But it's up to the government.

Conrad Black's return to Canada in the hands of immigration department - The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/conrad-blacks-return-to-canada-in-the-hands-of-immigration-department/article2417757/)

Unlike our Neighbours to the South, renouncing Canadian Citizenship is not at all common.

I wonder if there is a normal protocol for re-instatement or if he would be treated like any other rich immigrant. If the latter a recent criminal fraud conviction should disqualify him unless the Minister simply bypasses normal procedure.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Anyone know of any other Canadians who tried to reclaim a renounced citizenship?

May as well. If we spend so much time on Omar Khadr, why not do an easy thing and let Black back in?

I wonder how many months or years it will take him to get back into Canada. My guess is he still has a few friends in Canada. And he still has money.

Actually, isn't his wife still a Canadian citizen?

I'll bet he gets back into Canada within 1 year.

May as well. If we spend so much time on Omar Khadr, why not do an easy thing and let Black back in?

Except Khadr never renounced his Citizenship and still OGL is refusing to bring him home. By that thought process Black should not even be allowed to visit Canada.

May as well. If we spend so much time on Omar Khadr, why not do an easy thing and let Black back in?

Not exactly comparable, as Black's charter rights were not violated. And Khadr is still a Canadian citizen.

The normal process for regaining Canadian Citizenship after renoucing it is to go through the immigration process from the beginning, like any other non-citizen.

What seems to be the issue here, is Black's criminal conviction, as apparently most convictions may re-entry to Canada inadmissible.

Renouncing citizenship (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/renounce.asp)
People who cannot come to Canada (Inadmissibility) (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/index.asp)
Overcoming criminal inadmissibility (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp)

I wonder how many months or years it will take him to get back into Canada. My guess is he still has a few friends in Canada. And he still has money.

Actually, isn't his wife still a Canadian citizen?

I'll bet he gets back into Canada within 1 year.

I suspect you are correct.

Except Khadr never renounced his Citizenship and still OGL is refusing to bring him home. By that thought process Black should not even be allowed to visit Canada.

Lord Black has a Canadian wife, so he should be repatriated with her. Won't take much work at all.

Lord Black has a Canadian wife, so he should be repatriated with her. Won't take much work at all.

The issue is his criminal record.

Doing a read over the government's website, is inadmissible now, as not enough time has passed since he's served his sentence. (i.e., he gets out Friday.) He will have to wait a number of years--unless the government intervenes and gives him special permission to enter sooner.

So, in fairness, he should be allowed back, but not for a number of years (just like any other convicted criminal) and I would prefer that the government not do him any special favours by allowing him in sooner.

Not exactly comparable, as Black's charter rights were not violated. And Khadr is still a Canadian citizen.

The normal process for regaining Canadian Citizenship after renoucing it is to go through the immigration process from the beginning, like any other non-citizen.

What seems to be the issue here, is Black's criminal conviction, as apparently most convictions may re-entry to Canada inadmissible.

Renouncing citizenship (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/renounce.asp)
People who cannot come to Canada (Inadmissibility) (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/index.asp)
Overcoming criminal inadmissibility (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp)

Seems fairly clear cut. To come home CB will need the Cabinet Minister to over-ride the immigration process. No doubt CB has considerable financial and personal resources available.

Like I said earlier we shall see if CB gets back in. If he does get back in will he have to wait 18 months to 2 years to get a PR card, then another 3-4 years to regain his citizenship. Anything faster and you can bet the farm, that either influence pedaling and/or palm greasing was involved.

Doing a read over the government's website, is inadmissible now, as not enough time has passed since he's served his sentence. (i.e., he gets out Friday.) He will have to wait a number of years--unless the government intervenes and gives him special permission to enter sooner.

So, in fairness, he should be allowed back, but not for a number of years (just like any other convicted criminal) and I would prefer that the government not do him any special favours by allowing him in sooner.

He can still come back as the American husband of Babs.

He can still come back as the American husband of Babs.

Even with a criminal record? I'm not sure that he can.

Even with a criminal record? I'm not sure that he can.

He will have to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa.

My guess, is he'll do one of these:

- Use the family card. He has a Canadian wife and kids. He'll say his family needs him to support them. Or she will sponsor him using this excuse.

- There's likely some extenuating circumstance he use, other than his family.

- He'll grease some palms.

He will have to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa.

As I understand it, due to his record, granting this (or not) is solely in the hands of the Minister. (Or, well, his office.)

Not sure what the policy is for criminal non-citizens married to Canadian citizens.

