Ottawa Correspondent REF#: JG35007 Cabin Radio

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Posted: July 7, 2026

Deadline: July 25, 2026

Salary: $70,000-$80,000

Description

Cabin Radio is hiring an Ottawa correspondent to help northerners understand what’s happening across national politics in all its forms.

Cabin Radio is the NWT’s leading independent newsroom, producing high-quality daily digital and broadcast journalism for the 45,000 residents of the territory’s 34 communities.

Based in Ottawa as a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, the successful candidate will be expected to power Cabin Radio’s written and broadcast coverage of Parliament, national Indigenous governments and national news through a Northwest Territories lens.

At a time of political polarization, news bans on social media and widespread disinformation, we need northerners to connect with national politics – especially as Ottawa turns its focus to the North on issues like Arctic sovereignty, the conservation economy and major projects, and as questions are raised about the country’s commitment to addressing the impacts and causes of climate change.

Huge decisions are being made that impact all residents, communities and Indigenous peoples of the North. The successful candidate will be exclusively focused on ensuring their voices are heard and their questions put on a daily basis to those in positions of power.

This is a permanent role, funded for 2026-2029 by the Metcalf Foundation and reporting to Cabin Radio’s editor and assistant editor in Yellowknife. While Ottawa-based, the successful candidate will make occasional trips to Yellowknife for training and development. There is a travel budget associated with the role.

Qualifications

This is a role that suits an experienced political reporter with existing Ottawa connections who is motivated by a desire to produce journalism that sets them apart from their colleagues on Parliament Hill. We don’t want the same story everyone else is filing – we want journalism that connects the North to national developments, makes sense of national politics for northerners, and delivers exclusives that help us understand the link between Ottawa and the Arctic.

This role also suits an experienced northern reporter prepared to relocate to Ottawa and rapidly develop the connections they’ll need to match their extensive knowledge of the NWT, northern politics and northern communities.

Applications are welcome from candidates with broadcast backgrounds, candidates with written journalism backgrounds and those with specialist skills in digital media. The role will adapt to the candidate that fills it, meaning you should make clear in your application where your strengths lie – and how you will use those strengths to engage northerners in your work.

Key Skills

– Political literacy

A wide-ranging knowledge of federal and national Indigenous politics is vital, as is experience unpacking national issues for audiences who weren’t paying attention until now. We will expect the successful candidate to know how to navigate the House of Commons, the Senate, ITK and the AFN, or be able to demonstrate how they will rapidly develop that knowledge.

This role won’t be about accepting assignments each day. It’ll be about identifying how to report national stories in a way that separates us from southern outlets and provides extra insight to northerners. We will seek to generate deep, rich journalism for the North when national outlets scratch the surface.

– Northern literacy

The successful candidate must also be able to identify issues at a national level that have consequences in the Northwest Territories and Canada’s broader North, and be able to pursue meaningful answers that help northerners understand what’s happening.

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrably elevate the profile of northern issues in the national political discourse through their reporting and the questions they ask. To do that, they’ll first need to understand how the Northwest Territories works, how territorial politics here is different from anything in the south, what it really means to live in small NWT communities, and what our audience cares about.

– Communication and collaboration

As the successful candidate, your reporting will be central to Cabin Radio’s coverage of national news. That means the ability to clearly and proactively communicate from your bureau, thousands of kilometres from the newsroom, will be vital.

You’ll be expected to help colleagues incorporate your material into newscasts, reels, written reporting and podcasts, and your day can range from filing copy under deadline to making live radio appearances that explain the latest issues.

Email your cover letter (stating you found this job on Jeff Gaulin's Journalism Job Board), résumé and two references to our editor, Ollie Williams – ollie@cabinradio.ca. Your cover letter should set out your interest in the role and how you meet the criteria set out under Key Skills and Helpful Assets above. You’re welcome to submit examples of your work – written, broadcast and/or social – in support of your application, to the same email address. For more information about the role, visit our website.

Ollie Williams

Cabin Radio

5007 50 Avenue

Yellowknife , NT

X1A 2P8 , Canada

Tel: (867) 688-0105

E-mail: ollie@cabinradio.ca

Web address: http://www.cabinradio.ca