Environmental lawyer Kerrie Blaise named 2026 Guthrie Award recipient
The Law Foundation of Ontario is pleased to announce Kerrie Blaise as the 2026 Guthrie Award recipient. The Guthrie Award is the Foundation’s signature award to recognize exceptional access to justice champions.
Kerrie is an environmental lawyer and the Founder and Principal of Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence (LAND), an environmental law nonprofit dedicated to environmental justice and Indigenous rights in northern Ontario. Based in North Bay, she is one of very few public-interest environmental lawyers serving Indigenous Nations, grassroots community leaders, and nonprofit organizations in the region.
“Our lives are increasingly affected by climate change and environmental injustice,” says Gerald Chan, the Foundation’s Board Chair. “Kerrie has carved a new path for environmental legal protections and Indigenous rights, giving voice to the people most affected by, yet historically excluded from, environmental policy and legal decision-making.”
New pathways for environmental and Indigenous justice
Supporters of Kerrie’s Guthrie Award nomination speak of her steadfast commitment, integrity, and care. In their nomination letter, LAND staff lawyers Jenna Brunt and Kanisha Acharya-Patel described Kerrie as “a driven advocate, representing those who have been most affected by development, environmental hazards, and systemic racism. She embodies the professional and ethical obligations of lawyers to uphold the rule of law, advance equitable access to justice, and reconcile Crown and Indigenous legal traditions, in a manner that is consistent with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action”.
Kerrie established LAND in 2023 to address gaps in environmental and Indigenous rights advocacy. LAND is the first and only organization of its kind serving from and for northern Ontario and providing pro bono community-based intersectional legal services on environmental and Indigenous law matters, strategic advocacy and litigation, and mentorship and public legal education programs.
Kerrie has been an ardent leader in Indigenous-led conservation, including Canada-wide efforts to understand and advance the use of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, an emerging mechanism for Indigenous self-determination and land stewardship at the intersection of constitutional law, Aboriginal law, environmental and conservation law, and most significantly, grounded in Indigenous laws and recognitions of self-determination.
Through LAND and her previous role as Northern Services Counsel at the Canadian Environmental Law Association, Kerrie has acted on significant public interest environment, resource extraction and energy-related matters before the Federal Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and many administrative tribunals including the Ontario Lands Tribunal, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and environmental assessment review panels.
Kerrie continues to represent First Nations in precedent-setting cases on Indigenous rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and assist Indigenous-led efforts to protect the culturally and ecologically significant area known as the Ring of Fire in Treaty 9 territory, including seeking leave to intervene on behalf of Indigenous youth and grassroots leaders from Attawapiskat First Nation in a constitutional challenge against Ontario’s Bill 5.
Bridging law, science, and advocacy
Kerrie’s commitment comes from her deep knowledge of and passion for the natural world. She has a Master of Science from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University. In addition, Kerrie has a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Osgoode Hall Law School, and served as a visiting student at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia.
Her intersectional expertise is in high demand. Kerrie is an invited member of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and Domestic Law and Policy Stream and serves as Chair for several leading charitable organizations, including the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation and Ancient Forest Alliance. Other notable roles she held previously include the Co-chair of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus of the Réseau-Canadian Environmental Network and a federal appointee on an environment and international trade advisory group to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
What others say about Kerrie’s impact
Excerpts from the letters of support for Kerrie Blaise’s Guthrie Award nomination
Ms. Blaise exemplifies the values and criteria of this award through her dedication to working with underserved communities across northern Ontario. Her work through her organization, LAND, underscores her efforts to support legal education, grassroots organizing and youth leadership development. This accomplishment has led to several peaceful protests, community engagement, media awareness, and grassroots empowerment.”
– Jon Cada, Chair, Board of Directors Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence, Member, Mississauga First Nation
What stands out most about Kerrie is her thoughtfulness and deep respect for the lands, waters, and Indigenous peoples she works with. She acknowledges traditional lands and territories in a way that is meaningful, not performative. She understands that our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing cannot be separated from the health of our lands and waters. She listens carefully to our ideas and welcomes our perspectives. She does not impose – she collaborates.”
– Michel Koostachin, Founder, Friends of the Attawapiskat River
Kerrie is a force to be reckoned with. In only a few years, LAND has become a trusted advisor and resource for Indigenous peoples facing environmental justice across northern Ontario. Kerrie puts significant effort into travelling to remote communities to meet people and discuss environmental injustice and Indigenous rights. The need for passionate and skilled lawyers is so high in these communities. Her contribution to access to justice is truly remarkable.”
– Jacqueline Wilson, Counsel, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Kerrie is conscientious, careful, and considerate, both of the people she works with in various capacities and the people whose interests she is advancing. Her dedication to the public interest and sincere commitment to (environmental) justice, equity, and inclusion were palpable. Kerrie is also very generous with her time and is devoted to mentoring students. She has offered to work with some of the students in my program who are interested in environmental justice.”
– M. V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security Director pro tem School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia
