PEN Canada is heartbroken by the sudden passing of Joan Leishman, journalist and long-time advocate for refugee writers.
b. January 17, 1958 – d. August 3, 2025
As a young reporter working for a local TV station, Joan was drawn to international affairs. She moved to Mexico City as a freelancer in 1985, shortly before the city was struck by a series of powerful earthquakes. Joan was thrown from her bed against the wall, waking up to a major news story. Within hours, she was filing reports for several Canadian news outlets and was hired fulltime by the CBC not long afterwards.
Her storytelling instincts were driven by her innate compassion and sense of justice. In the 80s and 90s, she was becoming attuned to the political dynamics of South Africa’s harsh apartheid system. The CBC sent her to Johannesburg to cover Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in February of 1990. She persuaded the CBC to open a one-woman news bureau in 1992, covering the negotiations and tumult leading to the end of apartheid, becoming CBC’s voice on one of the most important political movements of the decade.
One of her colleagues, and fellow journalist Susan Helwig, writes of her sense of loss at Joan’s passing: “All day I have been thinking of the script she wrote from South Africa that was used by our training department. Joan spoke of crying side by side with another woman from South Africa at a tragic event, with words something like this: “Her tears fell with my tears”. So, now it’s our turn to share not just tears for Joan, but admiration and love for a wonderful journalist, mother and humanitarian.”
Joan returned to Mexico in 1997 to head up the CBC’s Latin American bureau.
By the end of her career, Joan was once again working in a role that she had created herself, covering international news stories on the weekends in the National radio newsroom – a time when the newsroom was understaffed and facing budget cuts – covering the world from her desk in the Toronto newsroom. With her fluency in Spanish and her knowledge of Latin America, Joan told international stories with credibility and authority at a time of deep budgetary constraints. They were often stories that most listeners would otherwise never have heard about – like the murder of two Mexican environmentalists in early 2020 as they were defending a monarch butterfly sanctuary from illegal logging activity, highlighting the dangers faced by environmentalists working in one of the world’s most sensitive eco-systems.
The respect and love that Joan earned as a journalist followed her into her next chapter, as she cared for refugees at Romero House and the Writers in Exile at PEN Canada. Through her relationship with Romero House, Joan had for over 13 years housed refugees in her home, offering not only shelter, but friendship and care. For her efforts to shelter and assist refugee writers, she was recognized with an award by PEN in 2023.
At PEN and Romero House, Joan’s contributions as mentor, friend, and adviser transformed the lives of many exiled writers. Colleagues, writers, and those she helped along the way say she will be long remembered for her many kindnesses to refugees, and for her fearless dedication to comforting the marginalized and powerless at home and abroad.
“Joan listened with rare generosity, creating space for stories too often silenced by fear or displacement,” says Hoda Karimi Sadr, an Iranian writer living in Canada who came to know Joan through PEN. “She never sought recognition; her impact came from presence — steady, kind, and luminously wise. Even in silence, her voice resonated with strength. Her loss leaves a deep ache, but her legacy lives on in every act of courage she inspired, and in every word we dared to write because she once believed in us. The greatest honour of my life will always be having lived beside such an extraordinary human being.”
Tributes from colleagues, friends and community members
Jeffrey Dvorkin, Managing Editor and Chief Journalist, CBC Radio (1991-1997): “I had the honour of being Joan’s boss when she was appointed CBC Radio News’ Johannesburg correspondent. It was at a time when Radio News had its own agenda and radio values. While we co-operated with our TV colleagues, Radio had,I believe, a unique approach. Joan was one of 10 radio correspondents all of whom were women. Did that make a difference in the quality and tone of the reporting? I think it did. Joan brought a fine eloquence and clarity to telling the stories of South Africa as it was emerging from the apartheid years. We still miss her voice and her values in journalism today.”
Israel Cinman, CBC’s longtime International News Assignment Producer: “… a true professional with vision, guts and empathy. CBC’s first (and correct me if I’m wrong) only resident corr. in Africa, during the time of monumental changes on the continent.”
Tom Harrington, former CBC news host and journalist: “Sad to hear of the death of longtime journalist @CBCNews Joan Leishman. A wonderful reporter who did extraordinary work in South Africa & became a valued mentor to so many of our young journalists. Joan also went above & beyond to help people in danger come to Canada.”
Idil Mussa, senior reporter, CBC News: “Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of longtime CBC News journalist Joan Leishman. Joan was a dedicated storyteller who produced thoughtful stories about Africa, South and Central America. She was a great mentor & advocate for refugees.”
Margo Kelly, retired journalist, longtime member and volunteer at PEN Canada: “I am deeply saddened by the news of Joan’s passing. We were CBC and PEN colleagues and I always held her in high esteem. Joan was intelligent, passionate, and hugely empathetic. She helped many writers in exile over the years and during her extensive career as a reporter she often gave a voice to the powerless and repressed segments of society in Canada, Africa, and Latin America. We must keep her memory alive in our hearts.”
Gezahegn Mekonnen Demissie, Chair, PEN Canada Writers in Exile: “To me, Joan embodied the spirit of true Canadian hospitality. She was a fierce advocate for freedom of thought, generously welcoming new journalists and writers into her home. In some of the darkest moments for Africans, she was a voice of compassion and solidarity. Her legacy will remain in our hearts. May she rest in peace.”
Grace Westcott, President, PEN Canada (2021-2025): “Remarkably generous on a very personal level, Joan Leishman put everything she had – knowledge, talent, determination, and her own resources-into supporting exiled writers and journalists fleeing repression to find their feet in Canada. She was and remains an inspiration. We deeply mourn her passing.”
Bushra Elfadil, Sudanese writer, member of PEN Canada: “I first met Joan Leishman during a meeting of Writers in Exile in March 2019. She invited me to live in her house in the basement where I stayed until July 2020. She went with me to the court, for the hearing of my case as a refugee claimant.
During my stay in her house Joan appeared to be a great humanitarian person. Ì think she was more than a helper of refugees. She was a great woman. Her solidarity to me and others came from the heart of a rare human being. Though I’m older than her, she showed me the protection, respect and care which I witnessed only with my late mother when I was but a child. Ì will never forget Joan Leishman. My condolences to her two daughters and her family, friends and relatives.”