As I understand it, due to his record, granting this (or not) is solely in the hands of the Minister. (Or, well, his office.)

Yes it is.

Yes it is.

In the past, Harper had stated his government would not show Conrad Black any special treatment.

And (even though this should be unrelated) Black himself has been critical of the Harper government.

So unless there is some routine precedent here, I suspect he's out of luck.

He will have to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa.

Actually, that may work, according to the lawyer page at:

Temporary Resident Permit Canada Information| FW Canada? FWCanada (http://www.canadianimmigration.net/criminality-and-inadmissibility/temporary-resident-permit.html)

Problem is, he won't be able to work here, then. I guess he could work through US companies, though.

I'm sure he or his lawyers will find a loophole.

Not again? I figured he'd be here already getting ready to run in the next election.

http://www.ehmac.ca/everything-else-eh/88358-conrads-request-return-canada.html

As I understand it, due to his record, granting this (or not) is solely in the hands of the Minister. (Or, well, his office.)

Not sure what the policy is for criminal non-citizens married to Canadian citizens.

I suspect most would be SOL. In all likelihood they would have to sneak back into Canada at which time they would become very hard to deport. However this was Criminal Fraud, which may be considered a forgivable crime by the current Top Dogs.

We shall see if his de-larded-lardship can pull this off.

Have a look at this book:

The Big Black Book: The Essential Views of Conrad and Barbara Amiel Black
by Maude Barlow

This shows what kind of people the Blacks really are by quoting their own writings. My opinion is that we should work hard to keep them out.

Ottawa approves Conrad Black’s request to live in Canada - The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-approves-conrad-blacks-request-to-live-in-canada/article2419229/)

A year? How about a day?

Ottawa approves Conrad Black’s request to live in Canada - The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-approves-conrad-blacks-request-to-live-in-canada/article2419229/)

A year? How about a day?

not surprising. Black is exactly the type of person that the Harper government caters & kowtows to.

Ottawa approves Conrad Black’s request to live in Canada - The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-approves-conrad-blacks-request-to-live-in-canada/article2419229/)

A year? How about a day?

Well, not what I was expecting to be sure.

But I like how the Minister explicitly told his staff to leave him out of the decision-making, and let the decision be made by staff.... staff don't have to face elections. :)

Not even a day. According to the article, Canadian Immigration approved his Temporary Resident Permit in March.


The Globe and Mail has learned that Lord Black paid a $200 fee for a temporary-resident permit on March 20, 2012.

A source familiar with the matter said the Case Management Branch of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration approved the permit in March

They could have told us that they already approved him coming back to Canada!

I guess MacFury got it right about the TRP.

I read that he sued or is suing his former partners and others for over a billion and could win.. so that money is in Canada, which means they will let him in for sure - proper donations in the correct places..

They let Conrad back into the country and wouldn't let my uncle and aunt from Vietnam come to Canada at the same time to have a nice vacation fearing they would claim refugee status and stay in the country. WTF.

They let Conrad back into the country and wouldn't let my uncle and aunt from Vietnam come to Canada at the same time to have a nice vacation fearing they would claim refugee status and stay in the country. WTF.

But Conrad has a place in Bridal Path worth over $3Million.. Not trying to saying anything here, he has the means to start over, without collection of any assistance.. Plus he has other homes in Canada in his wife's name everywhere..
Not saying your relatives would ask for assistance but each case is very different - you can not compare them.

BTW- if you sign as a guarantor for them, which i have done for my overseas relatives - stating that they will not claim status or want assistance and promise to leave - then they allow them in.. [ Now if they do decide to stay - since you signed for them, it will be your burden to cover their costs] I know a strange system but it works. and i was happy to do it.

They let Conrad back into the country and wouldn't let my uncle and aunt from Vietnam come to Canada at the same time to have a nice vacation fearing they would claim refugee status and stay in the country. WTF.

Not completely unexpected, it is fairly routine to grant an extended visa to the spose of a Canadian seeking PR status.

Interesting part of this, is that it seems that financial fraud is seemingly so rampant in Ontario that Ottawa does not consider it worth worrying about in granting extended visas.

However I can't help but think that the Harpo coffers will benefit from this decision. Please someone prove me wrong.

Well, that didn't take long:

Conrad Black cleared to return to Canada ? temporarily (http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Conrad+Black+cleared+return+Canada+temporarily/6548221/story.html)

Well, that didn't take long:

Conrad Black cleared to return to Canada ? temporarily (http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Conrad+Black+cleared+return+Canada+temporarily/6548221/story.html)

I doubt that he will want social assistance - as he won't qualify - also he is not a murder!
just a thief - who stole from his own company LOL
there is a difference you know..

