The iconic "Roaring Lion" portrait of Winston Churchill will soon hang once again in Fairmont Château Laurier after it was stolen more than two years ago.
Ottawa Police confirmed Wednesday that later this month, two of the force’s investigators will head to Rome, Italy to recover the treasured photograph.
The portrait, captured by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, was stolen from the lobby of the hotel sometime between Dec. 25, 2021, and Jan. 6, 2022, but was only reported stolen in August 2022.
The picture, one of the 20th century’s most reproduced images, had been replaced by a fake copy.
"We are thrilled about the iconic Roaring Lion portrait returning to its rightful at the Fairmont Château Laurier,” Fairmont Château Laurier general manager Genevieve Dumas wrote in an email to CTV News.
“This portrait, captured by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, is not only an irreplaceable work of art but also a significant piece of our hotel's history."
Yousuf Karsh's best-known portrait of Sir Winston Churchill appears on the reverse side of The Bank of England £5 note. (Courtesy: The Bank of England)
A 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ontario, has been charged for the theft and trafficking of the portrait, but his name is protected by a publication ban. Police say he was arrested on April 25, 2024.
The man faces several charges, including forgery, theft over $5,000 and traffic in property or thing obtained by crime exceeding $5,000.
In a press release, Ottawa Police said it tracked down the photo with the help of international law enforcement agencies. The investigation determined the portrait was sold through an auction house in London to a buyer in Italy. Police say the auction house and buyer did not know the photo was stolen.
Dumas’s statement thanked the Ottawa Police, saying the hotel staff "eagerly await (the portrait’s) arrival in the coming weeks."
More details to come.
The highly anticipated debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a heated matchup. Here's what experts who analyzed the exchange had to say.
A union representing federal employees is asking its members to bring their own lunch to work, in an apparent retaliation against downtown Ottawa businesses as new return-to-office protocols begin.
Abandoned homes line the streets of Lauder, a town that's now a ghost of what it once was. Yet inside, a small community is thriving.
Taylor Swift and Post Malone took home the first award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, for best collaboration, handed to them by Flavor Flav and Olympian Jordan Chiles.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will put forward a non-confidence motion when Parliament resumes 'at the earliest possible opportunity' with the aim of triggering an early federal election.
The B.C. parents of an 11-year-old girl said their daughter recently found a package containing razor blades in a bag of Kirkland-brand frozen blueberries.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi and a video production assistant persuaded a woman standing on the ledge of a pedestrian bridge in Nashville to come back over the railing to safety.
Ottawa's Chateau Laurier hotel says authorities have recovered an iconic photograph of Winston Churchill after it was stolen and replaced with a fake nearly three years ago.
Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a man, 70, and woman, 71, were killed by gunshot wounds in an apartment.
While snowfall is still months away, a busy Vancouver-area ski resort is already in full hiring mode.
The B.C. parents of an 11-year-old girl said their daughter recently found a package containing razor blades in a bag of Kirkland-brand frozen blueberries.
Crown prosecutors will re-try the man accused of killing a gangster and an innocent teenager in Vancouver in 2018.
A panel of Ontario judges has thrown out a decision by the Ontario Provincial Police that an officer’s misconduct behind the wheel that killed a pedestrian in 2020 was not serious, saying the force must reconsider, and at least explain its decision to his grieving widow.
Halton Regional Police say they have disrupted a group believed to be responsible for the theft of at least 40 vehicles in Halton Region and the Greater Toronto Area worth over $3 million.
The proposed height of some buildings that are part of a new residential development on Toronto's east waterfront have been called into question after a newly released report found that a nearby gas plant is producing emissions seven times higher than the legal limit.
Air Canada is the latest major company in the country on the verge of a 2024 work stoppage — but as Canadians will point, it’s definitely not the first.
A well-known Calgary sports complex is getting a massive makeover.
A warning from a concerned parent after multiple frighteningly close encounters with a cougar on an acreage just southwest of the city on Tuesday.
A union representing federal employees is asking its members to bring their own lunch to work, in an apparent retaliation against downtown Ottawa businesses as new return-to-office protocols begin.
Ottawa's mayor is warning of fare increases of 2.5 per cent to 75 per cent, service cuts, tax hikes, the elimination of free fares or a combination of levers to help offset a $120 million funding shortfall in the OC Transpo budget next year.
The City of Ottawa's Planning and Housing Committee voted 9-3 in favour for a controversial high-rise development in Stittsville that would make it the tallest building in the area.
Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a man, 70, and woman, 71, were killed by gunshot wounds in an apartment.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to limit comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
A man who killed his infant son two years ago has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Edmonton's Bar Henry. Bernadette's and Little Wolf are up for consideration for the title of Canada's best new restaurant.
Marc Lajoie received a text from his agent two weeks ago with an offer to attend Edmonton Oilers training camp.
Despite data and testimony from health officials reporting progress on emergency health-care access, a Nova Scotia Liberal MLA says the system is still not up to standard.
Ongoing construction is causing traffic woes for Halifax drivers.
A 34-year-old man is facing an attempted murder charge after an alleged shooting in the north end of Halifax last week.
The sound of sombre song serenaded the halls of the Manitoba legislature Wednesday as Cathy Merrick's casket was brought in for a closed-door ceremony. Merrick died last Friday and was to lie in state Wednesday afternoon to allow the public to pay their respects.
Abandoned homes line the streets of Lauder, a town that's now a ghost of what it once was. Yet inside, a small community is thriving.
Winnipeg police are asking for the public's help locating a man last seen in the Bridgwater neighbourhood.
Perhaps Saskatchewan's most famous encounter with Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP/UFO) – "The Langenburg Event" is now being immortalized in the form of a collective coin.
For as long as she can remember, 98-year-old Minnie Nugent has enjoyed the view of a water tower in the skyline, welcoming her home to Gravelbourg.
The provincial government is widening the scope of practice for Saskatchewan pharmacists with the launch of a new pilot project.
In a push to make their homes more secure, a local home surveillance company says more residents are installing security cameras on their properties.
An alleged child predator who was arrested and charged earlier this year is now facing a civil lawsuit in connection with a "brutal" sexual assault in a Toronto area park reported nearly 30 years ago.
The Guelph Humane Society believes a contagious disease is spreading among the local wildlife.
The proposed downtown location for the city’s newest homeless shelter is drawing criticism from the chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), which runs the city’s largest emergency shelter.
Saskatoon city councillors put their support behind a planning document that is expected to guide the next decade of development for the downtown core at its governance and priorities committee Wednesday.
Saskatchewan is entering election season, with voters soon heading to the polls to determine the province’s future.
An incident involving siblings last weekend in Thessalon, Ont., ended with threats against campground staff and charges for one of the family members.
An American presidential historian is predicting a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections in November.
Starting Friday, Lotto Max draw participants can play for prize of $75 million for the first time ever in Canada.
The London police are investigating a shooting that took place on Boullee Street in London Wednesday afternoon.
It’s day 13 of a strike by Western University’s facilities employees and some roads around the campus remain closed, causing delays for students and motorists.
A long-time former city councillor and public school board trustee is calling on the Thames Valley District School Board to come clean regarding its education director, now on a leave of absence.
Police are investigating an alleged hit-and-run after an individual was found dead at the side of the road in Springwater Township early Wednesday morning.
Traffic along Highway 12 was impacted by a multi-vehicle crash.
A woman has been charged with assault following an incident at an amusement park in Bracebridge.
The City of Windsor is struggling to collect a "significant" amount of unpaid parking ticket revenue.
The latest interest rate cut may not open the floodgates of construction in Windsor-Essex, according to the area’s home builders’ association.
A local award-winning photojournalist is having a retrospective exhibit of his work in Windsor.
A federal police oversight agency has found the RCMP's enforcement of a civil injunction against old-growth logging protesters on Vancouver Island was unreasonable and violated the rights of activists.
Police on southern Vancouver Island say they’ve arrested almost as many impaired drivers in the first eight months of this year than they did in 2023 in a concerning trend of people getting behind the wheel while drunk or on drugs.
Two men are facing drug-trafficking charges after police seized several kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine from multiple Metro Vancouver properties last year, British Columbia's anti-organized crime task force announced Wednesday.
A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being stabbed during a home invasion in Kelowna, according to authorities.
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
Mounties in northwestern B.C. say they have arrested the suspect in a fatal shooting almost exactly a year after it occurred.
As harvest season continues in southern Alberta, the Interfaith Food Bank in Lethbridge is putting out an urgent call for fresh food and produce.
Milk River Emergency Department will be temporarily closed Thursday – but this time it’s not because of a doctor shortage.
