Cécile Dionne, one of the famous Dionne quintuplets, dead at 91
Cécile Dionne, one of the world-famous Dionne quintuplets, died earlier this week at the age of 91 following a long illness, a family spokesperson confirmed Friday.
Cécile and her sisters became an instant global sensation from the moment of their birth in the Ontario community of Corbeil on May 28, 1934, as they became the first quintuplets known to survive past infancy.
Carlo Tarini, a spokesperson of the family, confirmed the death and told The Canadian Press that Cécile died early Monday morning.
“She lived her life with quiet dignity, exemplary discretion, and gentle humour, despite the hardships of a childhood lived in the public eye,” reads an obituary Tarini shared.
Cécile weighed less than two pounds when she was born and dealt with osteoporosis and other ongoing health problems related to her premature birth. She also fought COVID-19 twice, Tarini said.
“She was not just a survivor, she was a real fighter. She showed remarkable strength of character,” Tarini said in an interview Friday.
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The Dionne quintuplets were hailed as a salve to the gloom of financial austerity at the peak of their Depression-era fame — but the sisters said the attention came at a personal cost.
Cécile and her sister Annette, who is now the last remaining quintuplet, spoke to The Canadian Press in 2019 and said parents should view childhood as a precious time that shouldn’t be exploited for profit.
When the quintuplets were only months old, the Ontario government took them away from their cash-strapped parents, who already had five children before their brood doubled overnight.
The government then installed them across the street from their childhood home in a nursery-style exhibition called Quintland, where millions of tourists lined up to observe the girls sitting in a closed compound through one-way glass.
The attraction became so popular that the route between Toronto and North Bay was expanded to a four-lane highway to accommodate the flood of tourists coming to visit the quintuplets, Tarini said.
The girls also became ambassadors for companies such as Kellogg’s and Palmolive, and had five identical ships named after them during the Second World War.
When the quintuplets were 18 years old, they decided to move away from home and out of the public eye.
But it was thanks to Cécile that the sisters came forward asking for compensation, Tarini said, prompting the Ontario government to issue an apology and a $4-million settlement to the three surviving Dionne quintuplets in 1998 for the years they spent on display.
In the rare times she’d speak out during adulthood, Cécile was a vocal advocate on the consequences of childhood fame.
In 1997, Cécile, Annette and Yvonne emerged momentarily from their privacy to publish an open letter in Time magazine offering advice to the McCaughey family from Iowa after they welcomed septuplets.
“We sincerely hope a lesson will be learned from examining how our lives were forever altered by our childhood experience,” the sisters wrote in the letter.
“Multiple births should not be confused with entertainment, nor should they be an opportunity to sell products.”
The Dionne quintuplets’ family home has since been moved from its original site and transformed into a museum in North Bay, Ont., where the family legacy lives on.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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