Steve Buist has been nominated four times for a National Newspaper Award in Canada, winning twice in the Investigations category - in 2005 for a series that examined Ontario's Drive Clean program, and in 2006 for a series that investigated the links between pharmaceutical companies and McMaster University researchers. Buist was also named winner of the Series category in 2009 for the North American Agricultural Journalists awards, beating out a team entry from the Wall Street Journal. Buist has also won nine Ontario Newspaper Awards and been nominated 22 times for ONAs in the past seven years, including four nominations for the 2009 awards ceremony. He was named the ONA Journalist of the Year in 2004.