NEWSLETTER: Help put The Provincial Times on the map

Friends,

The Canadian Choice Awards are now open for 2027 nominations!

For those unaware, the CCA is a community-driven awards program that recognizes Canadian businesses and organizations that people across our country value. A personalized link is attached to this newsletter for nominating The Provincial Times, and I'm asking you to use it if you think what we're doing here matters.

Ever since the mid-2010s, online, independent media in this country has been dominated by one side of the political spectrum: Rebel News, the Toronto Sun, Juno News, a whole ecosystem of podcasters and Substackers—most of the high-visibility independent voices lean pretty hard right.

I noticed it when I started, and I decided I didn't want to accept it as permanent.

I believe our government can do useful things when it's competent and accountable, and I get irritated when both partisan factions treat ordinary people like props. I wanted to cover Canadian politics in the way I've actually experienced it—talking to people who disagree with me, documenting events without the usual tribal scorekeeping, and writing columns that try to make sense of what's actually happening.

So I started doing that. One year ago. In the year since, we've published a steady stream of reporting and commentary on everything from provincial scandals and party conventions to local fights over housing, education, and policing. I've sat down with people across the country and tried to hear them out before writing. Some of those pieces have drawn praise from unexpected places.

People from across the political spectrum have told me that they appreciate the attempt at fairness even when they don't share my conclusions. That kind of cross-partisan respect is rare, and I'm proud of it.

Winning a Canadian Choice Award would put this reader-funded outlet on a bigger map and send a signal that independent media in Canada doesn't have to be a right-wing monopoly; that an Orange Liberal can build an audience by treating readers like adults and political opponents like human beings.

For a publication that's only been around a year, that kind of external recognition would mean something.

The nomination process is free and takes about two minutes. The link is here:
https://canadianchoiceaward.ca/nominations/?shareurl=fccWVBe42xVtj-JgAgF0

If you've found any value in a column that clarified something for you, an interview that made you think twice, or just the fact that there's an independent progressive voice trying to do this without corporate capture or party-ownership, I'd be honoured if you took the time to nominate us. And if you know anyone else who might feel the same way, feel free to pass the link along.

I started The Provincial Times because I thought the country needed more than one flavour of independent media. I'm still convinced of that, and your nomination would help prove the point.

My very best,
— Will Adams
Editor, The Provincial Times