National Observer media bias and reliability
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place National Observer as leaning left. We have seen it on 121 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is National Observer biased?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place National Observer as leaning left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is National Observer left or right?
Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check place National Observer as leaning left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is National Observer reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for National Observer are Ad Fontes Media: High factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What National Observer has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with National Observer’s own report linked underneath.
Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens appeared at a Detroit church with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. This occurred after internal party tensions escalated over an advertisement linking U.S. support for Israel to grocery prices.
National Observer reported it asPolitical betrayal, Canada trade war: Why Michigan is a Senate race to watch (opens National Observer in a new tab)
A summit between Canada and the European Union in Montreal has concluded. Digital trade was a key topic on the agenda for the meeting hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
National Observer reported it asCanada, EU launch 'alliance for the future' with critical minerals investment (opens National Observer in a new tab)
The federal government has designated the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion in Delta, B.C., as a 'project of national interest'. This move is intended to accelerate trade capacity expansion and diversify Canada's trade routes, with commercial operations expected to begin sooner.
National Observer reported it asOttawa lists Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion for fast-tracking (opens National Observer in a new tab)
At Canada's first youth-led climate trial, Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky testified that children are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change. She cited immature thermoregulatory systems, higher relative air intake, and psychological harms like eco-anxiety.
National Observer reported it asChildren especially vulnerable to climate change, expert witness says (opens National Observer in a new tab)
The Liberal government is set to release a new national security strategy. The plan will address safeguarding Canada's economy and handling traditional security threats like espionage.
National Observer reported it asNational security strategy coming today will include focus on safeguarding economy (opens National Observer in a new tab)
US news outlets will announce midterm election winners before all votes are tallied, using data from the Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ. These providers use vote counts, statistical analysis, and modeling to project outcomes, though past race calls have been retracted.
National Observer reported it asThe U.S. Congress is in play — here are the midterm races to watch (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Canada and the European Union are engaged in high-level discussions in Montreal, seeking to expand their partnership into new areas like strategic minerals and digital trade. The summit is viewed as a move to create an independent global stance.
National Observer reported it asCanada-EU summit tests Carney’s middle power strategy (opens National Observer in a new tab)
British Columbia's premier-designate Lorne Doerkson stated he and Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed supercharging the economy, attracting investment, and creating jobs. Doerkson reported alignment on these key economic goals following their conversation.
National Observer reported it asDoerkson tells of 'productive conversation' with Carney on supercharging BC economy (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Canada's federal government has introduced Bill C-41, proposing to indefinitely exclude individuals whose sole underlying condition is mental illness from medically assisted death (MAID). The bill also permits advance requests for MAID, though provincial implementation may differ.
National Observer reported it asLiberals set to table bill restricting access to MAID in cases of mental illness (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Canada and the European Union are engaged in high-level discussions in Montreal, seeking to expand their partnership into new areas like strategic minerals and digital trade. The summit is viewed as a move to create an independent global stance.
National Observer reported it asFive Things: The key topics at play as Canada and the EU discuss deeper ties (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Canada has received its first two F-35 fighter jets from the United States. The aircraft will be used for military personnel training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Ottawa has not yet decided on the final number of aircraft to purchase.
National Observer reported it asCanada receives its first F-35 jets from U.S., as full order remains under review (opens National Observer in a new tab)
A climate lawsuit brought by 15 young Canadians against the federal government has begun trial hearings in Vancouver. The plaintiffs argue that the government's failure to adequately address climate change violates their Charter rights to life, liberty, and security.
National Observer reported it asSaskatoon youth is taking Ottawa to court over climate change (opens National Observer in a new tab)
The British Columbia Conservative Party has won a majority government, leading to the resignation of BC NDP leader David Eby. Eby was re-elected in his Vancouver-Point Grey riding.
National Observer reported it asEby quits as NDP leader after Conservatives win B.C. election (opens National Observer in a new tab)
National Defence is planning to deploy 47 sensor stations across Canada's North as early as next summer. The initiative is intended to strengthen NORAD's surveillance and early warning systems, based on recent regulatory filings.
National Observer reported it asMilitary could begin Arctic sensor installations next summer (opens National Observer in a new tab)
A climate lawsuit brought by 15 young Canadians against the federal government has begun trial hearings in Vancouver. The plaintiffs argue that the government's failure to adequately address climate change violates their Charter rights to life, liberty, and security.
National Observer reported it asCalgary flood survivor to testify in Canada’s first youth-led federal climate trial (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Canadian Prime Minister Carney and Ontario Premier Ford have announced an $8.7 billion investment package designed to counter US tariffs. The plan focuses on protecting the steel and automotive sectors and supporting workers impacted by trade measures.
National Observer reported it asCarney and Ford throw Canada’s steel, auto and critical mineral industries a $9-billion lifeline (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Premier Danielle Smith has told members of her United Conservative Party who support separatism that they must either embrace a pro-Canada position or leave the party. The statement follows a referendum where Albertans voted against separatism.
National Observer reported it asAlberta Premier Smith tells UCP separatists to toe pro-Canada line or find new party (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her government will proceed with significant immigration reforms following a recent referendum. While Albertans approved most questions, Smith indicated that the implementation of these changes might take time.
National Observer reported it asCarney isn't ruling out a Quebec-style immigration deal for Alberta (opens National Observer in a new tab)
A United Nations report indicates humanity is heading for a hotter world than previously projected, partly due to increased emissions from the United States. If countries meet their reduction pledges, the Earth will likely warm by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius).
National Observer reported it asUN projections say the world is losing ground in fight to curb climate change, faulting US a bit (opens National Observer in a new tab)
A UN report states that global warming will inevitably surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Current policies project a rise to 2.8 degrees by 2100, but immediate, significant emissions reductions could limit the peak and return temperatures to 1.5C by 2100.
National Observer reported it asUN projections say the world is losing ground in fight to curb climate change, faulting US a bit (opens National Observer in a new tab)
Who says so
2 organisations have published a rating for this outlet, in their own words. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
How reliably it reports fact
A rating of the newsroom in general, by others, and a different thing from the Trust score we publish on each story, which judges one piece of reporting.
High factuality
Who owns it
- Observer Media Group (Canadian company)Independentdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Vancouver, Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Official site
- nationalobserver.com
- Seen publishing on
- nationalobserver.com
- Access
- Paywalled
- Wikipedia
- Entry
What we have seen ourselves
Counted across the stories this site has published, which is the only denominator a reader can check: every one of them has a page, and every page lists the reports it was written from.
- Stories
- 121
- Reports listed
- 128
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 5 August 2026
128 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 0 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 5 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and National Observer ran the story anyway.
Across the 121 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than National Observer’s on 9 of them. Overall it filed a median of 15 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 3 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 3 November 2026. Ratings pulled 9 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as National Observer, also publishing from Canada, ordered by how often we have seen them on a story. Sharing a rating is not the same as being alike.
Think this page is wrong?
The leanings above are published by AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check, and we republish them rather than make them. If you think one is misapplied, the strongest place to say so is with the organisation that made it, and every verdict here links to their page.
What we are responsible for is everything else: the ownership chain, where National Observer publishes from, which of our stories we have listed it on, and whether we have the right publisher at all. Tell us what is wrong and an editor reads it.
Report something wrong on this page
Anything we correct is written up in the public corrections log. We do not publish reader votes as a rating, because an unattributed rating is the thing this site exists to argue against.
Every rating on this page is a named third party’s published work, republished with its author and, where one exists, a link to it. Our own coverage record is the section we measure ourselves. Neither is a judgement of any individual report: those are scored story by story, and the reasoning is on our methodology page.