in touch at leahbortskuperman@gmail.com with story tips, assignments, speaking engagements, and other inquiries.