Each year on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC) recognizes a journalist or media worker for making an outstanding contribution to press freedom in Canada during the previous year.
The award is given to nominees who demonstrate that their public-interest work was frustrated by a cloak of secrecy, legal maneuvers, political intimidation, or tactics that put their safety or career at risk.
WPFC also presents the Spencer Moore Award, which recognizes a person who, throughout their career, has displayed a determined pursuit of press freedom and freedom of information.
The Spencer Moore Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in honour of the late Spencer Moore, founding member of the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom, who helped build the Committee and launch the annual luncheon.
WPFC is honoured to award journalists who continually confront secrecy, defy intimidation, and overcome dangerous obstacles in their pursuit of truth. Without them, stories that reveal the facts and uncover the evidence shaping our collective reality may not be told.
The winner of the Press Freedom Award receives a $2,000 prize from World Press Freedom Canada and a certificate from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
The Spencer Moore prize winner is awarded $1,000.