It has been almost 97 years since Tom Thomson took his final paddle on Canoe Lake, yet the mystery of his fateful paddle still cause people to wonder – how did this fateful paddle end or who ended it for him?
Rumours and speculation have circled the events that occurred on July 8th, 1917. There are eyewitnesses that swear they saw Thomson leave in his canoe that morning, his canoe was found that afternoon floating upside down. Eight days later, Thomson’s lifeless body was pulled from the lake.
Many speculate that the artist took his own life, others believe he fell from the canoe, hitting his head and drowning. Is this possible?
More people lean toward the belief that Thomson was most likely murdered on the lake that day. Could Thomson have been murdered by the father of the girl it is rumoured was pregnant with Thomson’s child? Did Shannon Fraser kill him over money? So many speculations and despite almost a century of investigation, no one has ever been able to put the rumours to rest.
All we do know, is that on July 8th, 1917, Canada lost one of her greatest artist far too soon!