Toronto

Nahlah Ayed is The National's correspondent in Toronto, where she primarily covers Canada's foreign policy, and the country's diverse makeup. Ayed also continues her international reporting for CBC News from a variety of locales.

Ayed is a veteran of foreign reportage, specifically in the Middle East, where she spent seven years filing for the CBC's television, radio and online operations. From Riyadh to Tehran, Beirut to Baghdad, Ayed covered the region extensively, interviewing key leaders, and reporting from several major conflicts including those in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza. Most recently, she covered the Arab uprisings in Libya and Egypt.

Ayed has also covered major stories beyond the Middle East, including the Haiti earthquake, the Pakistan floods, the London riots, and the 2011 gunman attacks in Norway.

Ayed's work has been recognized repeatedly, through numerous awards for her print and online stories, three Gemini nominations for her television reportage in Iraq, Iran, and Egypt, and an honorary doctorate degree awarded by the University of Manitoba in 2008 for distinguished achievement.

A former parliamentary reporter for The Canadian Press, Ayed is a graduate of Carleton University's Master of Journalism program. Ayed also holds a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a B.Sc. in genetics from the University of Manitoba.

She was born and raised in Winnipeg.