Nahlah Ayed is The National's correspondent in Montreal, where she covers Canada's foreign policy, and the country's diverse makeup. Ayed also regularly reports from abroad-most recently from Karachi, Mumbai and Berlin, to Gaza, London and Port-au-Prince.

Prior to Montreal, Ayed was the CBC's Arab world correspondent for seven years, filing for television, radio and online. 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.

As a former parliamentary reporter for The Canadian Press, Ayed also spent months in Afghanistan covering the war and Canada's subsequent military involvement.

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

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.