One of the country’s highest honours, the Order of Canada recognizes people across all sectors of society who have contributed to the nation in substantial and impactful ways. Since its introduction in 1967, more than 8,000 Canadians have been appointed to the Order.
Among the 88, which boasted household names such as actor Ryan Reynolds and broadcaster Scott Oake, was Longhurst, a freelance religion columnist and reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Despite filing as a columnist with the paper for over two decades, no amount of experience could have prepared him for the news of receiving such a prestigious award.
“I had seen an email come in with the subject line reading ‘confidential’ and at first I figured it to be spam, but within minutes of sending my number I got a call back from the Governor General's office saying that I was being appointed to the order which was something totally out of the blue for me,” he said.
“I was blown away and the first thought I had was ‘Why me?’ I can think of dozens of other people who are worthy of being recognized in some way and when you look at the list of recipients, people contributing to their communities and even curing diseases, it is a total shock and yet I am very grateful.”
Grateful for the honour itself, but also for the opportunity to shine a light on what Longhurst calls the vastly underreported part of Canadian life and experience of religion and faith in all of its forms. He began writing for the "Religion in the News"sector of the Free Press in 2019, a project that has been supported by the public just as much now as at its inception.
Longhurst said 25 local faith congregations and organizations support the Free Press initiative, with hundreds of individuals contributing to the Religion in the News section through crowdfunding every year. Between $30,000 and $40,000 a year are raised by the public to fund and support the paper's religion-based journalism.
Since the project launched in March 2019, over 1,000 unique articles and columns have been published by the Free Press, many with the goal of celebrating the faith space in Manitoba and beyond.
Longhurst, who belongs to the Anabaptist Mennonite tradition, knows firsthand the vital importance of ensuring that religious communities are well-represented in the media.
“There is a general sense that the media is only ever looking for the negative and pouncing on it when it comes to religion and that is partially true, but you also can't tell a story whether in Winnipeg or Toronto of food banks, helping the homeless and social service without telling a story of faith. In (the Winnipeg) community, over half of the food banks are located in churches, mosques and other religious sites because that is just what people of faith do, you can’t ignore it,” he said.
The author's role in sharing the field of Christian ecumenism and interfaith dialogue was touted by the official Order of Canada announcement, an element of Longhurst’s work that ensures religious/spiritual reporting for the Free Press is truly all-encompassing. The goal has always been to humanize locals who happen to be guided by their faith in one way or another, regardless of their specific beliefs.
It’s a project that has paid dividends not only for Longhurst but the publication as well. The Winnipeg Free Press is the only daily newspaper in Canada that has continued to operate a faith page, with Longhurst being the sole reporter on the religion beat.
The seemingly continuous decline in religious coverage may seem like an intentional slight to some. To Longhurst, it’s a reminder of industry trends that have plagued multiple niche areas, not just religion.
“It’s just the way it is. A lot of media has been cut to the bone with almost all the soft beats having been eliminated, religious news being one of them. I think a lot of places just didn't have the resources for it and I don't fault anyone,” he said.
A silver lining perhaps is that Longhurst’s work carries the weight of his province and country as one of the last remaining forms of religious coverage within a daily paper. Even having been bestowed the distinguished award this year, it continues to be business as usual for the Winnipeg reporter.
“Nothing will change, I will just keep on doing what I'm doing in looking for stories. There are lots of religious stories out there, It's just a matter of having the time and space to be able to continue to share them and help us to see the humanity in other people,” he said.