Location: Remote, anywhere in Canada.

Salary: $20/hour for 16 weeks of work from May-August.

Deadline: Friday, April 18. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so apply early.

The Investigative Journalism Foundation is a nonprofit newsroom focused on public interest journalism. We are a new kind of media outlet, built around databases on who donates to politicians across Canada, who lobbies them, and how the government spends your money.

The IJF is rapidly growing and proud to be named one of the world’s most innovative media companies by Fast Company magazine. We were also selected for Fast Forward’s accelerator for tech non-profits, won an Anthem Award for our Open By Default database, two gold medals at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards and the Product of the Year award from LION Publishers.

As a nonprofit, nonpartisan media outlet, our primary purpose is to serve the public. We do this by publishing in-depth investigative journalism that speaks truth to power. Our databases are also used by other journalists, policymakers and academics seeking to increase transparency and strengthen Canadian democracy.

This is a full-time internship that runs 16 weeks from the beginning of May to the end of August. Most of the IJF’s team is based in Toronto, but we’re happy to hear from candidates based elsewhere in Canada.

The successful intern will write stories based on our soon-to-launch Residential Schools Database. The database contains thousands of searchable pages of documents that haven’t been made public before now. In the database you will find letters from parents documenting unsafe and unhygienic conditions, reports of abuse from runaway children and countless records of serious disease outbreaks, among other important documents. It will be the largest repository of unredacted documents detailing what actually happened at the schools.

Please note: This position is funded by the First Nations and Inuit Summer Work Experience Program and can only be filled by a First Nations post-secondary student ordinarily resident on reserve or in a recognized community. Eligible youth must be returning to studies at a recognized educational institution in the next academic session. Please check out the detailed requirements if you’re not sure if you qualify.

The base salary is $20/hour for 35 hours of work per week throughout the summer. Ideal candidates include but are not limited to, editors at student newspapers, students completing a master's degree in journalism, recent graduates, or freelancers.

We welcome applications from individuals identifying with groups traditionally underrepresented in journalism due to gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, indigeneity, religion, immigration background, or disability.

The program is a great way to learn from some of Canada's top data-driven and investigative journalists. Successful candidates will report to the Managing Editor and be excited about working at a mission-driven nonprofit that uses journalism to strengthen Canadian democracy every day. We are a workplace that promotes remote and flexible work arrangements and emphasizes work-life balance.

1. Write stories focused on our soon-to-launch Residential Schools Database.

2. Collaborate with other IJF reporters on everything from story-idea generation to long-term investigations.

3. Work on co-productions with reporters in partner newsrooms at some of the largest media outlets in the country.

4. Help train journalists, academics, wonks and activists who are looking to use IJF databases to better understand how Canadian democracy works.

1. Experience writing in-depth or investigative stories that make the world a better place. We’re looking for people who have shown a dedication to uncovering the truth. 

2. The ability to spend time methodically working on a long-term investigation while simultaneously bringing an accountability lens to quick-turnaround pieces. 

3. Excitement about working in a data journalism-focused newsroom. We integrate things like web scraping, data visualization, machine learning and natural language processing in our editorial process. You don’t need to know how to do any of these things, but if you do, tell us in your cover letter. 

4. A genuine interest in working with others. Our newsroom is deeply collaborative and we regularly work with other media outlets. We believe the best journalism happens when we work together.

Please fill out this form. It will ask for your CV, a cover letter telling us how your skills are a fit for the IJF’s mission, as well as links to three stories you reported of which you’re particularly proud of. With the links, please include a few sentences outlining what role you played in the story and how it best demonstrates you have the skills outlined in the “we’re looking for someone with” section above. 

Not sure you’re qualified for this job? Please apply anyway. We’re looking for talented people who share our passion for making Canada a better place. Experience matters less than a desire to learn and grow. We’re committed to building an inclusive environment.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

— The IJF team