BTW- if you sign as a guarantor for them, which i have done for my overseas relatives - stating that they will not claim status or want assistance and promise to leave - then they allow them in.. [ Now if they do decide to stay - since you signed for them, it will be your burden to cover their costs] I know a strange system but it works. and i was happy to do it.

Hmmm I wonder why my dad didn't go that route. Regardless, my uncle is very successful in Vietnam and has absolutely no desire to settle in Canada. Vietnamese who want to come to Canada are typically looking for something better but for my uncle it'd be quite a few steps back.


just a thief - who stole from his own company LOL


Shhhhh he might sue you for libel too.

I doubt that he will want social assistance - as he won't qualify - also he is not a murder!
just a thief - who stole from his own company LOL
there is a difference you know..

Generally Financial Fraud is viewed as business as usual. Had he been arrested for possession of an ounce of pot I think we could stick a fork in CBs chances of re-upping as a Canadian.

Generally Financial Fraud is viewed as business as usual. Had he been arrested for possession of an ounce of pot I think we could stick a fork in CBs chances of re-upping as a Canadian.

I brought murder issue up because of the Omar ordeal.. Just want to shed light that financial crime happens everyday.. if you pay your dues - it is what it is..
as for being a murder - different story..

Shhhhh he might sue you for libel too.

It's not libel if it's true.

It's not libel if it's true.

he is suing his partners, because they hung him out to dry and also stated false facts - I believe..
but doubt he would waste his time with me.. I have no assets at this time.. LOL

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/6552602.bin

ROFL! :lmao: I love that one.

I just don't see one as having anything to do with the other.

It's not libel if it's true.

The trouble is you can't say something unless you can prove it's true.

If you say something and you don't have the proof, it's libel.

Course the beauty of a statement like CB will sue me if I say this, is that if he does sue you he is proving the statement true.

So US immigration agents are going to seize Connie upon release from Club Fed and deport him.

The question is...is it going to be Canada or will he have to make a pitstop in the UK first.

I'm not sure why you're talking about seizing him and deporting him. I don't think the US is really worried about him. He has a home in Florida I believe. So they probably don't care if he stays. Since he has a TRP, they'll allow him to just cross the border to Canada. Of course he would probably have to apply for a VISA or something in the US if he wanted to stay. But there are so many illegal aliens in the US, I don't think they'll notice an extra one.

The US would only sieze him and deport him if he was a threat. You know... a terrorist...

It's reported in the news...

Black is not a US citizen and has no legal status in the US, therefore seizure, detention, deportation.

The trouble is you can't say something unless you can prove it's true.

If you say something and you don't have the proof, it's libel.

Not if you can show that you had reason to believe it was true.

It's reported in the news...

Black is not a US citizen and has no legal status in the US, therefore seizure, detention, deportation.

Yeah, you're right... Just saw it on the news...

Lol... He's not a free man until he steps into Canada.

Actually, libel has a series of tests to determine if something is libellous or not, and different standards apply to "public" persons compared to private citizens.

Just saying smack about a person is not AUTOMATICALLY libellous, though you're definitely starting down that path.

I hoping for a Parade and ticker tape, there hasn't been one in Toronto in a long time as none of our over paid athlete's have been worthy of it..
:)
[sarcasm] - but still would nice.

I hoping for a Parade and ticker tape, there hasn't been one in Toronto in a long time as none of our over paid athlete's have been worthy of it..
:)
[sarcasm] - but still would nice.

No parade or ticker tape, but a three vehicle motorcade dropped Black at his "sprawling" Bridal Path estate just before 2pm this afternoon. That must set a world record in released from jail in the morning, detained by immigration, deported and in your family home 1600 miles away in a matter of hours.

No parade or ticker tape, but a three vehicle motorcade dropped Black at his "sprawling" Bridal Path estate just before 2pm this afternoon. That must set a world record in released from jail in the morning, detained by immigration, deported and in your family home 1600 miles away in a matter of hours.

:lmao::lmao::lmao:

FWIW a couple of my friends/neighbours have recently applied for Canadian Citizenship. None have criminal records and at the time they applied were looking at 18-19 month processing times. FWIW having a criminal record supposedly extends the processing times.

