In just a few months, I’ll be commemorating 6 years of being an independent journalist. It’s hard to believe how much time has gone by already.
I have seen some ups and downs during this time, in terms of paid support, social media referral traffic, Google traffic, and overall page views.
But one thing I do know is that I wrote over 300 news stories last year, and I wanted to highlight the most popular ones.
And by “most popular”, I mean the ones that saw the most eyeballs.
10. Alberta govt workers approve new contract
Over 20,000 government workers voted on a new collective agreement in September of last year. Bargaining lasted for 20 months, and their previous collective agreement had been expired for nearly 1.5 years by the time this one was ratified.
3,000 views
9. Alberta nurses to vote on new raise of up to 20%
Nurses had received an offer on a new collective agreement in October 2024, but rejected it later that month. Negotiations then went into informal mediation, and this new one is what came out of it. This was significantly less than the 35% nurses had asked for but also significantly more than the 7.5% the employers originally wanted to give them.
3,100 views
8. Healthcare workers struggle with AHS offer
These workers had been waiting since March 2024 for a new contract, and they called the offer they received last January from AHS “insulting” and “disrespectful”.
3,500 views
7. Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs received $1.3B in 2023
In one of the first stories I published last year, I focused on Alberta’s share of these C-suite executives. Alberta saw 14 CEOs make the top 100 list, compared to just 11 in 2020. And most of them were in the energy sector.
3,800 views
6. Correcting Nate Horner’s criticism of AUPE
Back in May, Nate Horner, the provincial finance minister issued a statement regarding contract negotiations between the Government of Alberta and the 22,000 or so workers they directly employ. I went through that statement to clarify a few things, given that he provided a one-sided perspective on negotiations, leaving out a lot.
4,000 views
5. Air Canada flight attendants hold strike vote
It had been 10 years since flight attendants employed by Air Canada last negotiated a contract, before many of the current ones were even hired. They were asking for improvements to pay, unpaid labour, pensions, and rest time. When the employer refused to budge, workers told them they were willing to shut things down to see improvements.
7,500 views
4. Calgary Board of Education hired scabs to undermine strike
After 800 education support workers in Calgary went on strike last February, their employer responded by hiring scab labour. This was an exclusive story.
8,400 views
3. Edmonton custodial workers get 14.5% raise
This article reviews the new collective agreement for custodial workers employed by the Edmonton School Division. These workers waited 4 years after their previous agreement expired before finally getting one they could ratify; although it included wage freezes for the first 3 years.
12,000 views
2. Calgary business threatens to close if workers unionize
A week after I reported that workers employed by ProCoat Coatings Ltd. were trying to unionize, I ended up writing another story exposing the employer’s plans to shut down if the workers unionize.
12,500 views
1. Mediator recommends pay increase for AB teachers
And my most popular news story from 2025 was from last April, when I reported on negotiations between Alberta teachers and the organization that represents Alberta school boards. The two parties had been in negotiations since June 2024. Later, teachers voted to reject the mediator’s recommendation, and the following month authorized a strike.
12,700 views
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