Thousands of students at the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic are back in Lethbridge for the school year.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie say the sound of fireworks prompted several calls to 911 on Thursday afternoon.
An investigation of gas theft in Echo Bay, Ont., led to the discovery of a full-sized cargo van stolen from British Columbia.
Canadian and American military men and women from Canadian Forces Base Wing 22 in North Bay, Ont., are ruck marching all day Wednesday to remember all who were impacted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
A Simcoe, Ont. woman has been charged with assault with a weapon after spraying her neighbour with a water gun.
The dream of a life on water has drowned in a sea of sadness for a group of Chatham-Kent, Ont. residents who paid a Wallaceburg-based company for a floating home they never received.
In 2022, Tanya Frisk-Welburn and her husband bought what they hoped would be a dream home in Mexico.
Mansour’s Menswear in Amherst, N.S., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month
A beautiful Labour Day weekend at the lake was interrupted by some extreme weather when a tornado touched down in northern Ontario.
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Winnipeggers could soon be able to kick it into four-wheel drive and let it ride down the road on Bachman Turner Overdrive Way.
Mary Grace Rico is seeking help in getting treatment for a rare spinal condition.
Swimmer Nicholas Bennett and para canoeist Brianna Hennessy have been named Canada's flag-bearers for Sunday's closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he 'can't wait' to get back to Ottawa to get into it with Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons, as he makes the case to his own party to put up a united front against the Conservatives.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will focus on advancing progressive policies, amid renewed pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to help him bring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal minority government down when Parliament resumes next week.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will put forward a non-confidence motion when Parliament resumes 'at the earliest possible opportunity' with the aim of triggering an early federal election.
According to a survey conducted in both 2019 and 2023, mental health among adolescent girls has gotten worse as they've grown into young adults.
Canada is donating 'up to 200,000' doses of mpox vaccine, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday. The World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency last month, for the second time in two years.
A woman who requested medical assistance in dying (MAID) won a major case in front of the Quebec rental board. She wanted to die at home, but her landlord didn't want her to.
First came space tourism. Now comes an even bigger thrill for the monied masses: spacewalking.
Over the course of an acting career that spanned more than six decades, James Earl Jones' voice became an indelible piece of his work as a performer.
During its glossy product announcement event on Tuesday, Apple unveiled a new role for its latest AirPods Pro model: medical device.
Taylor Swift and Post Malone took home the first award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, for best collaboration, handed to them by Flavor Flav and Olympian Jordan Chiles.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi and a video production assistant persuaded a woman standing on the ledge of a pedestrian bridge in Nashville to come back over the railing to safety.
Justin Timberlake is expected to enter a plea to a driving while intoxicated charge related to his June arrest in Sag Harbor, N.Y., according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.
While snowfall is still months away, a busy Vancouver-area ski resort is already in full hiring mode.
As many as 110,000 Air Canada passengers could be affected daily if the airline doesn't reach a deal with its pilots' union by Sunday. However, it's too late for flyers to purchase coverage for the flights that could be impacted by a work stoppage.
A B.C. Realtor manipulated a client with whom he had a close personal relationship into selling her home, the provincial real estate regulator has found, in a ruling that describes the misconduct as "predatory."
Starting Friday, Lotto Max draw participants can play for prize of $75 million for the first time ever in Canada.
Givenchy has named Sarah Burton creative director for women’s and men’s collections, with immediate effect, the fashion house announced on Monday.
Do LGBTQ2S+ tourists have a green book-like system for staying safe while travelling in these politically precarious times? They don't have one. They have many.
A hamlet with a population of fewer than 70 residents has successfully brought people back in time to 1989 - the setting, a ‘Field of Dreams’ carved out of cornfields.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill acknowledged Wednesday that he could have handled himself better in the initial moments of a weekend traffic stop that left him handcuffed and pulled out of his car by police officers near the team's stadium.
Close to half of women soccer fans in England and Wales have personally experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse at matches but most have never reported it to authorities, a new study by anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out revealed on Wednesday.
Halton Regional Police say they have disrupted a group believed to be responsible for the theft of at least 40 vehicles in Halton Region and the Greater Toronto Area worth over $3 million.
Nearly two-dozen drivers were caught in a speed trap outside a Vancouver elementary school on Thursday – as students were settling back into their daily routines.
Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that plug-in hybrids would continue to be a critical part of its profit growth plans over the next few years and that it would revamp its XC90 hybrid sports utility vehicle.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
