A review of some of our top-viewed stories of 2025 in northern Ont.

Playing null of undefined

A look at 2025 headlines in northern Ontario

Storm wreaks havoc at Samuel de Champlain park

Town in financial crisis meets with the province

Women share details of terrifying bear attack

End of an era: Last of the famed Dionne Quintuplets, Annette, dies at 91

Northern Ont. couple $34M richer

Legal fees set at $40M, not $510M, for $10B First Nations treaty case

South River driver charged in fire truck crash

Mother shares story of abduction attempt

North Bay mayor pay suspended for 60 days

From bear attacks to spending scandals, from dumb criminals to major storms, stories that attracted the most views here on CTV News Northern Ontario in 2025 were diverse, from the lighthearted to the tragic.

Here’s a look at some of our most popular stories of the year, in terms of importance and popularity.

Storm batters Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park

More than 300 campers had to be evacuated because of a violent storm that hit the area June 21. Hydro lines were downed, trees uprooted and millions of dollars in damage was done. Bonfield and Calvin Township both declared a state of emergency.

The cleanup took several days and the park didn’t reopen again the entire season. While there were some injuries, no one was killed.

Northern Ont. community almost goes bankrupt

The province was shocked when the Township of Fauquier-Strickland threatened to cease municipal services Aug. 1 because of a financial crisis.

The small community was looking at a 300 per cent tax increase to help it pay for a massive debt and even planned to put its snowplow up for sale.

The township employs three part-time and five full-time employees, making it the largest employer in the area, and the only one offering summer student employment.

But the province stepped in to help and the community backed away from the threat. The bailout came with several conditions, but allowed municipal services to continue as a recovery plan was implemented.

Bear attack survivors in the Sault share their story

In a year when there was a surge in attacks involving bears, two women from Sault Ste. Marie shared their incredible story of surviving an attack by a black bear.

Crystal MacDonald and her friend Aja Wilson were walking their dogs, Mia and Rosebud, in August when they walked into an area occupied by the bear and her cub.

“It’s just happened that we walked into her space and she reacted with her motherly instinct to protect her cubs,” said MacDonald.

When the bear attacked Wilson, MacDonald got its attention – and the bear began running at her. Then one of the dogs came at the bear, leading it away from MacDonald. Everyone survived with relatively minor injuries.

Drug dealers claim they didn’t know $450K was in the closet

A judge in Thunder Bay rejected claims by two men that they were just sleeping in a house that had drugs and weapons strewn everywhere, along with $750,000 in cash, including $450,000 in a closet.

It emerged that the home was being used as a safe house, where drug dealers store their drugs and cash, while they use another location, known as a trap house, to actually sell their drugs.

Police discovered the safe house thanks to a landlord, who went inside to make repairs, spotted weapons in plain view, and contacted police.

In their appeal, the two dealers claimed they were just visiting, with one saying he was in Thunder Bay to further his career as a hip-hop artist. Both claimed they were unaware they were sleeping next to a closet with $450,000 stored inside or that they noticed all the guns and drugs out in the open.

The judge rejected that claim, saying only people involved in drug trafficking would be allowed unsupervised access to a safe house.

Last of the Dionne Quints passes away

The world lost the last two of the globally famous Dionne Quintuplets in 2025. Cécile Dionne died in late July, while Annette Dionne passed on Christmas Eve.

Cécile, Emilie, Marie, Annette and Yvonne Dionne became world famous not long after their birth, and they grew up unhappily in the public eye.

They became world famous, but their use as tourist attractions “ruined” their lives, they later wrote.

The Province of Ontario apologized to the three surviving sisters in 1998 and awarded them compensation for the exploitation they endured.

Northern Ontario couple wins $34M

A date-night tradition for a couple from Cache Bay, Ont., paid off in a big way when they won $34 million in a Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw.

Joe and Lise Menard, who have been married for 36 years, spend their regular Friday date night by eating dinner at a restaurant and then stopping at the store to buy their weekly lottery tickets.

The tickets they purchased this spring won them $34 million in the June 21 draw.

The loving couple held hands as they attended their winner celebration in Toronto.

Court rejects $510M in legal fees in First Nations treaty case

A Superior Court judge ruled in October that the legal team that secured a $10 billion settlement for First Nations under the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund is entitled to $40 million in fees, not $510 million.

The $510 million was based on a five per cent contingency fee agreed to by the sides involved in the case. But an appeals judge ruled that the legal fees were excessive and slashed the amount.

While praising the work of the legal team, the judge ruled that they were entitled to be paid for their work, but not to receive such a large share of the settlement. The lawyers have since appealed that decision.

Northern Ont. fire truck driver charged

A photo of a crashed fire truck near North Bay helped drive one of our most-clicked stories of the year.

Ontario Provincial Police say a 52-year-old resident of South River, Ont., located about 60 kilometres south of North Bay, was charged after a fire truck was involved in a single-vehicle crash July 28.

The collision occurred at about 6:30 p.m. on Goreville Road in Laurier Township. Police confirmed the driver was charged with careless driving and operating a commercial motor vehicle without an airbrake endorsement. The driver was also charged for having blood-alcohol level in the warn range.

Mother describes fending off woman trying to take her child

A woman in Kirkland Lake told CTV News in July that she was able to lock the doors of her vehicle in the nick of time to prevent a woman from snatching her five-and-a-half-month-old baby.

The incident took place July 24 just after noon outside a store in the community. She spotted the woman looking at her and her children and got a bad feeling. She managed to get everyone in the vehicle and just locked the doors when the woman tried to get in.

She shared a video of the woman being arrested while she sat in her truck with her kids.

North Bay rocked by mayor’s expenses scandal

It was a rough year for North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico. His controversial use of the corporate credit card for personal purchases – including pet food and cigarettes – led to multiple investigations.

In all, $16,000 in spending came under scrutiny, even though Chirico said he paid the money back. An investigation by the city’s integrity commissioner concluded that, while the spending was questionable, only $5,500 of the spending actually broke the city’s code of conduct.

Councillors eventually voted to suspend his pay for two months. Criminal investigations into the matter are still ongoing as we enter 2026.