Since CB is probably applying on compassionate or humanitarian grounds from within Canada, ie his wife lives here, his waiting time for a PR card should be around 20 months. 10 Months is remotely possible if he is taken some other route. After that he should face a minimum three year wait before he is allowed to apply for citizenship, longer if he chooses to leave Canada during that period of time.

Long and short if CB gets his citizenship back before people who are currently waiting their turns, there are going to be some very irate future voters.

FWIW a couple of my friends/neighbours have recently applied for Canadian Citizenship. None have criminal records and at the time they applied were looking at 18-19 month processing times. FWIW having a criminal record supposedly extends the processing times.

Since CB is probably applying on compassionate or humanitarian grounds from within Canada, ie his wife lives here, his waiting time for a PR card should be around 20 months. 10 Months is remotely possible if he is taken some other route. After that he should face a minimum three year wait before he is allowed to apply for citizenship, longer if he chooses to leave Canada during that period of time.

Long and short if CB gets his citizenship back before people who are currently waiting their turns, there are going to be some very irate future voters.

I don't what makes you think he wants his citizenship back.

I don't what makes you think he wants his citizenship back.

Perhaps the fact that he's only been granted temporary residency?

Makes no difference to me, go or stay.

I don't what makes you think he wants his citizenship back.

Yep. He's quoted as saying he wants temporary residency for now, and then he'll see from there. I imagine he'll want permanent residency (since Barbara lives here) but he hasn't said anything about citizenship.

I suppose whether or not he decides to become a citizen partly depends on whether or not he wants to (or is able to) keep his peerage....

Yep. He's quoted as saying he wants temporary residency for now, and then he'll see from there. I imagine he'll want permanent residency (since Barbara lives here) but he hasn't said anything about citizenship.

I suppose whether or not he decides to become a citizen partly depends on whether or not he wants to (or is able to) keep his peerage....

Exactly why I asked the question. His peerage meant more to him than his citizenship in the past so I don't know why that would have changed... now if he is striped of his peerage because of his criminal record then maybe he will want his citizenship back but I have not read or heard anything where he states that he does as of now.

Exactly why I asked the question. His peerage meant more to him than his citizenship in the past so I don't know why that would have changed... now if he is striped of his peerage because of his criminal record then maybe he will want his citizenship back but I have not read or heard anything where he states that he does as of now.

Did some quick looking, and as far as I can tell he still has his peerage... there was some controversy over this, since apparently can be expelled from the UK House of Commons for a criminal conviction, but there are a few convicted criminals in the House of Lords.

Whether or not he's permitted to keep his peerage and become a Canadian citizen might be a little complicated, so it's likely that he will not pursue citizenship unless that gets sorted out.

He did apply to have his Canadian citizenship reinstated (which was rejected) but the assumption is that this was to allow him to serve his sentence in Canada instead of the US. Now that this particular ship has sailed, who knows?

Did some quick looking, and as far as I can tell he still has his peerage... there was some controversy over this, since apparently can be expelled from the UK House of Commons for a criminal conviction, but there are a few convicted criminals in the House of Lords.

Whether or not he's permitted to keep his peerage and become a Canadian citizen might be a little complicated, so it's likely that he will not pursue citizenship unless that gets sorted out.

He did apply to have his Canadian citizenship reinstated (which was rejected) but the assumption is that this was to allow him to serve his sentence in Canada instead of the US. Now that this particular ship has sailed, who knows?

Yep, only time will tell.

Personally I couldn't care less. He is an a** and as there are already plenty of Canadian a**es one more or less isn't going to make a significant difference in the greater scheme of things. ;)

To be clear, there are lots of people who renounce citizenship of their birth countries and many reasons for doing so. I see no problem with CB acquiring Permanent Resident Status or even re-acquiring his citizenship, as long as he does not jump the queue.

Numerous exceptions for Criminal Records are granted every year by Immigration officials. It is quite possible that on the list of heinous crimes Financial Fraud falls into the petty category. In Mr. Blacks case most of his victims were still very well off even after the raids.

I am trying to remember, but it seems to me that some restitution may have been ordered. If CB has indeed made significant restitution, then that should work to his advantage.

