FEATURED INTERVIEW
Mackenzie Pardy
Photojournalist • Halifax, Nova Scotia
Participant
The Globe Photo Academy Training and Mentorship Program
The Globe and Mail Foundation
How did you hear about the Globe Photo Academy Training and Mentorship Program?
I found out about the program through Chris Donovan, the photojournalist who directs it. I decided to apply because I was looking for a community of photojournalists and some career direction. I was feeling unsure of how to navigate the photojournalism industry, and how to break into it.
I was one of the sixteen applicants from across Canada selected, and it's been an incredible experience.
When did you know you wanted to be a photojournalist?
Throughout high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue photojournalism.
I attended the University of Gloucestershire in the UK and completed my diploma in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography. I then went on to the University of Victoria for cultural anthropology, with a minor in Indigenous studies.
While a student at UVIC, I was still committed to the idea of becoming a photojournalist, and worked on personal photo projects that were community based. For example, documenting communities opposed to fish farms in the northern part of Vancouver Island.
Then the pandemic happened, and I moved back to Nova Scotia. I really didn't see a clear path, especially living in a small rural town on the East Coast, and felt lost in trying to navigate the photojournalism industry.
I actually stopped taking photos completely for several years, and took a step back from it.
I have a good friend, Sis’moqon, who's a journalist with the CBC, and she was doing a story on Mi'kmaw eel fishing. I just happened to be out fishing with my partner and his dad, and I took a few photos on my iPhone, and she ended up using them for her CBC article.
Having my photos included with that article led to a few different opportunities, which then allowed me to build enough work to apply for the Globe training and mentorship program.
That program has completely changed my career.
“I can say with absolute certainty that I would not be working in this industry today if it wasn't for The Globe and Mail Foundation.”
What’s The Globe Photo Academy Training and Mentorship Program like?
The program is virtual. We have a project we pitched during the application for the program, that we will work to complete throughout the year. We meet every Thursday for two hours, and then have office hours every Sunday.
There are lectures, works-in-progress reviews, and later this year, we'll be having a group exhibition in Union Station, in Toronto. The program is led by Chris, who's a really extraordinary photojournalist, educator and mentor. The program was originally supposed to run for six months, but it was extended to a year, which we're all thankful for.
Everyone in the cohort has become very close. It's a very supportive group. I find the photojournalism community as a whole very supportive and inclusive.
Did you attend The Globe Photo Summit as part of the program?
After being accepted into the program, I attended the Globe Photo Summit in Toronto, and met Randy Velocci, a photo editor at The Globe and Mail. After one of our conversations, he said: “If you ever have an idea for a story, reach out.” Then we saw each other again at the Photo E(a)st festival, and I pitched him a story about the 300th anniversary of the signing of the Mi'kmaw Peace and Friendship Treaty.
It was my first assignment, and a good opportunity for me to learn. For example, I had never filed a photo before. Randy was a very supportive editor.
The photo was published, and on the front page of the paper.
How did it feel to have your work published in a newspaper?
Having work published in The Globe and Mail was professionally validating. I have read the Globe and Mail for a very long time, and had always hoped to one day see my work there.
To have made these connections within the industry, to have this community of photojournalists who I've admired for so long and who are incredibly supportive, and to now have work published — has been the difference in me seeing a path forward in this industry.
Beyond Words
Shortly after her first front page photo was published, Mackenzie’s work was again featured in The Globe and Mail on August 6, 2026. Beyond Words is a powerful photo essay on the cultural revival of the Mi'kmaq language, one of Canada’s oldest Indigenous writing systems. You can see and read it for free here.