Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun political columnist, wins Michener-Baxter Award

Vaughn Palmer, the Vancouver Sun's political columnist and fixture at the B.C. legislature for over four decades, has won the 2026 Michener-Baxter Award, one of Canadian journalism's highest honours.

Palmer, now 74, shares the award with editorial cartoonist Bruce MacKinnon. They are only the 14th and 15th recipients of the prize, which recognizes "exceptional service to Canadian journalism."

Palmer accepted the award Thursday at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Governor-General Louise Arbour presented the honour.

When Premier David Eby called to offer congratulations, Palmer said he told the Premier: "I'll see you at the next scrum." Palmer has covered provincial politics from the legislature for more than 40 of his 50+ years with the Sun, starting as the paper's rock 'n' roll critic and later serving as city editor.

The Michener-Baxter Award, established in 1983, "recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Canadian journalism and public service through a career dedicated to integrity, excellence, and the public good." Only 13 people and one organization had received it before Palmer and MacKinnon.

Keith Baldrey of Global TV praised Palmer's encyclopedic knowledge of B.C. political history. "He is the one person in the entire room who will know the history of everything, in terms of the government's budget history and spending habits and misuse and missteps, in an instant," Baldrey said.

Former Premier Mike Harcourt joked: "They should download his brain before he retires."

Palmer was mentored by Bruce Hutchison, another B.C. journalism icon who started covering the legislature in 1919 and wrote his last Sun column in 1992. Palmer previously won the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jack Webster Awards in 2006.

"The thing about this award is it isn't given all that often," Palmer said. "I'm still kind of stunned at winning this thing, delighted and all that stuff."