Article from canoe .ca
why Conrad is Canadian.
He's home: Throughout his ordeal, Conrad Black was defiant and indignant - but there was no cry-baby nor whiner in him. And that's an appealing quality that many recognized in him for the first time (REUTERS/Mark Blinch)
TORONTO Now that Conrad Black is released from prison and returned to Canada, the question of the moment is whether he can, or should, regain the Canadian citizenship he renounced in order to accept a British peerage.
Although not "officially" a citizen, he has a temporary resident's permit until next May. At which time he can take the next step towards regaining citizenship.
Although there'll be some squawking from predictable elements at this, it's not a big deal. He'd been granted multiple entry permits by the government, lasting one year, back in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Each for a set fee of around $200.
So the question now is whether he will apply for citizenship in the land of his birth, where he grew up, where he went to school, where he ran his business. A fourth generation Canadian.
Some might wonder whether he lost his citizenship in the first place.
It could be argued (and may very well be before this matter is closed) that his renunciation was part of a feud he was engaged in with then-prime minister Jean Chretien, whose vindictiveness is legendary. Was the renunciation real - or rhetoric?
If they possess even a modicum of fairness, even the most vigorous of Black's critics, will acknowledge that Chretien was grotesquely malicious in forcing Black to make a choice back in 2001 when he said as a Canadian citizen Black could not accept a British peerage.
The British government felt in was inappropriate for the Canadian prime minister to tell the Queen which British subject she could or could not honour, especially since Black legally held dual British and Canadian citizenship (since 1977).
The court, however, ruled that the Canadian PM had a constitutional right to "advise" the Queen about Canadians, and that it was within Chretien's mandate to rule against Black.
By being born a Canadian, it's pretty difficult to pretend Black is not a Canadian. Intemperate language when feuding with Chretien notwithstanding. There's really nothing anyone can do to change the reality of Black's birth or nationality.
The PM shouldn't be the one to determine citizenship. Because he doesn't like someone (in this case Black) he can't say he's no longer a citizen if he does so-and-so. Similarly, if Black says "I am no longer a citizen" because the PM did so-and-so, that also shouldn't mean he's forfeited it forever.
In a way it's like actor Alec Baldwin saying he'd emigrate to Canada if George Bush were re-elected in 2004. Or Susan Sarandon saying the same thing if John McCain had been elected in 2008. Or former White House press secretary Pierre Salinger, saying he'd emigrate to France if Bush was elected in 2000. (Bush was elected, but instead of emigrating, Salinger chose to die). The others continue living in the U.S.
All of which goes to show that words, uttered in anger (or frustration) don't carry legal weight.
On another level, if Omar Khadr is deemed Canadian because he was born here, and is due to be returned to Canada any day now, how could Black be refused? Khadr, his parents and siblings have been enemies of Canada's interests and values, and Khadr has killed Canada's allies and supported terrorists.
Black was put on trial in the U.S. (not Canada) , and initially faced 17 charges of fraud. Some were dropped and eventually he was cleared of all except two of the minor charges, one of which was obstructing justice by obeying an order to clear his property out of Hollinger's offices in Toronto -- which was caught on TV security cameras and looked bad. It turned out U.S. prosecutors already possessed copies of the material Black removed.
Not everyone is sanguine about Black returning to Canada.
The Toronto Sun, editorially (and wrongly in my view) argued that he should not be allowed to return. A recent CBC poll of listeners found that 69% of respondents felt Black should not get his citizenship back, 27% believed he should. Less than 3% were undecided, which indicates almost everyone has a strong opinion about Black.
CBC polls generally reflect views that the CBC endorses.
This year, the Toronto Star's Bob Hepburn wrote that the Order of Canada awarded to Black in 1990 should be rescinded, as were the Orders bequeathed on Alan Eagleson, David Ahenakew, T. Sher Singh and Steve Fonyo - all for questionable or criminal activities. One, Ahenakew, made disparaging remarks about Jews and was convicted of a hate crime, which was appealed. At a second trial he was acquitted.
No move has been made towards removing Black's OC ("under review" was Rideau Hall's response). Black remains a member of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada - an advisory group appointed by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn in 1992 on the advice of Brian Mulroney when he was PM. He is still a lifetime peer as Baron Black of Crossharbour.
If the Order of Canada is to mean anything, it should never be rescinded. If awarded for exceptional services, future actions should not detract from it's worth.
In 1920, King George V said the Victoria Cross, once won, cannot be rescinded (as it was for eight previous VC winners guilty of things like desertion, bigamy, theft). A VC winner if convicted of murder, "should be allowed to wear the VC on the scaffold."
By being rescindable, the Order of Canada has become more a political bauble than a merit award. Pity.
