Steven Chase

Steven Chase covers federal politics through the lens of national security, foreign interference and Canada’s role in international crises, rather than treating Parliament as a closed domestic story. He is a senior parliamentary reporter at The Globe and Mail and has reported on federal politics there since the early 2000s. His work joins the mechanics of government with intelligence, defence and foreign-policy decision-making, often following those threads into classified briefings, diplomatic disputes and public inquiries.

Federal politics and the security state

Chase’s core beat is federal politics, but he writes it as a story about power, information and security rather than only parties and polls. He has reported on Ottawa’s handling of foreign influence operations, showing how cabinet, security agencies and senior officials respond to pressure from abroad and within the public service.

In his coverage of the controversy over attempts to influence the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, he helped document how the Prime Minister’s Office sought to press then–justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, connecting personnel decisions to questions of prosecutorial independence and ethical governance. His reporting links ministerial statements, internal briefings and committee hearings, building timelines from the first leak to the eventual accountability mechanisms such as ethics investigations or public inquiries.

Across these stories, he treats federal politics as an institutional system whose weaknesses can be exploited by foreign governments, corporate interests or political strategists, and he writes with attention to how those vulnerabilities are revealed.

Foreign interference and intelligence reporting

Chase is closely associated with in-depth reporting on foreign interference in Canada’s political system, particularly activities linked to the Chinese government. Together with colleague Robert Fife, he produced a series of stories that drew on classified documents and national security sources, tracing how foreign actors sought to shape Canadian politics and policy. That coverage prompted a national debate, dominated the news agenda and contributed to the launch of a public inquiry into foreign interference, showing the impact his work can have on institutional responses.

The series demonstrates his willingness to spend months cultivating sources inside the security and intelligence community and to take measures to protect them, including careful handling of sensitive materials. Awards bodies have recognized this reporting with honours such as the Sidney Hillman Prize and the Ross Munro Award, underscoring the investigative depth and public-interest framing of his work on foreign interference. His reporting style in this area is methodical: he breaks complex intelligence issues into concrete episodes, documents the internal debate among officials, and shows how those debates reach cabinet, party leadership and Parliament.

Defence, alliances and conflict zones

Chase regularly follows Canada’s defence posture and military alliances, treating them as extensions of the political decisions made in Ottawa. In coverage of modern missile threats and Canada–U.S. co-operation, he has shown how North American defence arrangements respond to new technologies and geopolitical risks, tying technical assessments to policy choices. His work on Canada’s role at international summits, including reporting from a G20 meeting where western leaders confronted Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, tracks how Canadian leaders use multilateral forums to advance positions on security and international law.

He also writes about flashpoints where foreign policy, activism and humanitarian concerns collide, such as Canada summoning Israel’s ambassador over the treatment of activists on a Gaza aid flotilla, highlighting how diplomatic moves reflect domestic and international pressure. In these stories he connects statements from Canadian officials to events on the ground, whether at summits, in conflict zones or on aid missions, and shows how decisions made in Ottawa play out in allied capitals and contested regions.

His defence and foreign-policy coverage sits within the politics beat but consistently carries operational detail and strategic context drawn from military and diplomatic sources.

Career longevity and approach

Chase has worked at The Globe and Mail for more than two decades, joining the paper in the late 1990s and moving into federal politics coverage in the early 2000s. Before his parliamentary role, he reported from the paper’s Vancouver and Calgary bureaus and covered Alberta politics at other daily newspapers, giving him experience with both regional and provincial legislatures before focusing on the federal scene. Over his time at The Globe and Mail he has been part of multiple teams that have won National Newspaper Awards, and he has received honours such as the Parliamentary Press Gallery’s Charles Lynch Award for national affairs coverage. His long tenure on the politics beat means he often writes with historical memory, placing current controversies and security debates in the context of earlier governments and recurring institutional problems. Across his work, the through-line is a disciplined focus on how political decisions intersect with security, diplomacy and the integrity of Canada’s democratic processes.