The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is launching the Canadian News Industry Peer Support program (CNIPS), an industry-wide mental health support initiative to combat stress, burnout and trauma exposure.

The pilot program will see 20 trained volunteers offer confidential colleague-to-colleague support, similar to programs being adopted by major news organizations around the globe like Reuters, BBC, NPR and CBC. The initial cohort includes journalists like Global Vancouver reporter/anchor Alissa Thibault, CBC Thunder Bay reporter Michelle Allan, and The Globe and Mail investigative reporter Tom Cardoso. Available to assist any news industry professional, the program has an eye to expanding to 100 trained volunteers by the end of 2026.

“Canadian journalists are experiencing unprecedented levels of pressure in their service of the public’s right to know, whether it’s because of online harassment, deadline pressures, vicarious trauma,” said Brent Jolly, president of the CAJ, in a launch announcement. “The peer support program will offer colleagues a way to reach out, contact helping peers, and get help to work out problems, talk confidentially, and heal.”

“The pressures and demands journalists face are often hard for those outside the industry to understand. We hope a peer support network – that importantly includes freelancers – will prove to be a valuable resource for those working in Canadian media,” said Melissa Stasiuk, Head of Newsroom Development at The Globe and Mail, which is one of the program’s founding sponsors, alongside CBC/Radio-Canada, Unifor, the Canadian Media Guild, The Canadian Press, Canadian Mental Health Association / BC Division, Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, and the Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication.

Dave Seglins, a CNIPS advisor who established a peer support network inside CBC/Radio-Canada in 2023, says there’s a strong business case for the project.

“Peer support is a proven strategy used in other stressful industries such as policing, fire and emergency services used to debrief and talk through difficult job stressors,” Seglins said. “It helps to reduce absenteeism and conflict, and improves people’s happiness, productivity and creativity in a news industry that so often is focused on tragedy and suffering.”