Arson a 'strong possibility' in fire at Whiteshell cottage formerly owned by Peter Nygard: RCMP
Manitoba provincial park closed last week amid wildfires in the area
RCMP say there's a "very strong possibility" arson caused a fire that destroyed a cottage on the southern edge of Whiteshell Provincial Park that once belonged to disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
Police are investigating a fire in the Block 11 subdivision at Falcon Lake, RCMP said in a news release Wednesday.
Officers received a report about the fire Tuesday at 8:50 p.m., the news release said. The local fire department and the Manitoba Wildfire Service extinguished the blaze.
Realtor Daniel Walker with Whiteshell Properties said the cottage was formerly owned by Nygard.
Nygard sold the multimillion-dollar Falcon Lake property in 2021. He'd been arrested in Winnipeg the previous year on a nine-count indictment in the U.S. on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering.
In 2023, Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault on women at his Toronto office from the late 1980s to about 2005. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison last year.
Nygard is still facing criminal charges in Quebec, Manitoba and the U.S. Those charges have not been tested in court.
WATCH | Fire burns Peter Nygard's former cottage:
The current owner of the cottage declined to comment, other than to say he's thankful no one was injured in the fire.
Police said Wednesday that the cause of the fire that destroyed the cottage is still under investigation. Sgt. Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for the RCMP, said arson is possible, but investigators won't know for sure until experts examine the scene.
The fire happened as firefighters continue efforts to control nearby wildfires in Lac du Bonnet, Nopiming Provincial Park and Whiteshell Provincial Park, where a fire that started in Ingolf, Ont., has edged into Manitoba.
The fires prompted the closure and evacuation last week of Whiteshell Provincial Park, where Falcon Lake is located.
The evacuation order for Falcon Lake was lifted by the province on Wednesday, with local traffic allowed, but Whiteshell Cottagers Association president Ken Pickering said the area was still under the order as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.
"The most concerning issue I've got is … the park was evacuated and, you know, if the RCMP are indicating it looks like arson, then obviously there's people in the park that shouldn't have been, for one reason or another," Pickering said.
"There's a risk of fire danger. I mean, there's a reason why there's … burn bans and everything on, so I mean, this is a serious, serious incident."
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