World Press Freedom Canada lauded Globe reporter Mark MacKinnon, seen on assignment in Ukraine, for his 'world-leading reportage from the front lines of the conflict.'Olga Ivashchenko/The Globe and Mail
Mark MacKinnon has received a career achievement award from World Press Freedom Canada for his work reporting on international conflicts as a foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail.
Mr. MacKinnon, who lives in London, has worked as a journalist for three decades and covered conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
The career achievement award, which includes a $2,500 monetary prize, is given annually to a reporter who has shown “extraordinary dedication to defending press freedom” throughout their career.
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In an announcement about the award on its website, World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC) lauded Mr. MacKinnon for his four years spent in Ukraine delivering “world-leading reportage from the front lines of the conflict, despite threats to his personal safety and the logistical difficulties posed by the oft-besieged electrical grid.”
“He also risked his safety to report on the sectarian violence inside Syria in 2025, where he was once banned from entry after angering the regime of former dictator, Bashar al-Assad,” the announcement continued.
Mr. MacKinnon has won nine National Newspaper Awards and is the author of The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections and Pipeline Politics, a 2007 book about pro-democracy movements in Russia, and The China Diaries, a 2013 e-book about travelling across China.
He received the award at a ceremony this week in Ottawa, where a team of Globe journalists was also honoured with a certificate of merit for their investigative work that uncovered a controversy in Alberta’s health-care system that is now being investigated by the RCMP.
The team spent more than a year reporting on allegations of political interference tied to hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of contracts awarded by the Alberta government to an Edmonton businessman, Sam Mraiche.
That work includes stories written by Carrie Tait, Tom Cardoso, Mr. MacKinnon, Stephanie Chambers, Tu Thanh Ha, Greg Mercer and Alanna Smith.
The Globe was recently nominated for the Michener Award for its work on the story. Ms. Tait was named journalist of the year by the National Newspaper Awards for her reporting on the controversy.
Toronto Star investigative reporter Frédérik Plante won WPFC’s 2026 press freedom award for his work on race-based police stops in Quebec. Mr. Plante previously worked for The Globe in Montreal until he joined the Star last year.
WPFC was founded in 2008 to recognize journalists around the world who uphold democracy through their reporting. Previous career achievement award winners include newspaper lawyer Bert Bruser in 2025 and Globe and Mail investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle in 2024.