Giant red canoe sculpture destroyed by fire at CityPlace park in Toronto's core
Ontario Fire Marshal will not investigate incident, spokesperson says
An ornamental red canoe at Canoe Landing Park in downtown Toronto caught on fire on Wednesday, Toronto Fire said.
Crews were called to the park, located at 95 Fort York Blvd., around 2:40 a.m. for reports the structure was on fire.
It was extinguished by firefighters and there were no injuries, Toronto Fire said.
The Ontario Fire Marshal will not investigate the incident, a spokesperson said in an email to CBC Toronto.
A photo from the scene Wednesday morning shows the canoe appears to have burned down entirely with only its frame remaining. Burn marks are visible around the structure.
In a social media post, Toronto police said investigators believe the fire was an act of arson.
They don't yet have any suspect information, the post read. Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.
The canoe was created by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland in 2008, according to the website for the Toronto Downtown West's BIA.
It sat on an elevated mound — you've probably seen it while driving on the Gardiner Expressway — and served as a "symbolic entrance marker to the heart of downtown Toronto," the website reads.
Coun. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina-Fort York, said she was "disheartened and upset" about the incident.
"The Red Canoe is beloved public art and [an] iconic spot that I adore in one of our busiest downtown parks," she wrote in a post on X.
Malik said she is in contact with Toronto Fire to understand what happened.