So like him or not, approve of him or not, despair of him or not, Black is as Canadian as maple syrup and a hockey stick, and neither a threat nor a danger to fellow Canadians - unlike, say, Khadr.
Periodically, since his celebrated trial in Chicago in 2007, I've written about Black's case, and visited him twice in the federal prison at Coleman, Fla. I've been sniped at by some as being in his thrall and blind to his crimes. Inevitable, perhaps, with any controversial subject, but undeserved and untrue.
I covered most of Black's Chicago trial, as I have covered other trials in a long and undistinguished career. Included are such as the trial of Ron Turpin for murder, the last man hanged in Canada in 1962; the trial of Jack Ruby, assassin of president Jack Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald; the trial of Charles Manson in Los Angeles; the trial of Sirhan Sirhan, slayer of Robert Kennedy; and cases such as Leonard Peltier and Laurie Bembenek.
As for Black's four-month Chicago trial, I heard nothing that indicated guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, I witnessed a lynch mob prosecution, twisting whatever facts they could, and indulging in absurd rhetoric to get a conviction. As their case crumbled, their main witness against Black -- his former partner David Radler - looked worse and worse. He was the instigator of fraud, not Black, who was too busy playing Lord Black with Lady Black, while Radler looted the till, so to speak.
Other high level witnesses - company directors, review committees and such -- were all negligent or incompetent in their scrutiny: the likes of Henry Kissinger, Marie Josee Kravis, former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson. Weasels, it you ask me.
Accepting that there was little that could be called "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" against Conrad at his trial does not mean that one can't question certain ethical or business practices he indulged in. Yet all were legal - even (especially?) the "non-compete" fees instead of taxable bonuses. As it was, in the various sales of publications, Hollinger investors did very well.
The company fell apart when regulators took over, paid themselves exorbitant fees, lost everything and made victims of investors. They, not Black, destroyed Hollinger.
I found Black's book about his case - A Matter of Principle - astonishing in its detail and candour. Selective, perhaps, but intriguing. I thought Black's treatment of his Toronto lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, both unfair and a mistake. In my humble view, with no inside access or special knowledge, it was Greenspan who won all the points he dealt with at the trial. Greenspan got Black a "not guilty" verdict in the nine charges he argued, while the four guilty verdicts were not Greenspan's doing. Greenspan did not handle the obstruction charges.
Inevitably, there'll be a circus quality to Black's return to Canada. Old wounds will be re-opened, past prejudices revived - but he is coming home. What will he do with the rest of his life?
Well, he won't be running a company like Hollinger, nor is he likely to start another newspaper, as he did with the National Post. What Black can do is write - and his three or so years in a Florida prison enabled him to write without other distractions. Not only books, but newspaper columns and commentaries like his weekly blog on Huffington Post Canada.
Also he developed skills as a teacher - helping inmates at the Coleman complex become educated and to perhaps change their lives. By his own admission this was an unexpectedly rewarding experience, and likely made him more human.
Through his weekly column in the Pos and elsewhere, Conrad developed something of a fan base. His steadfast insistence on his own innocence, the wry humour and apparent cheerfulness of his dilemma as a "guest of the American government" won over some who might otherwise have resented what they thought was Black's arrogance.
Arrogant he may have been, and arrogant he may still be, but he is also ineffably courteous and gracious. Throughout his ordeal he was defiant and indignant - but there was no cry-baby nor whiner in him. And that's an appealing quality that many recognized in him for the first time.
Whatever the future holds, Conrad Black is back in Canada.
We have not heard the last of him.
Khadr homecoming may be good news for Black
Perhaps, the most reassuring thing for Conrad Black and those who agree that he has never ceased being Canadian (despite his verbal rejection of the country as it existed under the narrow meanness of former prime minister Jean Chretien), is that Omar Khadr is returning.
Maybe Khadr "coming home" will make it easier to accept Black's re-settlement in Canada - if that is his future. Clearly as a "foreigner" who has served his time, the Americans want to be rid of him. Likely he'll never again visit the U.S.
For those who question Black regaining citizenship (as well as residency), maybe Chretien's selective vindictiveness in trying to deny Black his British peerage was because Black's new newspaper, the National Post, was superbly critical of the Chretien and his government.
In relatively recent times, two Canadians but British residents - Sir Terry Matthews and Sir George Sayers Bain - were awarded knighthoods, while Chretien drew the line at Black. Earlier, Ontario native Sir Bryant Irvine was knighted inn 1986, as was Quebecker Sir Neil Shaw in 1994.
Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's expert on heraldic symbols, Sir Conrad Swan, was knighted by the Queen when he served in the Royal Household in the early 1990s and was chief Heraldic officer at London's College of Arms.

.