Introduction and project motivation
My ARIA project is entitled ‘The Depiction of Energy Poverty in Canadian Mainstream Media (MSM)’. This project, supervised by Professor Mylène Riva (Dept. of Geography), consists of identifying and analyzing the dominant narratives about energy poverty (EP)—the inability to afford/access sufficient household energy required to live with dignity—in Canadian news outlets, such as newspapers or online publications from 2003-2024. This work builds on previous research on the power of mainstream media in shaping public opinion and inciting policy intervention. Despite energy poverty being known to negatively affect health and wellbeing, the government of Canada does not have a working definition of the problem and thus has yet to act on the issue. Understanding the state of public knowledge on energy poverty is key in predicting how policy might intervene, to what degree, and with what consequences.
I first became interested in working with Professor Riva after taking her Health Geography course (GEOG 303). In my past public health courses, the emphasis was more biomedical, focusing on disease prevalence and prevention. In contrast, GEOG 303 presented me with a more holistic definition of health which presents housing, food security, climate change, and discrimination as equally important determinants of health. We read many articles employing novel qualitative research methods that piqued my curiosity, and I became interested in how approaching social justice issues from a health lens could create more effective and lasting solutions.
Project overview
In my research, I identify four main ways EP is problematized in MSM: 1) as an affordability; 2) a climate; 3) as health; and/or 4) as a housing issue. From these, I present three main arguments. First, there are significant spatial and temporal differences in the coverage of difference frames. For example, Ontarian articles from 2013-2018 are dominated by narratives of high energy prices caused by renewable energy projects. Conversely, in BC, which has lower rates of EP, articles were more concerned with health issues caused by inadequate cooling, especially after the 2021 heat dome that left 619 in the province dead. Second, EP is universally presented as a systemic issue that requires government intervention, rather than an individual issue—as is the case with other social and/or health issues (e.g., welfare or obesity). There is also recognition of the socially patterned risk of energy poverty, with much attention paid to low-income households and seniors. Third, the coverage of energy poverty is narrow, focusing predominantly on the affordability aspect while neglecting others, such as health or climate change. Additionally, the voices featured in these stories are largely made-up of politicians and spokespeople, not the individuals living in EP themselves. This narrow coverage risks generating policy interventions that are inadequate in addressing the full scope of the problem. I thus conclude that more research should be done to understand the lived experiences of EP and to reconcile the different provincial perspectives on the issue.
Highlights, challenges, and beyond
The highlights of working on this project have been numerous. First, I was given the opportunity to develop and hone essential research skills. These include retrieving articles from databases, using the qualitative analysis software Nvivo 14 and practicing new ways of communicating research findings by making a poster. Second, because of the interdisciplinarity of my topic, I read literature from many different fields, such as political science, sociology, and communications, equipping me with a broad and well-rounded knowledge base. Third, my supervisor was very trusting and gave me a lot of freedom to decide how I wanted this project to be structured. From this, I was able to decide on my own methodology and conceptual framework, an experience that I feel prepared me well for my Honours research project this upcoming school year, as well as potential graduate studies.
However, with such freedom came some challenges. For one, without a schedule, I felt overworked and burnt out. I often felt isolated because of the amount of time I spent working alone. To overcome these, I created a fixed weekly schedule and tracked my hours to make sure I did not exceed 30 hours/week. I did not allow myself to work in the evenings or weekends, fulfilling my goals of having a good work-life balance. Additionally, I did much of my work from my supervisor’s lab, where I got to know her graduate students and learned from them. I also befriended fellow ARIA recipients, both of which helped overcome my feelings of isolation.
During this project, I read up on public policy and energy-related issues. This literature review I conducted taught me how to critically evaluate complex political issues and claims featured in the media. I am now ending the project with a renewed sense of empowerment that, while there is still much work to be done in this realm, I am equipped and impassioned to take part in that work. This experience of completing an independent research project reassured me that I would both excel in and enjoy graduate studies in Health Geography.
I would like to thank the Arts Internship Office, Professor Riva, and the Canadian Research Chair in Housing, Community, and Health for their generous support of this project.
