[1][2] It was launched by Carol Linnitt and Emma Gilchrist in May in 2018 as a spin-out of their previous work with DeSmog Canada and is a not-for-profit organization funded by membership subscriptions and is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.

[1][4] Amber Bracken, on assignment for The Narwhal, was arrested alongside CBC commissioned journalist Michael Toledano while reporting on the 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests.

[5] In 2021, The Narwhal journalist Sarah Cox won a Press Freedom Award for her reporting on the Site C hydroelectric project.

[9][10] In 2022, Narwhal journalist Ainslie Cruickshank won a SEAL Environmental Journalism award.

[11] In 2023, The Narwhal and Amber Bracken launched a lawsuit against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) over Bracken's arrest, seeking damages for wrongful arrest, wrongful detention, and violation of rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.